Buck Zumhofe
| Buck Zumhofe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Eugene Otto Zumhofe |
| Born |
March 21, 1951 Ham Lake, Minnesota, United States |
| Residence | Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, Minnesota |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Buck Zumhofe |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne[1] |
| Debut | 1972 |
| Retired | 2014 |
Eugene Otto Zumhofe[2] (born March 21, 1951) is an American former professional wrestler better known as Buck "Rock n' Roll" Zumhofe,[3] wrestling's self-proclaimed original rock and roller. In 2014, Zumhofe was sentenced to 25 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct.
Training
Zumhofe was trained along with Ricky Steamboat, Jan Nelson, Scott Irwin and Koshrow Vaziri (aka The Iron Sheik).
Professional wrestling career
Always accompanied by his trademark boombox,[1] Zumhofe would go on to become one of the top light heavyweight competitors in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the early and mid 1980s. He would feud primarily with "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal and Bobby Heenan over the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship during that time.
He also wrestled in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) where he teamed with Iceman King Parsons as the Rock 'n' Soul Connection. The team was successful, holding the WCCW American Tag Team titles twice. The team rose to main event status on the World Class weekly tour loop as the Von Erichs (the established main event talents) would only wrestle in the main cities. Zumhofe had a reasonably successful run as a singles wrestler, making it all the way to the final of the TV title tournament, losing in the final to Rip Oliver in March 1985. Zumhofe left WCCW in October 1985 after a near two-year stay.
Returning to the AWA in 1985, he claimed his second AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Steve Regal, but was forced to vacate the title in July 1986 after he was sent to prison following his conviction for sexual misconduct.[4] In 1988, he wrestled for Windy City Wrestling and Pro Wrestling America. Zumhofe returned to the AWA in 1989 and eventually won the AWA World Light Heavyweight title for the third time in 1990 on ESPN television, defeating Jonnie Stewart. He feuded with Stewart over the title until the promotion closed in 1991.
Zumhofe also made sporadic appearances for the World Wrestling Federation in preliminary matches during the 80s and 90s. He was the first wrestler to be put in a body bag by The Undertaker and was also the wrestler that Triple H faced in his WWF debut.[1] During Zumhofe's career he also wrestled for Roy Shire's promotion in San Francisco, in Vancouver for Al Tomko, in Portland for Don Owen & in Japan for Giant Baba.
In 2000, Zumhofe opened the Rock & Roll Wrestling promotion, which runs shows in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota.[2]
Legal issues
Zumhofe was jailed in July 1986 when he was found guilty of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Zumhofe served 36 months in prison after being convicted of fourth degree sexual conduct with a minor on January 23, 1989.[5]
Zumhofe was again arrested on May 27, 2013, charged with twelve felony counts of criminal sexual misconduct.[6] Zumhofe is alleged to have sexually abused his daughter between June 1999 and June 2011.[7] He was convicted on all twelve counts on March 5, 2014.[8] Following the verdict, Zumhofe attempted to flee from the court house, but was quickly tackled by court officers and charged with "escape from custody".[9] On May 6, 2014, he received a total of 25 years in prison on two first-degree and two third-degree counts of criminal sexual conduct. The judge ordered the sentences on the four counts to be served consecutively. His escape from custody charges were eventually sentenced to run concurrently with his 2014 criminal sexual conduct sentence.
In wrestling
- Nicknames
- "Rock and Roll"
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- Midwest Pro Wrestling
- MPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Buck Zumhofe, Jr.[10]
- Nu-Age Wrestling
- NAW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- World Class Championship Wrestling
References
- 1 2 3 Ward, Marshall (November 26, 2011). "Buck Zumhofe still rolling -- and rocking". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- 1 2 Oliver, Greg (May 28, 2013). "Buck Zumhofe arrested for molesting his daughter". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ↑ "About Us". rocknrollwrestling.com. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ↑ Harris, Keith. "Former AWA wrestler Buck "Rock N Roll" Zumhofe charged with sexually abusing his daughter", SB Nation, 30 May 2013. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.
- ↑ The Dreamin' Demon "Former AWA Wrestler Accused Of Having Decade Long Sexual Relationship With Daughter", 13 June 2013. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.
- ↑ Kandiyohi County Jail In Custody "Custody", Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office, 14 June 2013. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.
- ↑ Vanderwerf, Linda. "Cyrus man faces a dozen charges of criminal sexual conduct, West Central Tribune, 28 May 2013. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.
- ↑ Buck Zumhofe found guilty on 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a family member, ProWrestling.net, 5 March 2014. Retrieved on 6 March 2014.
- ↑ New charge against Buck Zumhofe after he attempts to flee, Pro Wrestling Insider, 6 March 2014. Retrieved on 7 March 2014.
- 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.