Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-American professional wrestler from Yugoslavia, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation where he usually played a Soviet heel.
| Nikolai Volkoff | |
|---|---|
Volkoff at WrestleMania 31 Axxess, 2015 | |
| Birth name | Josip Hrvoje Peruzović |
| Born | October 14, 1947 Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Died | July 29, 2018 (aged 70) Glen Arm, Maryland, U.S. |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nikolai Volkoff Bepo Mongol Boris Breznikoff Executioner #3 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Billed weight | 313 lb (142 kg) |
| Billed from | Moscow, Russia Soviet Union Mongolia (as Bepo Mongol) |
| Trained by | Stu Hart Newton Tattrie |
| Debut | 1967 |
In the 1970s, Peruzović was Bepo of the Mongols tag team, one of the masked Executioners and feuded with Bruno Sammartino over the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship as Volkoff. In the 1980s, he tag teamed with the Iron Sheik and won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event, and then with Boris Zhukov as The Bolsheviks.
In 1990, Volkoff turned face and defected to America, briefly feuding with Zhukov and newly-heel Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter. In 1994, after a hiatus, he returned as a destitute and desperate character, exploited by Ted DiBiase as the first member of his Million Dollar Corporation. He continued to wrestle in various promotions until his death in 2018.