Thomas Erwin Zenk (November 30, 1958 – December 9, 2017) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

. He was best known for his appearances with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

from 1986 to 1987,

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part ...

(AWA) 1988 to 1989 and with

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

from 1989 to 1994, as well for his tours of Japan with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

Early life

Zenk was born in

Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of the city is parks or nature reserves. ...

. He attended Robbinsdale High School in

Robbinsdale, Minnesota Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Minnesot ...

. His 1976 graduating class included fellow future professional wrestlers

Brady Boone Dean R. Peters (August 22, 1958 – December 15, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He performed with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Brady Boone and Battle Kat. Professional wrestling career Early caree ...

Barry Darsow Barry Allen Darsow (born October 6, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who performed as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition. He also wrestled as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, The Blacktop Bully and "Mr. Hole in One" Barry D ...

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE) ...

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...

, and

Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling ...

. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, where he majored in speech communications.

Bodybuilding career

Zenk competed as a bodybuilder. In October 1980, he competed in the "Mr. North Country" competition, placing third. In July 1981, he participated in the "Mr. Minnesota" competition, winning championships in the overall, heavyweight, and "most muscular" divisions.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1984–1986)

Zenk was introduced to professional wrestling by

Road Warrior Animal Joseph Michael Laurinaitis (September 12, 1960 – September 22, 2020), better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal (or simply Animal), was an American professional wrestler. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, he was one half of the tag team ...

, who he met at a bodybuilding contest. He was trained to wrestle by

Brad Rheingans Brad Rheingans (born December 13, 1953) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold med ...

and

Eddie Sharkey Eddie Sharkey (born February 4, 1936) is an American professional wrestling trainer. He is often called "The Trainer of Champions". He has been instrumental in training some of the biggest names in the sport. He was also the owner of Pro Wrest ...

. He debuted in early 1984 with Mid-South Wrestling in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. In mid-1984, Zenk joined the

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

-based

, where he performed as an undercard wrestler until September 1985. He was named Rookie of the Year for 1984 by the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'', tying with

Jushin Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

. In October 1985, Zenk joined the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

-based

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

promotion, where he received a

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

. In December 1985, he and Scott Doring won the

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of O ...

. They lost the Championship to

Bobby Jaggers Robert Francis Jeaudoin (January 8, 1948 – September 30, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and civil engineer, also known by the ring name of "Hangman" Bobby Jaggers. Most of his renown as a wrestler came from his appearances in vari ...

and Rip Oliver the following month. In the same month, Zenk defeated Jaggers for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship. He held the Championship until March 1986, when Jaggers regained it. Between May 1985 and October 1986, Zenk also wrestled intermittently with the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

-based

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

promotion in Canada, where he won the

Canadian International Tag Team Championship The Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal ...

with Dan Kroffat.

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1987)

In October 1986, Zenk and Martel were signed by the

. They teamed together as The

Can-Am Connection The Can-Am Connection was a tag team composed of Rick Martel and Tom Zenk in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) through 1986 and 1987. History In 1986, Canadian wrestler Rick Martel returned to the WWF with his then tag team partner, American ...

. In the opening bout of

WrestleMania III WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. ...

on March 29, 1987, The Can-Am Connection defeated

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler and podcaster. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Cha ...

and

Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton Jr. (born November 10, 1950), better known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Bar ...

The Can-Am Connection were planned to become the WWF's top

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

tag team and to win the

WWF World Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

, but in mid-1987 Zenk resigned from the WWF due to a pay dispute.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1986–1989)

In November and December 1986, Zenk and

Rick Martel Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association, the ...

toured Japan with

, competing in the annual Real World Tag League. He and Martel received the World's Strongest Tag Determination League Fighting Spirit Award. Between 1987 and 1989, Zenk made multiple tours of Japan with

(AJPW).

American Wrestling Association (1988, 1989)

Zenk returned to the American Wrestling Association to wrestle a handful of matches in early 1988. He returned again one year later. On May 1, 1988, Zenk took part in the "Battle of Breakfast Cereal", a show recorded for the

breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in We ...

manufacturer

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...

for a sales conference in which Kelloggs-themed characters faced characters themed after

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company or ...

, Kellogg's' main competitor. In the main event, Zenk and Greg Gagne (wrestling as "The Sales And Marketing Team") defeated

Pat Tanaka Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the s ...

and

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company with Pat Tanaka and for his time in the World Wrestl ...

