- Mike Hallick
-
Mike Hallick 
Ring name(s) Bruiser Mastino[1]
Mafiosi Mastino[2]
Mantaur[1]
Smokey Mountain Surprise[2]
Tank[1]
Terminator Mastino[1]Billed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] Billed weight 401 lb (182 kg)[1] Born July 23, 1963 [2]
Omaha, Nebraska[1]Billed from Isle of Crete[1] (As Mantaur) Debut 1984[2] Retired 2005[3] Michael "Mike" Hallick[2] (born July 23, 1963) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Mantaur.
Professional wrestling career
Catch Wrestling Association (1991–1994)
In 1991, under the ring name Bruiser Mastino, Hallick traveled to Germany to work for the Catch Wrestling Association. He debuted on November 11, in a losing effort against Rambo for the World Heavyweight Championship.[4] He remained with the promotion until late 1994, when he returned to the United States to perform for the World Wrestling Federation.[5]
World Wrestling Federation (1995)
On the January 7, 1995 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Hallick debuted in the World Wrestling Federation as Mantaur, defeating Walter Snow.[5] The Mantaur character was that of a Minotaur-like character, and Hallick would perform antics such as charging, trampling, mauling, and mooing at opponents.[6] Soon after debuting, he acquired Jim Cornette as his manager.[7]
Mantaur then began a small winning streak, defeating a series of jobbers, including boxer Leroy Howard and karate instructor Gary Scott. He came close to defeating then-Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, but lost the match by disqualification due to interference by Jeff Jarrett, who was involved in a feud with Ramon at that time. Mantaur made his first and only pay-per-view appearance at the 1995 Royal Rumble, where he competed in the Royal Rumble match and lasted almost 10 minutes before being eliminated by Lex Luger.[8]
Mantaur entered the 1995 King of the Ring tournament but was pinned by Bob "Spark Plug" Holly in a qualifying match.[9] In his final televised WWF match, he lost to Bam Bam Bigelow as part of a push to enhance the popularity of Bigelow as a babyface. Hallick made his last WWF appearance as a lumberjack in a lumberjack match between Sycho Sid and Diesel at In Your House 2.[10]
Extreme Championship Wrestling and return to the CWA (1995–1996)
After leaving the WWF, Hallick returned to his Bruiser Mastino ring name and joined Extreme Championship Wrestling. He debuted there on December 1, 1995 with a victory over The Dark Ninja.[11] Eight days later, he lost to Hack Meyers at December to Dismember.[11] A few weeks after that, he lost to 911.[11] At Holiday Hell, Mastino defeated El Puerto Ricano in his final match for the promotion, in which he was jeered with "Mantaur" chants from the always-vocal ECW audience.[11] Hallick then briefly returned to the Catch Wrestling Association as Terminator Mastino.[11][12]
Return to the WWF (1996)
In 1996, Hallick returned to the WWF playing the role of Goldust's unnamed bodyguard.[12] He appeared with Goldust at In Your House 7 in his corner for his match against the Ultimate Warrior. After Goldust lost, Hallick attacked Warrior but was overpowered and subsequently body slammed.[13]
United States Wrestling Association (1997)
Hallick then worked in the United States Wrestling Association as Tank, a member of The Truth Commission.[12] He won the Unified World Heavyweight Championship, his first and only wrestling title, on March 15, 1997 after defeating then-champion Jerry Lawler.[14] He lost the belt back to Lawler in a rematch seven days later.[14] Later that spring, Tank was involved in a controversy surrounding the World Tag Team Championship. While The Interrogator and Recon (Tank's teammates in The Truth Commission) held the title, Tank substituted for Interrogator in one match and his team lost the title to Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan.[15] The title change was declared invalid, however, as Tank was not one of the official holders of the World Tag Team Title.[15]
Return to the CWA and the independent circuit (1998, 2000–2001, 2005)
Hallick returned to the CWA in September 1998, again as Bruiser Mastino, where he formed a tag team with his cousin Cannonball Grizzly.[3] He left the promotion before the end of the year.[3] Hallick then took a hiatus before returning to the ring on May 27, 2000 for Independent Wrestling World, as the victorious "one" in a four-on-one handicap match.[3] He wrestled three matches for NWA Germany later that year, winning the first against Franz Schumann on September 22, losing the second to Ulf Herman September 23, and losing the third to Shumann on December 2.[3] He also competed in the European Wresting Promotion (EWP), defeating Christian Eckstein on November 25.[3] Hallick returned to the EWP on May 18, 2001, winning a triple threat match against Eric Schwarz and Martin Nolte. The next day, he defeated Big Tiger Steele.[3] After another hiatus, Hallick returned to Germany to compete for the Riotgas Wrestling Alliance on June 3, 2005, winning a battle royal.[3] That same day, he lost to his cousin, Cannonball Grizzly, in a match for the vacant International Championship. This turned out to be his last professional wrestling match.[3]
Retirement
After his stint in the USWA, Hallick booked small wrestling shows for a brief time, in addition to wrestling, before retiring altogether, and beginning work as a repo man in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.[1]
Personal life
Hallick is a cousin of Paul Neu, who is best known by his ring name "PN News".[2]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Body avalanche[1] (Independent circuit) / Stampede[1][2] (WWF)
- Signature moves
- Entrance themes
- "James Brown Is Dead" by L.A. Style[17] (CWA)
Championships and accomplishments
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "OWOW profile". http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/mantaur.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Cagematch profile". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Cagematch match listings". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=matches#matches.
- ^ "Cagematch match listings, final page". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=matches&gimmick=&jahr=&liga=®ion=&art=&artmatches=&suchbegriff=Suchbegriff&Start=151#matches.
- ^ a b "Cagematch match listings, page 3". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=matches&gimmick=&jahr=&liga=®ion=&art=&artmatches=&suchbegriff=Suchbegriff&Start=101#matches.
- ^ Baer, Randy; R.D. Reynolds (2003). Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 1-55022-584-7.
- ^ a b "Ring Results: 1995". The History of WWE. 2008-02-05. http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/95.htm.
- ^ "WWF Royal Rumble 1995". Hoffco, Inc.. http://www.hoffco-inc.com/wwe/ppv/ppv/rr95.html. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "WWE King of the Ring Tournament Results". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/wwf/kotrtny.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "In Your House: 1995-1996". WWE Millennium. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/wmnetwerk2/archives/iyh.html%232&date=2009-10-26+00:15:27. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ a b c d e "Cagematch match listings, page 2". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=matches&gimmick=&jahr=&liga=®ion=&art=&artmatches=&suchbegriff=Suchbegriff&Start=51#matches.
- ^ a b c "Wrestler Profiles: Mantaur". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/mantaur.html. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "Ring Results: 1996". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20071204101558/http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/96.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ a b c "USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship history". http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-uh.html.
- ^ a b "USWA World Tag Team Championship history". Wrestling Titles. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-t.html. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "Jim Cornette's OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/jim-cornette.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
- ^ "Entrance themes". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=themes#themes.
- ^ "Awards". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=771&view=awards#awards.
External links
Categories:- 1968 births
- American professional wrestlers
- Living people
- Finishing moves
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
