5 facts about "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
As was reported earlier, WWE Hall of Famer "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff has passed away at age 71.
If there's one fact that everybody needs to know about Paul Orndorff, it's that he was awesome. He, along with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Ace" Cowboy Bob Orton (seriously, that dude had two nicknames. It's weird), made up one of the most underrated heel tandems of the 1980s. And, when that broke up, his partnership and eventual feud with Hulk Hogan was a masterclass in pro wrestling storytelling.
Interestingly (here's a free bonus fact), Orndorff would debut with the WWF in 1994 on the very same night Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik for his first world championship. It wasn't long after that, though - mere months, actually, before he challenged Hogan for that very same title. To go from your debut to the main event that quickly was, and still is, impressive.
While there will be no shortage of recaps of Orndorff's life and career, we thought we'd take a moment to look back at some of the lesser-known parts of his story. Some may be trivial, some may be fascinating, but all of them are pretty interesting.
Here's a look at five interesting things regarding the late, great "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.
#5. Paul Orndorff owned a bowling alley
When Paul Orndorff temporarily retired in 1998 due to an arm injury, he - like most former wrestlers in his position - did what any sensible person would do. He opened a bowling alley. Wait, what?
During his legendary singles feud with Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff seriously injured his arm. Because their matches were drawing such big crowds, however - an outdoor event in Toronto the two main evented supposedly drew almosy 80,000 fans - he refused to take time off to heal and miss out on a big payday.
Once the feud wound down, Orndorff prepared to take the time he needed to heal - but he also prepared for the consequences. Predicting that Vince McMahon might attempt to screw him over, Orndorff began to look into investments, particularly in real estate. That's when he purchased a bowling alley in his hometown of Fayette, GA.
Once the bowling alley was up and running and Orndorff was confident it was sustainable, he basically told McMahon to stick it, blew off his remaining dates, and settled in for retirement.
It wouldn't be the last time we'd ever see Mr. Wonderful in a ring again, but we nearly could have seen him in a whole new arena: Hollywood.