(wrestling as "The Mills Brothers"). Zenk left the AWA once more later that month. This era of The AWA (1985 to 1990) was seen for many years onward, appearing on The

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Network Television, as afternoon time-slot re-runs. On February 7, 1989, Zenk competed in a 20-man

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

for the vacant

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

in which he was the last man eliminated by the winner,

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

. He challenged Zbyszko in several return matches before moving to WCW.

World Championship Wrestling (1989–1994)

While touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1989, Zenk was signed to a two year contract with

by president Jim Herd. He debuted at Fall Brawl '89 in September 1989 under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

"The Z-Man", defeating The Cuban Assassin. In 1990, Zenk formed a tag team with

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

. In February 1990, they won the vacant

NWA United States Tag Team Championship The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...

, defeating

The Fabulous Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

in the finals of a tournament. They went on to feud with The Midnight Express, who won the Championship from them in May 1990. During this time, Zenk tore a muscle while weightlifting and took several months off to recover. He appeared more slender upon returning. Z-Man then feuded with

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

over the World Television Championship, eventually winning the title. When the promotion changed its name to World Championship Wrestling in 1991, Z-Man officially became the final NWA World Television Champion and the first WCW World Television Champion. He re-lost the title to Anderson on January 7, 1991. Later that year, Z-Man,

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

and Big Josh feuded with

The York Foundation The York Foundation was a professional wrestling heel stable in World Championship Wrestling between 1990 and 1992. It was led by tech-savvy businesswoman Alexandra York, and comprised former babyfaces who adopted informal wear and formalized t ...

and The Fabulous Freebirds over the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Z-Man, Rhodes and Josh won the title from the Freebirds in August, and lost it to The York Foundation in October. At Halloween Havoc 1991, Zenk lost to the debuting WCW Phantom. In October 1992 he also worked for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...

while under contract with WCW teaming with

Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag T ...

. In 1993, Zenk teamed with

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

as "Dos Hombres" subbing for

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

, but was announced as Douglas.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994)

After Zenk's release from WCW in May 1994, he participated in

's (AJPW) Summer Action tour that July, and their Giant Series tour in September.

Late career (1994–1996)

After WCW and All Japan, Zenk worked in his home state Minnesota where he worked in the independent circuit. In August 1996, Zenk joined the

American Wrestling Federation The American Wrestling Federation (AWF) was a professional wrestling federation founded by Paul Alperstein active from 1994 to 1996. The promotion was based in Chicago, Illinois, but held shows in many other eastern states of the United States. Th ...

(AWF), where he ultimately finished his career a few months later, in October.

Death

Zenk died in

, on December 9, 2017, at the age of 59, from

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no s ...

and

cardiomegaly Cardiomegaly (sometimes megacardia or megalocardia) is a medical condition in which the heart is enlarged. As such, it is more commonly referred to simply as "having an enlarged heart". It is usually the result of underlying conditions that make t ...

. He was interred at St. Nicholas Cemetery in

Carver, Minnesota Carver is a small city in Carver County, Minnesota, United States along the banks of the Minnesota River. The city is named after early explorer Jonathan Carver. The downtown area is home to the Carver Historic District, a nationally recognized ...

Championships and accomplishments

**World's Strongest Tag Determination League Fighting Spirit Award (1986) – with

** NWA/WCW World Television Championship ( 1 time)The title's name was changed to the WCW World Television Championship due to WCW withdrawing from the NWA after Zenk won it, technically making him the last World Television Champion under the NWA banner and the first under the WCW banner. **

( 1 time) - with

WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship contested in World Championship Wrestling throughout 1991. It was considered a revived version of the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship that was used in Jim Crockett Promotions ...

( 1 time) - with

and Big Josh *

( 1 time) - with Dan Kroffat *

** NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

( 1 time) - with Scott Doring *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him #38 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

in 1992 **PWI ranked him #343 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Championship (1 time) *''

'' ** Rookie of the Year (1984) tied with

** Tag Team Tournament (1987) - with

cite web, url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=26&nr=4888&page=2

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zenk, Tom 1958 births 2017 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Deaths from atherosclerosis NWA/WCW World Television Champions People from Robbinsdale, Minnesota Professional wrestlers from Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni NWA/WCW United States Tag Team Champions