Real Name: Thomas Erwin Zenk
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 230 lbs.
Date of Birth: November 30, 1958
Date of Death: December 9, 2017
Hometown: Golden Valley, Minnesota
Pro Debut: February 22, 1984
Retired: 1996
Trained By: Eddie Sharkey & Brad Rheingans
Finishing Move: Missle Dropkick
Biography
– Prior to his wrestling career, Zenk was a competitive bodybuilder, placing in the podium spots at state and county level
– Zenk debuted for Mid-South Wrestling in 1984, but would soon switch to the AWA
– Zenk tied with Jushin Liger for the Wrestling Observer Rookie Of The Year Award in 1984
– Zenk moved to the Pacific Northwest territory in late 1985
– On December 21, Zenk & Scott Doring defeated Mike Miller & Moondog Moretti to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles and would retain them a week later
– On January 2, 1986, Zenk & Doring defeated Tim Flowers & Moondog Moretti to retain the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
– On January 21, Zenk defeated Bobby Jaggers to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Title and retained it against Moondog Moretti the next day
– Zenk signed with the WWF in October 1986 and was placed into a tag team alongside Rick Martel, The Can-Am Connection. The duo were immediately sent to compete in that year’s All Japan Real World Tag League
– At WrestleMania III, The Can-Am Connection defeated Steve Lombardi & Mike Sharpe
– Zenk quit the WWF in a pay dispute in the summer of 1987 and would spend much of the next two years with All Japan
– Zenk signed with WCW in the summer of 1989 and would debut as ‘The Z-Man’ at Fall Brawl, defeating The Cuban Assassin
– At Halloween Havoc 1989, The Z-Man defeated Mike Rotunda
– At Clash Of The Champions 10, The Z-Man & Brian Pillman defeated The MOD Squad (Basher & Spike)
– On February 12, 1990, The Z-Man & Brian Pillman defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) in the final of a tournament to win the vacant NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– At WrestleWar 1990, The Z-Man & Pillman defeated The Fabulous Freebirds to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– On the following episode of NWA Pro, The Z-Man & Pillman defeated The Royal Family (Rip Morgan & Jacko Victory) to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– On the March 31 episode of NWA Pro, The Z-Man & Pillman defeated The New Samoans (Samoan Savage & Fatu) by DQ to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– On the April 15 episode of Main Event, The Z-Man & Pillman defeated The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom) to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– At Clash Of The Champions 11, The Z-Man & Mike Rotunda defeated The Samoan Swat Team (Samoan Savage & Fatu)
– At Clash Of The Champions 13, The Z-Man defeated Brian Lee
– On the December 29 episode of WCW, The Z-Man defeated Arn Anderson to win the NWA Television Title
– At Clash Of The Champions 14, The Z-Man defeated Bobby Eaton to retain the NWA Television Title
– At Clash Of The Champions 15, The Z-Man, Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin & Badstreet)
– On the August 24, 1991 episode of World Wide, The Z-Man, Dustin Rhodes & Big Josh defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin & Badstreet) to win the WCW Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On the September 7 episode, The Z-Man, Rhodes & Big Josh defeated The York Foundation (Richard Morton, Thomas Rich & Terrance Taylor) by DQ to retain the WCW Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On the October 5 episode of Power Hour, Rhodes & Big Josh defeated The York Foundation to retain the WCW Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– At SuperBrawl II, The Z-Man & Van Hammer defeated Richard Morton & Vinnie Vegas
– At Halloween Havoc 1992, The Z-Man, Shane Douglas & Johnny Gunn defeated Michael Hayes, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
– Zenk was released by WCW in May 1994 and returned to All Japan
– After a run with the short-lived AWF in 1996, Zenk retired from wrestling
– Zenk passed away of heart disease on December 9, 2017 at the age of 59