The Russian heel gimmick in pro wrestling has always been a huge draw and heat magnet. Former WWWF champion Ivan Koloff was a groundbreaking legend who perfected this persona and inspired many others.
Outside the ring, though, his peers and fans hail a loving and kind figure and mentor to many; he remains beloved in the business.
Ivan Koloff, real name Oreal Donald Perras, was born in Montreal, Québec, Canada in 1942. He was raised on a dairy farm in rural Ontario along with his six brothers and three sisters.
The pro wrestling bug bit him at a young age. When he was 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth’s wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario.
His in-ring debut was around 1963; Perras debuted as an Irish heel character named Red McNulty, billed from Dublin, Ireland, and wrestled with an eyepatch. He campaigned part-time until 1966, when it became a full-time job.
Ivan Koloff – The Emergence of The Russian Bear
In 1967, Perras became “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character. The name was taken from Dan Kolov, a Bulgarian wrestler who had competed in Canada in the 1930s.
Ivan debuted with the International Wrestling Association in Montreal, Québec. Koloff, a weightlifter, was wrestling at 310 pounds at that point.
His first big push was when he defeated Johnny Rougeau for the IWA International Heavyweight Championship. Koloff debuted in the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) in late 1969 and was managed by “Captain” Lou Albano.
There, he had a rivalry with then-WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. On January 18th, 1971, history was made when Koloff defeated Sammartino for his belt in Madison Square Garden, ending Bruno’s over seven-year streak. Koloff held the title for 21 days and lost it to Pedro Morales.
Koloff would also challenge Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in the first-ever steel cage match at Madison Square Garden in a rematch loss on December 15th, 1975.
He would later find success in the National Wrestling Alliance and Jim Crockett Promotions, holding multiple singles titles and dominating the tag team division.
He held a boatload of titles including the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/Jim Crockett Promotions NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (3 times), NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship with Don Kernodle, NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times), NWA Television Championship (3 times), NWA United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Krusher Khruschev and Dick Murdoch, NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev (Baron von Raschke with Krusher injured) and The Barbarian and The Warlord, NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid Atlantic version) (5 times) – with Nikita Koloff, Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev, Ray Stevens, Don Kernodle, and Manny Fernandez and the NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament (1986) with Krusher Khruschev.
After years of struggles with alcohol and drugs, in 1995, Koloff became a born-again Christian. As he conquered his personal battles outside the ring, he became an ordained minister and traveled to churches, sharing his testimony, hoping he could inspire people.
He wrote a book titled “Is That Wrestling Fake?” In 2007, he wrote another book in 2014 called Life in the Trenches. He lived in North Carolina until his death in 2017 due to liver cancer.
According to Cagematch, his final match was a loss against Bob Armstrong for the Superstars of Wrestling Pay-Per-View at the Rome Civic Center in Rome, Georgia, USA, on 11/16/13.
Prior to the WWE announcing his induction into their 2025 Hall of Fame, he was also inducted into the Southern Championship Wrestling SCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1999), the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Frank Gotch Award (2009), the Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2013), and last year, the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
On March 29th, 2025, The North Carolina Wrestling Association had the 13th Annual Ivan Koloff Memorial Tag Team Tournament at the Clayton Fitness in Clayton, North Carolina.
Pro Wrestling legends Ricky Morton, C.W. Anderson, Brock Anderson, The Barbarian, The Mountie, Susan Tex Green, Fred Taylor, and many more were in attendance.
WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Morton and his son, former NWA Champion Kerry Morton, won the 2025 Ivan Koloff Tag Team Tournament when they defeated The Andersons- Brock Anderson and CW Anderson.
Koloff’s influence is everywhere. The following pro wrestling Russian personas happen to be non-Russian: Alexis Smirnoff, Nikita Koloff, Krusher Khruschev, Boris Zhukov, Russian Assassins (David “Angel of Death” Sheldon and Jack Victory), Vladimir Kozlov, Mighty Igor, Soldat Ustinov, CJ Perry, Vladimir Petrov, Rusev, Colonel Ninotchka and Major Tanya of GLOW, Russian Manimal Volkoff on the indies, a slew of Kalmikoffs- Ivan, Karol, Nikita and Igor, and WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff accompanied by his indie in-ring and shoot manager and occasional tag partner Nikita Breznikov.
One could argue that Ivan Koloff’s contributions and sacrifices have helped many Russian-born wrestlers and athletes by making them culturally acceptable.
Some pro wrestlers who are from Russia are Ilja Dragunov (WWE), Masha Slamovich (TNA), and Anna Bogomazova (WWE), Salman Alkhazurovich Hashimikov (NJPW), Mikhail Ivanov (Independent), Volk Han, Ivan Markov (IWF), Natalia Markova (NWA), and the Real Drago (NWA).
WWE officially announced that Ivan would be honored as part of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2025 induction ceremony in Las Vegas on April 18th, 2025.
Pro Wrestler Furman Jeffords, aka Big Hoss, posted on his Facebook,
“Congratulations to Ivan Koloff, also known as The Russian Bear, on his well-deserved induction into the WWE Hall of Fame 2025 as part of the Legacy Wing.
Ivan was a highly respected individual, esteemed by his peers and admired by fans across multiple generations.
His influence on the wrestling industry was profound, whether it was his historic victory over Bruno Sammartino or his mentorship of emerging talent, including myself, behind the scenes.
He merits recognition in every Wrestling Hall of Fame. Notably, when I first entered the industry, Uncle Ivan Koloff was the first prominent wrestling figure I shared the ring with, an experience that has left a lasting impression. Love from Big Hoss.”
Evan Ginzburg, an Associate Producer on The Wrestler & 350 Days and author of Wrestling Rings, Blackboards & Movie Sets, which features a rare photo of Koloff, had this to say about Ivan being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame:
“It is utterly disgraceful that Ivan Koloff- a man who shocked the world by defeating Bruno Sammartino for his title- who headlined Madison Square Garden thirteen times- and who was a great main-eventer and challenger to champions around the world was not placed in the very first WWE Hall of Fame.
Instead, decades later, he is placed in their Legacy wing. He warrants proper induction with his family present, full acknowledgment, and all the bells and whistles.”
He belongs on the Mount Rushmore of great foreign heels.
