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Dean Malenko

Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960) better known by his ring name Dean Malenko, is a retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) working on its ECW brand as the senior road agent. World Wrestling Entertainment was previously known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

In WWF, he was a 2-time Light Heavyweight Champion. In WCW, he was a 1-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a 4-time Cruiserweight Champion and a 1-time World Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit. In ECW, he was a 2-time Television Champion and a 1-time Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit.

Career

Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko was a prominent wrestling figure in his own right. He has wrestled all over the world and has spent much time wrestling in Mexico and Japan. He wrestled with his brother Joe from 1988 to 1992, forming a tag team, until his brother retired. On January 24 1992, Malenko defeated "the Superstar" for the Suncoast Pro Wrestling (SPW) Southern title in Palmetto, Florida. Malenko defeated Jimmy Backlund for the ICWA Light Heavyweight title on March 12 1992, in Tampa.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994-1995)

The Shooter (1994)

He later joined Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994, as a heel participating in a tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Osamu Nishimura in the quarterfinals before he ended up losing to the eventual winner Shane Douglas in the semifinals. Douglas would later rename his ECW title, the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Title after throwing down the NWA World Title, and the promotion was also renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling. He became known as "The Shooter" Dean Malenko and was given a gimmick similar to an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter (due to his uncanny resemblance to Royce Gracie). On November 4, 1994, he defeated 2 Cold Scorpio to win his first ECW Television Championship.

Triple Threat / Feud with Eddie Guerrero (1995)

In the beginning of 1995, Malenko formed a faction called the Triple Threat with Chris Benoit and Shane Douglas. On February 25, 1995, Benoit and Malenko defeated Sabu and Tazmaniac for the ECW Tag Team Championship, making Malenko a double champion. A month later, Malenko dropped the Television title back to 2 Cold Scorpio. On April 8, he and Benoit lost the tag titles to The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock).

In the summer of 1995, Malenko feuded with TV Champion Eddie Guerrero, culminating in a match on July 21 where Malenko defeated Guerrero to win his second ECW Television Championship. Only a week later, Malenko dropped the title back to Guerrero. The two continued to battle over the Television Title and fought a series of matches that led to them being offered a WCW contract. His last ECW match was a two out of three falls match against Guerrero, which took place on August 26. The match ended in a draw as the last fall had both men's shoulders on the mat. This would be both men's last match in ECW and they both gave -- and received -- an emotional farewell goodbye to the fans.

World Championship Wrestling (1995-2000)

Cruiserweight Championship Feuds (1995-1996)

In September 1995, Malenko and Benoit joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he continued to be a heel. Malenko came to be known in WCW as "The Iceman" Dean Malenko because of his cold, calculating demeanor and was also given the nickname of "The Man of 1,000 Holds". On May 2, 1996, Malenko defeated Shinjiro Otani for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in Orlando. He held the title for two months, making successful defenses against the likes of Brad Armstrong, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Disco Inferno before losing the title to Mysterio on July 8 edition of Nitro. He defeated Mysterio Jr. for his second WCW Cruiserweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 1996.

After a successful title defense against Psychosis at World War 3 1996, Malenko lost the Cruiserweight title to Ultimate Dragon at Starrcade 1996 where Dragon's J-Crown Championship was also on the line. Malenko defeated Dragón on January 22, 1997 edition of Clash of the Champions to win his third WCW Cruiserweight Championship. He would hold the belt for nearly a month before losing it to Syxx at SuperBrawl VII.

United States Champion (1997)

At Uncensored 1997, Malenko defeated former ECW foe Eddie Guerrero to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. After Malenko became US Champion, he turned babyface and began feuding with Four Horsemen members. At Spring Stampede 1997, he defended the US title against Horsemen member Chris Benoit in a match that resulted in a no contest. After Benoit feud ended, he feuded with another Horsemen member Jeff Jarrett. After a successful title defense against Jarrett at Slamboree 1997, he lost the title to Jarrett on June 9, 1997 edition of Nitro after Eddie Guerrero interfered and turned heel. Malenko eventually aligned with Jarrett and the two faced Benoit and Steve McMichael in an elimination tag team match at Road Wild 1997, where Benoit and McMichael won. Shortly after, Jarrett and Malenko separated and had a match at Fall Brawl 1997: WarGames where Malenko was defeated.

