John Nord
Encyclopedia
John Nord is a retired American
professional wrestler
. He lives in Bozeman, Montana
.
in the American Wrestling Association
. He frequently teamed with Bruiser Brody
while there. The two faced Greg Gagne
and Jimmy Snuka
as part of a triple main event at WrestleRock '86.
Nord then went to World Class Championship Wrestling
under manager Gary Hart
where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich
for the World Class Title. He challenged Von Erich for the WCCW title at the 3rd Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium in 1987.
In 1989, he returned to the AWA under the name "Yukon John". A lumberjack gimmick where he would come to the ring with an ax, dressed in blue jeans, flannel shirt, animal skin hat, and boots. He mainly competed in singles competition until forming a tag team in 1990 with Scott Norton
, calling themselves the ""Yukon Lumberjacks". They feuded briefly with the Texas Hangmen. When the AWA stopped promoting, he moved to Pacific Northwest Wrestling
.
In 1991, Nord went to the WWF
as The Viking. He soon changed his name to The Berzerker and was managed by Mr. Fuji
and he feuded with Davey Boy Smith
and Jimmy Snuka. His most preferred method of winning matches was by throwing his opponents out of the ring and getting a "count out" victory, all the while holding his wrist, licking his hand, shouting "Huss! Huss!" à la Bruiser Brody, and intentionally falling flat on his back. He wrestled as part of a 4-man team in an elimination match at the 1991 Survivor Series
pay-per-view event. He was the last man eliminated for his team. He then feuded with The Undertaker, at one point attempting to stab him with his sword
. In 1992 he won a 40-man Battle Royal
, aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling
, but left the WWF the following year.
He went to All Japan Pro Wrestling
in 1994 and stayed until 1997 when he showed up in World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) with bleach blond hair under his real name, John Nord. He wrestled mainly on WCW Saturday Night
and started a long winning streak that culminated with a match against another streak holder, Bill Goldberg
, on July 4, 1998. Nord lost the match, had a short-lived team with Barry Darsow
, and was soon gone from WCW.
He retired from wrestling and went to work at his brother's auto dealership, Nord East Motors in Hilltop, MN.
He has a son, Joe.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
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...
. He lives in Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
.
Career
John Nord started wrestling in late 1984 as "The Barbarian" for Mid-South Wrestling under manager Skandor Akbar. In 1985 and 1986 he changed his ring name to Nord the Barbarian and wrestled in singles and tag team competition under manager Adnan El KasseyAdnan Al-Kaissie
Adnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie , better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, is a former iraqi professional wrestler and a manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissy, Billy White Wolf, or General Adnan...
in the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
. He frequently teamed with Bruiser Brody
Frank Goodish
Frank Donald Goodish was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the name Bruiser Brody. Goodish was an All-State football and basketball player at Warren High School, Michigan, and played football at West Texas A&M University...
while there. The two faced Greg Gagne
Greg Gagne (wrestler)
Gregory Alan "Greg" Gagne is a former professional wrestler and the son of Verne Gagne. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he achieved his biggest success as one half of the tag team The High Flyers with Jim Brunzell...
and Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
as part of a triple main event at WrestleRock '86.
Nord then went to World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
under manager Gary Hart
Gary Hart (wrestler)
Gary Richard Williams, was a former professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart...
where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich
Kevin Von Erich
Kevin Ross Adkisson is a retired professional wrestler under the ring name Kevin Von Erich of the Von Erich Family. He is the last surviving son of wrestler Fritz Von Erich and had four brothers that wrestled, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris, as well as an older brother, Jack, Jr., who died in...
for the World Class Title. He challenged Von Erich for the WCCW title at the 3rd Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium in 1987.
In 1989, he returned to the AWA under the name "Yukon John". A lumberjack gimmick where he would come to the ring with an ax, dressed in blue jeans, flannel shirt, animal skin hat, and boots. He mainly competed in singles competition until forming a tag team in 1990 with Scott Norton
Scott Norton
Scott Michael Norton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling.-Before wrestling:...
, calling themselves the ""Yukon Lumberjacks". They feuded briefly with the Texas Hangmen. When the AWA stopped promoting, he moved to Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
.
In 1991, Nord went to the WWF
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
as The Viking. He soon changed his name to The Berzerker and was managed by Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
and he feuded with Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
and Jimmy Snuka. His most preferred method of winning matches was by throwing his opponents out of the ring and getting a "count out" victory, all the while holding his wrist, licking his hand, shouting "Huss! Huss!" à la Bruiser Brody, and intentionally falling flat on his back. He wrestled as part of a 4-man team in an elimination match at the 1991 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1991)
Survivor Series was the fifth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 1991 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan...
pay-per-view event. He was the last man eliminated for his team. He then feuded with The Undertaker, at one point attempting to stab him with his sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
. In 1992 he won a 40-man Battle Royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling
WWF Prime Time Wrestling
WWF Prime Time Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired on the USA Network from 1985-1993. A precursor to Monday Night Raw, Prime Time Wrestling was a two-hour long, weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling...
, but left the WWF the following year.
He went to 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 :...
in 1994 and stayed until 1997 when he showed up in World Championship Wrestling
World 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) with bleach blond hair under his real name, John Nord. He wrestled mainly on WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
and started a long winning streak that culminated with a match against another streak holder, Bill Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
, on July 4, 1998. Nord lost the match, had a short-lived team with Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
, and was soon gone from WCW.
He retired from wrestling and went to work at his brother's auto dealership, Nord East Motors in Hilltop, MN.
He has a son, Joe.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Falling powerslam
- Inverted suplex slam
- Seated chinlock
- Signature moves
- Big boot, sometimes to an opponent tied up in the ropes
- Leg dropLeg dropA leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area...
- Throwing the opponent over the top rope for a countout
- ManagerManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
s - Adnan El KasseyAdnan Al-KaissieAdnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie , better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, is a former iraqi professional wrestler and a manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissy, Billy White Wolf, or General Adnan...
- Mr. FujiHarry FujiwaraHarry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
- Oliver HumperdinkOliver HumperdinkJohn Sutton , better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:...
- Skandor Akbar
- Gary HartGary Hart (wrestler)Gary Richard Williams, was a former professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart...
Championships and accomplishments
- 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 Rookie of the Year (1985)
- PWI ranked him # 422 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003