Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018),Born in 1946 per search of FamilyTreeNow.com better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
In the 1970s, Peruzović was Bepo Mongol of the Mongols tag team with Geeto Mongol, and one of the masked Executioners. He later transitioned to singles competition as Volkoff, a Russian Soviet heel, and feuded with Bruno Sammartino over the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. In the 1980s, he tag teamed with the Iron Sheik and won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event.
In 1990, after having been wrestling with Boris Zhukov in the Bolsheviks, 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.
Early life Peruzović grew up in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which was then part of Yugoslavia, to ethnic Croat parents Ivan and Dragica Peruzović (nee Tomašević). His maternal grandfather Ante Tomašević, originally from Sinj, was world champion in the Greco-Roman wrestling style at the turn of the 20th century. According to Freddie Blassie's autobiography, Peruzović's family also had Russian and Italian ancestry.
Peruzović would claim in later life that "Volkoff" () was a surname from his mother's lineage. He would also claim that "Nikolai" was his middle name, which was false, his actual middle name was Hrvoje.
He was on the Yugoslavian weightlifting team until 1967, when he emigrated to Canada after a weightlifting tournament in Vienna, Austria. He received training in Calgary from Stu Hart, followed by his arrival in the United States in 1970. A fellow Croatian-native played the first Soviet Volkoff character in American pro-wrestling. Steve Gobb (originally Gobrokovich) wrestled as USSR's Nicoli [sic] Volkoff in the 1960s before the character was picked up by Peruzović.
Professional wrestling career Early career (1967–1970) While trying his luck as a wrestler in Calgary, Alberta, in 1967, he met wrestler Newton Tattrie, who was wrestling for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. During his 1967–1968 tour, Tattrie took Peruzović under his wing as a protégé and trained the non-English speaking, 315-pound man to become a professional wrestler and tag team partner. When Tattrie left the territory in 1968 for the US, Peruzović left with him, working in various territories for the National Wrestling Alliance including NWA Detroit, the International Wrestling Association and the National Wrestling Federation where they won tag gold.
World Wide Wrestling Federation- Bepo Mongol (1970–1971)
In 1970 he began wrestling in Vince McMahon Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as WWE). Wrestling as Bepo Mongol, managed by "Captain" Lou Albano and partnered with Newton Tattrie (as Geeto Mongol) as the Mongols billed from Mongolia. They captured the WWF International Tag Team Championship from Tony Marino and Victor Rivera on June 15, 1970. After losing the title to Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler in a match over a year later that unified the WWWF International and WWWF World Tag Team Championship, Peruzović left the WWWF and went on to singles competition under the name "Nikolai Volkoff".
Return to the WWWF (1974–1980) In 1974, Volkoff returned to the company and appeared in a memorable match at a sold out Madison Square Garden and wrestled one of the sport's most famous champions, Bruno Sammartino. During this time, he was billed from Mongolia. In 1976, he was masked as an Executioner as he became the third member along with Killer Kowalski and Big John Studd. They captured the World Tag Team Championship, but it was vacated due to a third member interfering. Later he reverted to the Volkoff name. During this time in the WWWF, Volkoff was announced as being from Mongolia. He had a very successful feud with Bruno Sammartino, which started when Volkoff attacked him during an interview segment. They sold-out arenas throughout the Northeast. During this tenure, he began crushing fresh apples with one hand as a sign of what he would do to his opponents. He later had a feud with Bob Backlund during Backlund's tenure as champion.
American Wrestling Association; Mid-South; and Japan (1972–1984, 1989) Late in 1974, Volkoff moved to the AWA where he wrestled under the name Boris Breznikoff, managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, he used the same gimmick with a different ring name. From 1977 to 1983 he wrestled in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 1983, Volkoff wrestled for "Cowboy" Bill Watts in the Mid-South region. On October 29, 1989, he returned to AWA for a one night appearance as he lost to Ken Patera.
Second return to the WWF (1984–1990, 1992) Teaming with the Iron Sheik (1984–1987)
In July 1984, Volkoff returned to the renamed WWF defeating S. D. Jones on Georgia Championship Wrestling and teamed with the Iron Sheik with the pair being managed by the "Hollywood fashion plate" "Classy" Freddie Blassie. It was at this point that Volkoff began to sing the national anthem of the Soviet Union before every match after which the Sheik would grab the microphone and proclaim "Iran number one, Russia number one" before exaggeratedly spitting after saying "USA" (or "USA and Canada" when in or broadcast in Canada), in order to gain even more heat for being foreign heels. The new team of Volkoff and the Iron Sheik captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from the U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) at the first WrestleMania, on March 31, 1985, after the Sheik had knocked out Windham with Fred Blassie's cane. After losing the title back to Rotundo and Windham three months later, Volkoff began to wrestle more in singles competition. He faced Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions in 1985 and 1986 (including a flag match on Saturday Night's Main Event II at the Brendan Byrne Arena).
