RIP "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:38 pm
Reporting any death sucks, but thiis one sucks a little more for me. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff was one of my favorite wrestlers when I was really young. Even at that age, I always dug the heels. I liked Hogan well enough, but the heels were just that much cooler. I mean, you'd have to be pretty cool to name yourself ""Mr. Wonderful".We also had the same hair color, and sometimes when you're 6, that's all it takes (at one point NY Giant Phil McConkey was my favorite football player because his name sounded like donkey, so I wasn't really indiscriminate back then). My first wrestling toy I remember owning was his thumb wrestler figure. Orndorff passed away today at the age of 71. A WWE Hall of Famer in 2005, Orndorff main evented the first WrestleMania alongside Roddy Piper as they faced off against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.
A 12th round pick as a running back by the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, Orndorff's career would see him spend time in many companies including the NWA, Georgia Championship, the WWF, WCW, and UWF.
Back then we didn't have much else to watch besides the WWF as they dominated the northeast. One day Mr. Wonderful was gone I didn't know why, we didn't have the internet and I was too young to really pay attention to the wrestling magazines. It wasn't until years later that I found out he went to WCW after a two year retirement, and I was pretty happy to see he was still around even if I didn't see much of his career after 1987.
There were few moves back then more devastating than his pile driver. "Goodnight, Irene," as Gorilla Monsoon would say.
Sadly, we're lsoing too many favorites from our childhoods. The price of getting old, I suppose.
Rest in peace, Mr. Wonderful.
A 12th round pick as a running back by the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, Orndorff's career would see him spend time in many companies including the NWA, Georgia Championship, the WWF, WCW, and UWF.
Back then we didn't have much else to watch besides the WWF as they dominated the northeast. One day Mr. Wonderful was gone I didn't know why, we didn't have the internet and I was too young to really pay attention to the wrestling magazines. It wasn't until years later that I found out he went to WCW after a two year retirement, and I was pretty happy to see he was still around even if I didn't see much of his career after 1987.
There were few moves back then more devastating than his pile driver. "Goodnight, Irene," as Gorilla Monsoon would say.
Sadly, we're lsoing too many favorites from our childhoods. The price of getting old, I suppose.
Rest in peace, Mr. Wonderful.