Return to Cruiserweight Division (1998)

At World War 3 1997, Malenko participated in a 60-man, three-ring battle royal won by Scott Hall. At Starrcade 1997, he challenged Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title but ended up losing the match. In mid-1998, Malenko engaged in a heated feud with Chris Jericho. To better Malenko's claims, Jericho boasted that he was "The Man of 1,004 Holds" and the two had a final showdown at Uncensored 1998 for the Cruiserweight title. After a long match, Jericho came out on top, leaving the otherwise subdued Malenko in an unusual fit of frustration. Gene Okerlund then confronted Malenko post match, aggressively citing his many losses in the past several months and asking where he would go from this point. Malenko replied simply, "Home," and would not be seen on WCW TV for two months.

At Slamboree 1998, Jericho held a Battle Royal for a shot at his Cruiserweight Championship. The masked wrestler Ciclope surprisingly won. He then removed the mask, revealing himself to be Dean Malenko and defeating Jericho for his fourth and final WCW Cruiserweight Championship, thus becoming the first-ever wrestler to win the Cruiserweight title four times. Malenko was stripped of the title due to Malenko not earning the title shot as himself. At The Great American Bash 1998, Malenko and Jericho faced each other in a match for the vacant Cruiserweight title. Malenko lost by disqualification, making Jericho the champion. At Bash at the Beach 1998, Malenko interfered in Jericho's title defense against Rey Mysterio, Jr. allowing Mysterio to pin Jericho for the title. However, the title was returned to Jericho because of interference by Malenko. Malenko was fired but returned at Road Wild 1998 as the special guest referee during Jericho's defense against Juventud Guerrera. Juventud won the match and the title.

Four Horsemen / The Revolution (1999-2000)

In September 1998, Malenko became a part of the final incarnation of Ric Flair's Four Horsemen stable. They feuded with the nWo, particularly Eric Bischoff. Malenko and Benoit also battled the West Texas Rednecks (Curt Hennig and Barry Windham) during this period. At SuperBrawl IX, they lost to the Rednecks in the finals of a tag team tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship. However, at Uncensored 1999, they defeated the Rednecks in a lumberjack match to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later, they lost the titles to Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman.

After the Horsemen were finally disbanded in May 1999 due to Flair's abuse of power, Malenko joined up with Shane Douglas' faction, The Revolution, which was formed in July 1999. They feuded with David Flair, Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon. At Bash at the Beach 1999, Malenko challenged David for the US title but lost the match. They battled many teams throughout the year including West Texas Rednecks, First Family, Filthy Animals and Varsity Club. Malenko's last WCW match was a "catch-as-catch-can" match with Billy Kidman at Souled Out. Early on, Malenko instinctively left the ring to regroup and was disqualified under the match stipulations because his feet hit the arena floor.

World Wrestling Federation (2000-2001)

The Radicalz / Light Heavyweight Champion (2000)

After being granted his release from WCW the night after his last WCW match, Malenko signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and debuted on January 31 2000 edition of Raw Is War. Malenko first appeared in the crowd with the infamous Radicalz - himself, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Eddie Guerrero - who all made exits from WCW at the same time. While not having as much success in the WWF, Malenko was a force in the promotion's light heavyweight division. Along with Benoit, Saturn, and Guerrero, he had some measure of success as part of The Radicalz. On March 13 edition of Raw Is War, Malenko defeated Essa Rios for his first WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. In April 2000, he feuded with Scotty Too Hotty who was the new challenger for his Light Heavyweight title. He dropped the title to Scotty on April 17 edition of Raw Is War before he won his second WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty on April 27 edition of SmackDown!. At Backlash 2000, Malenko successfully defended the title against Scotty, thus ending the feud between the two.

