WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff (birth name Josip Nikolai Peruzović) has passed away today at the age of 70. Suffering from dehydration and other issues, he died in a Maryland hospital.
According to PWInsider Volkoff got his start in the wrestling business back in 1967. He worked for The National Wrestling Alliance including NWA Detroit, International Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Federation where he would become and tag team champion alongside Newton Tattrie. By 1968, Volkoff joined Vince McMahon SR.'s WWWF and while his run was short, he did return in 1974 and feuded with Bruno Sammartino — a feud that would put him on the map in WWF.
He would later find himself entangled with the champion Bob Backlund and by 1984, teamed with the Iron Shiek and the duo won the coveted WWF Tag Team Championship from The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) at the inaugural WrestleMania.
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Where Volkoff would become especially disliked by the fanbase was when he started to sing the Russian National Anthem before his matches. That one move made him more famous than almost anything he ever did in wrestling and it helped establish a career in wrestling that would last over 30 years. He used that gimmick during battles with Hulk Hogan, as part of a team called The Bolsheviks and when he turned babyface and started singing The Star-Spangled Banner as a show of respect to the fans, he was beloved for siding with the United States.
Volkoff would make sporadic appearances for WWE after 1995 and wrestle often on the independent scene well into his 60's. He often told stories of his time in wrestling, sighting the singing of the Russian anthem as the thing that fans more often remember him for.
Volkoff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Our condolences to the friends and family of Nikolai Volkoff.
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