Allen Coage

Infobox Wrestler
name= Allen Coage
names= "Buffalo" Allen Coage
Bad News Allen
Bad News Brown
B.L. Brown (NWF days)


image_size= 100px
height= height|ft=6|in=1
weight= convert|260|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
birth_date= birth date|1943|10|22
birth_place= New York City, New York, United States
death_date= death date and age|2007|3|6|1943|10|22
death_place= Calgary, Alberta, Canada
resides=
billed= Harlem, New York, United States
trainer= Antonio Inoki, Stu Hart
debut= October 23 1977
retired= 1998

Allen James Coage (October 22 1943 – March 6 2007), also known as Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler with the WWF among many other companies. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division. He remains the only American heavyweight to have a won an Olympic medal in judo.

Career

Prior to his training as a wrestler, Coage trained in judo for the better part of two decades, earning a spot on the United States Olympic team at the Games in Montreal. He even trained in Japan with judoka masters, living in near poverty and continuing on solely for the love of his sport. After his bronze medal victory, Coage attempted to open his own judo school. Later, he decided to try his hand at professional wrestling. He began training with Antonio Inoki around 1978.

After short stints with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation, Bad News Allen found a long-term home in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, centered in Allen's adopted home city of Calgary. Allen remained with Stampede from 1982 until 1988, with some tours of Australia and Florida during that time, and had matches with wrestlers such as the Dynamite Kid and Owen Hart. He often referred to himself in interviews as "the Ultimate Warrior," a name that was later used more famously by wrestler Jim Hellwig.

Allen returned to the World Wrestling Federation in early 1988 as Bad News Brown, and it was during this time that he achieved his greatest notoriety. While the roster was mostly filled with ultra-virtuous babyfaces and cowardly and monster heels, Bad News was something entirely different; a tough loner who stood on his own and fought to his last breath. While other heels had hitherto largely displayed some form of affinity to one another, Bad News was reclusive; as such, he respected nobody - not even the other heels - as he showed when abandoning his teams at the Survivor Series of 1988 and 1989. Some memorable moments from his WWF tenure included winning the battle royal at WrestleMania IV by eliminating Bret Hart after a sneak attack, a brief feud with then-champion Randy Savage in early 1989 which led to matches in the main event, feuding with Roddy Piper (starting before the 1990 Royal Rumble and culminating at WrestleMania VI) and with Jake "The Snake" Roberts (where Bad News had a sewer rat against Jake's snake) and attacking WWF President Jack Tunney on The Brother Love Show. Bad News also had a brief run challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship. Bad News eventually left the WWF after SummerSlam 1990 due to, as he claimed, Vince McMahon's failure to live up to his promises, as McMahon had originally promised to make him the company's first black champion.

As written in the autobiography of the Dynamite Kid, his well-known toughness was accentuated in a confrontation involving André the Giant, who had made a racist comment on a tour bus for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Coage overheard it and made the driver stop the bus, walking off and yelling at the Giant to get off and fight him one on one. In one of the few times anyone can remember him backing down from someone, Andre did not move from his seat and later apologized for the remark.

Coage continued to work in independent promotions for several more years, including Japan's shoot wrestling UWFi promotion. Coage retired in 1998 due to knee damage. He continued occasionally working independent shows for friends while living in Calgary with his wife, and had considered starting a promotion himself. Additionally, he taught wrestling, and worked as a mall security officer in Airdrie, Alberta.

Coage died in the morning of March 6, 2007 in his hometown of Calgary at Rockyview Hospital, having been rushed to the hospital after complaining of chest pains and died minutes later of a massive heart attack. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/03/06/3704792.html slam.canoe.ca] "Bad News Allen dies suddenly, by Greg Oliver. March 6, 2007."] [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/badnewsbrownpasses|title=Bad News Brown passes away|accessdaymonthyear=23-12-2007|publisher=WWE]

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves:*"Ghetto Blaster" (Standing or running double-leg enzuigiri):*"Ghettosault" (Moonsault)

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

*Olympic Games:*1976 Bronze medalist, Heavyweight
*Pan American Games:*1967 Gold medalist, Heavyweight:*1975 Gold medalist, Heavyweight

Professional wrestling

*Championship Wrestling from Florida:*NWA Florida Bahamian Championship (1 time):*NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time):*NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*NWA Hollywood Wrestling:*NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Leroy Brown (1) and Victor Rivera (2)

*NWA Polynesian Wrestling:*NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*Stampede Wrestling:*Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

*Other Titles:*ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time):*IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/christie/29/ Bad News Allen's official site]
* [http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/coage.html Bad News Allen's profile at Slam! Wrestling's Canadian Hall of Fame]
* [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2005/06/16/1091199.html A June 2005 article on Allen Coage at Slam! Wrestling]
*
* [http://www.wrestlemag.com/news/index.php?p=4803 A look at the career of Bad News Brown]

Persondata
NAME=Coage, Allen James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Bad News Brown; Bad News Allen
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American professional wrestler and Joduku
DATE OF BIRTH=October 22 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH=New York City, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH=March 6 2007
PLACE OF DEATH=Calgary, Alberta, Canada