Volkoff also feuded with former 82nd Airborne paratrooper Corporal Kirchner throughout 1985 and 1986, defeating him in a "peace match" on Saturday Night's Main Event IV. Their feud ended when Kirchner used Blassie's cane to defeat Volkoff at WrestleMania 2 in another flag match during the Chicago portion of the event. In the fall of 1986, Volkoff's manager "Classy" Freddy Blassie sold half interest in his stable of superstars to the "Doctor of Style", Slick (kayfabe), giving Slick co-managerial rights to Volkoff. Blassie also shared the contracts of the Iron Sheik and Hercules. This was a storyline aimed at reducing the aging Blassie's active role, and the "Hollywood fashion plate" eventually retired in the fall of 1986 at the age of 68. Sheik and Volkoff feuded with WWF newcomer Jim Duggan for the majority of 1987, including Duggan running to the ring and stopping the Russian's singing before their match against the Killer Bees at WrestleMania III (Sheik and Volkoff won by disqualification when Duggan entered the ring while chasing Volkoff and then hitting the Sheik with his 2x4 while he had the camel clutch on "Jumping" Jim Brunzell).
The Bolsheviks (1987–1990)
In late 1987, Volkoff was teamed with Boris Zhukov, another purported Russian (played by American James Harrell), to form the Bolsheviks. They feuded with WWF newcomers the Powers of Pain, losing to them at the inaugural SummerSlam PPV in 1988. As they lost the public eye due to many losses, they eventually lost their manager Slick and were used as a comic relief team losing many matches to the Bushwhackers. The Bolsheviks never held any titles together, and are perhaps best remembered for being defeated in 19 seconds by the Hart Foundation at WrestleMania VI. Eventually, by 1990, the Bolsheviks split up. Volkoff publicly ended the partnership prior to a match where he confronted Zhukhov and then started singing "The Star-Spangled Banner", drawing loud cheers from the audience and turning babyface in the process.
Babyface turn (1990; 1992) A short time after the Bolsheviks split, Volkoff became a face for the first time in his career. His gimmick was now that of a recent defector, he became very pro-west which led to a feud with Sgt. Slaughter who had an Iraqi sympathizer role and teamed with the former Iron Sheik, who had recently begun an Iraqi gimmick under the name Colonel Mustafa. After Volkoff's team defeated Slaughter's team at the 1990 Survivor Series (Tito Santana was the sole survivor), Volkoff left the WWF at the end of 1990.
He made a brief return to compete in the 1992 Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by Repo Man, as well as he lost to Hercules in a house show match on January 29 in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Various promotions (1991–1994) After leaving WWF, Volkoff began competing in the independent circuit. On May 3, 1991, he defeated his former Bolshevik partner Boris Zhukov for Trans World Wrestling Federation in Newington, Connecticut. On August 8, 1992, he went to Puerto Rico to wrestled for World Wrestling Council WWC 19th Anniversario 1992 losing to the Patriot. On April 4, 1993, he wrestled his former partner the Iron Sheik to a double count out at Wrestling in the USA event in Livingston, New Jersey.
Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992–1993) In 1992 he went to Eastern Championship Wrestling in Philadelphia where he feuded with Vladimir Markoff. On October 2, he lost to ECW Champion Don Muraco. He then returned to ECW on October 16, 1993, as he lost to Jimmy Snuka.
Third return to the WWF (1993; 1994–1995) One night appearance (1993)
He returned as a babyface to pin Barry Horowitz at a WWF Superstars/All-American Wrestling taping on July 6, 1993, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The Million Dollar Corporation; departure (1994–1995)
On February 1, 1994, Volkoff began a full-time return to the WWF, making a ringside appearance at a Superstars taping in White Plains, New York during a match between Diesel and Mike Moraldo. For the next two months, Volkoff was shown in the crowd, until eventually he became a sympathetic heel by playing the whipping-boy of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. Volkoff had kayfabe fallen on hard times and was forced to take a job working for DiBiase and his new Corporation. As low man in the group he was forced to wrestle matches no one else wanted to or sent out to "soften up" opponents for other members of the stable as the sacrificial lamb of the group. The disrespect even extended to renaming him "Nickel & Dime" Volkoff and DiBiase forcing him to place a ¢ on his trunks where the Russian sickle once was along with a sign on his ring attire that read "Property of the Million Dollar Man". The final WWF match for Volkoff was on December 30, 1994, when he defeated jobber Bob Starr in a house show. Volkoff's final appearance was at the WWF's final show at the Boston Garden on May 13, 1995. During a match between Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka, Volkoff made an appearance to chase Tatanka's manager Ted Dibiase away. Following this last run in the WWF, Volkoff entered semi-retirement.
Later career (1995–2018)