Joe Malenko
Encyclopedia
Joe Simon is an American former professional wrestler
best known under the ring name
Joe Malenko. Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko
was a prominent wrestling figure in his own right. Dean Malenko
is his brother.
in May 1985 for 13 days. One of his most well known matches in the UWF was his tag match with Super Tiger
where they faced the team of Yoshiaki Fujiwara
and Osamu Kido.
Malenko would then team up with his brother, Dean, in All Japan Pro Wrestling
to form "The Malenko Brothers". Malenko would tour regularly with All Japan from February 1988 until May 1992. Malenko had two reigns as AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship
. From late 1989 to early 1990, he teamed with Kenta Kobashi
against the Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas
) for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
.> Joe's most memorable matches came in his match versus his brother, Dean and when they (the Malenko Brothers) faced The British Bruisers
(Johnny Smith and Dynamite Kid
) during Giant Baba's 30th Wrestling
Anniversary on September 30, 1990. Joe and Dean's only chance for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championships was against the Can-Am Express on March 4, 1992 in Tokyo
, Japan
.
(WCW) in 1992, during the Clash of the Champions XIX. He teamed with his brother to take on the team of Nikita Koloff
and Ricky Steamboat
in the first of round of a tournament held for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. "The Malenko Brothers" came up short. Next Joe and Dean travelled to Puerto Rico
to take part in the World Wrestling Council
's 19th Anniversary show. They were defeated Steve Doll
and Rex King, who at the time held the WWC World Tag Team Championship
.
Malenko made his first appearance in Extreme Championship Wrestling
on November 18, 1994. He once again teamed up with his brother, Dean, to take on the team of Sabu and the Tazmanic
, but lost. Dean continued to work ECW, but Joe mainly worked for ECW when they toured in Florida
. He worked ECW's first run of Florida shows in 1995 against Stevie Richards
and Osamu Nishimura
, wrestling to a draw against both. When ECW returned to Florida in May, Malenko was once again featured on the opening matches of the card. On May 5, 1995. Malenko defeated local Florida indy wrestler, and acquaintance from his father's wrestling school, Soulman Alex G
. The next night in Tampa, Malenko defeated Miguel San Juan.
On the May 11, 1998 edition of WCW Monday Nitro
, Joe Malenko came out and confronted Chris Jericho
, who had been in a feud with Dean for weeks. However, the confrontation led to an attack by Jericho in Joe Malenko's only appearance on Nitro.
Malenko is retired from wrestling and is a registered pharmacist in Florida.
On October 25, 2010, it was announced that Malenko would be participating in All Japan Pro Wrestling's World's Strongest Tag Team League in November and December 2010 with partner Osamu Nishimura
. The duo won twice and drew once in their eight matches in the tournament, finishing eighth out of nine in the final standings.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
best known under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Joe Malenko. Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon better known by his ring name Boris Malenko, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled for the American Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Alliance in the 1960s and 1970s...
was a prominent wrestling figure in his own right. Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
is his brother.
Japan
Malenko is most known for his stints wrestling in Japan. Malenko began in the Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...
in May 1985 for 13 days. One of his most well known matches in the UWF was his tag match with Super Tiger
Satoru Sayama
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He's wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Super Tiger, Tiger King, Tiger Mask and The Mask of Tiger...
where they faced the team of Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
is a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
and Osamu Kido.
Malenko would then team up with his brother, Dean, in All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
to form "The Malenko Brothers". Malenko would tour regularly with All Japan from February 1988 until May 1992. Malenko had two reigns as AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship
AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The All Japan Pro Wrestling World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight The All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling...
. From late 1989 to early 1990, he teamed with Kenta Kobashi
Kenta Kobashi
Not to be confused with his protégé Kenta Kobayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently under contract to Pro Wrestling Noah. He worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling from 1988–2000, where he became one of the promotion's top stars....
against the Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas
Doug Furnas
Doug Furnas is a former American professional wrestler and powerlifter. Furnas briefly worked for World Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s...
) for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
The All Japan Pro Wrestling All Asia Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling . It was created on November 16, 1955 in the Japan Wrestling Association when King Kong Czaya & Tiger Jokinder defeated JWA founder Rikidōzan &...
.> Joe's most memorable matches came in his match versus his brother, Dean and when they (the Malenko Brothers) faced The British Bruisers
The British Bruisers
The British Bruisers were a professional wrestling tag team that competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling. The team consisted of The Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith...
(Johnny Smith and Dynamite Kid
Dynamite Kid
Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
) during Giant Baba's 30th Wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
Anniversary on September 30, 1990. Joe and Dean's only chance for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championships was against the Can-Am Express on March 4, 1992 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
North America
Malenko made an appearance in World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) in 1992, during the Clash of the Champions XIX. He teamed with his brother to take on the team of Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...
and Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
in the first of round of a tournament held for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. "The Malenko Brothers" came up short. Next Joe and Dean travelled to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to take part in the World Wrestling Council
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
's 19th Anniversary show. They were defeated Steve Doll
Steve Doll
Steve Doll was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.-Professional wrestling career:...
and Rex King, who at the time held the WWC World Tag Team Championship
WWC World Tag Team Championship
The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:-External links:***...
.
Malenko made his first appearance in Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
on November 18, 1994. He once again teamed up with his brother, Dean, to take on the team of Sabu and the Tazmanic
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
, but lost. Dean continued to work ECW, but Joe mainly worked for ECW when they toured in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He worked ECW's first run of Florida shows in 1995 against Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
and Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling and MUGA World Pro Wrestling.-Early years :...
, wrestling to a draw against both. When ECW returned to Florida in May, Malenko was once again featured on the opening matches of the card. On May 5, 1995. Malenko defeated local Florida indy wrestler, and acquaintance from his father's wrestling school, Soulman Alex G
Soulman Alex G
Alex Gibson is a professional wrestler better known as "Soulman" Alex G. He is one of the 2 trainers who trained former WWE United States champion Montel Vontavious Porter and Ryan O'Riley.-Amateur career:...
. The next night in Tampa, Malenko defeated Miguel San Juan.
On the May 11, 1998 edition of WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
, Joe Malenko came out and confronted Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, who had been in a feud with Dean for weeks. However, the confrontation led to an attack by Jericho in Joe Malenko's only appearance on Nitro.
Malenko is retired from wrestling and is a registered pharmacist in Florida.
On October 25, 2010, it was announced that Malenko would be participating in All Japan Pro Wrestling's World's Strongest Tag Team League in November and December 2010 with partner Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling and MUGA World Pro Wrestling.-Early years :...
. The duo won twice and drew once in their eight matches in the tournament, finishing eighth out of nine in the final standings.
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro WrestlingAll Japan Pro Wrestlingis a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
- AJPW World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipAJPW World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe All Japan Pro Wrestling World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight The All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling...
(2 times)
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #101 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
in 1993 - PWI ranked him #276 of the Top 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI Years in 2003