Later that year, with Benoit having drifted away from the group, Malenko engaged in a feud with Guerrero and Saturn which stemmed from Guerrero's on-screen relationship with Chyna and a number of losses suffered when working as a tag team with Saturn. The feud led to a triple threat match at Judgment Day 2000 where Guerrero retained the WWF European Championship against both Malenko and Saturn. After a brief absence from TV, Malenko returned to reform The Radicalz with Benoit, Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. Around this time, Malenko briefly became known as Double Ho Seven, a parody of the fictional character, James Bond. The gimmick was born out of a match with The Godfather, who offered one of his female escorts to Malenko instead of wrestling him. Malenko gladly accepted his opponent's offer. As Double Ho Seven, Malenko competed for the affections of Lita and feuded with her tag team the Hardy Boyz. He even offered Lita a title match for his Light Heavyweight Championship, but under the condition that if she lost she would be obliged to go on a date with him. Lita accepted and almost caught Malenko by a few nearfalls throughout the match, but in the end lost the match by submitting to his signature Cloverleaf.

Reunion with Saturn / Retirement (2001)

Malenko's feud with Hardy Boyz and Lita continued in early 2001, culminating with Lita pinning him (with some assistance from Matt Hardy) in a match on February 19 2001 edition of Raw Is War. He also briefly feuded with Jacqueline and Ivory, who were disgusted by his lecherous ways. A title feud with Crash Holly would begin after Crash interfered in a two-on-one intergender handicap match between Malenko, and both Jacqueline and Ivory, costing him the match. After holding the Light Heavyweight Championship for nearly twelve months, Malenko lost the title to Crash on March 18 edition of Sunday Night HEAT. After both Benoit and Guerrero drifted away from the Radicalz, Malenko teamed with Saturn for a few weeks before quietly disappearing off television as the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline began in summer 2001.

Retirement and WWE appearances

Malenko's final wrestling match took place at 4th Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in August 2001. In his final match, Malenko teamed with longtime friend Perry Saturn and defeated Raven and Justin Credible. Malenko appeared in the ring along with other legendary wrestlers during a segment of the WWE Homecoming edition of Raw on October 3, 2005. His friend Eddie Guerrero died on November 13 2005 and Malenko made a special appearance on the November 14 edition of Raw alongside Chris Benoit, speaking about Eddie's death and talking about the memories they had shared together. The following Friday on SmackDown!, Malenko once again appeared after a match between Chris Benoit and Triple H, and the three embraced. After the 2006 Royal Rumble, he was seen congratulating Rey Mysterio on his Rumble victory. At Vengeance 2007, he appeared in a backstage segment watching Chavo Guerrero. On the Chris Benoit memorial episode of Monday Night Raw, he talked about the life of Chris Benoit. He was very sad since two of his close friends, Eddie and Benoit were both dead, but said he was happy that they were together again. Dean then made an appearance on the March 31 2008 edition of Raw to join The Four Horsemen and other WWE superstars in a farewell tribute to Ric Flair. Malenko was seen on the August 19th edition of ECW on SciFi after a brawl erupted between Finlay and Mike Knox, when Malenko along with referees broke the brawl up.

In wrestling

Finishing and signature moves

Cloverleaf
Sitout double underhook powerbomb, often immediately transitioned into the Cloverleaf

Brainbuster
Figure four leglock
Gutbuster, sometimes from the second rope
Leg lariat
Spinning wheel kick
Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker

Managers

Debra

Nicknames

The Man of 1,000 Holds
The Shooter
The Iceman
Double Ho Seven

Personal life

On March 31, 1996, Dean married Julie Hittinger. They have two children, daughter Larissa (December 25 1997), and son Preston Dean (April 2002). Larrisa was named after Dean's father, whose real name was Larry Simon.