Horst Hoffman (born 29 September 1935), is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. Hoffman worked in Germany, Europe, Japan and

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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

in the United States during his 20 year career.

Professional wrestling career

Hoffman started his professional wrestling career in 1957 in Germany. He would spend most of his career in Germany. In the 1960s he went to the United Kingdom, France and Austria. It is said that Hoffman won at least ninety tournaments during his career. In 1972, Hoffman went to Japan working for

International Wrestling Enterprise was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association in the United States and also had tie-ins with promotions in Canada and Europe. In 1972, it ...

where he started to become well known in wrestling. He competed in the IWE's 4th annual World Series tournament held from 27 March – 6 May 1972. He worked there until 1974. In 1973, he made his debut in North America for

in Minnesota where he feuded with

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 27 February 2014) was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as " The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leadin ...

. Hoffman during his AWA stint had matches with

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel had ...

Geoff Portz,

Ken Patera Kenneth Wayne Patera (born November 6, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and strongman competitor. He was well known in the World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1981, 1984 to 1985 and 1987 to 1988 a ...

Larry Hennig Larry Hennig (June 18, 1936 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. He was the father of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, and the grandfather of Curtis Axel and Amy "Ms. Perfect" Hennig. He worked in the American Wrestling Ass ...

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

, Chris Taylor,

Ivan Putski Józef Bednarski (born January 21, 1941) is a Polish/American former professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by the ring name Ivan Putski. He was given the nicknames the "Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power". Putski is a former WWF World ...

, Andre the Giant, and

The Crusher A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large solid chunks of raw material into smaller ones. Crusher or The Crusher may also refer to: People * "Crusher", nickname of Noel Cleal (born 1958), Australian former rugby league footballer * "Crus ...

. In 1974 he teamed with German heel

Baron Von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born October 17, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke. Early life Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cor ...

and had a popular rivalry with

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

and

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

. He left the AWA in 1975 and returned to Japan. In 1975, Hoffman made his debut at

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

where he feuded with

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

, The Destroyer, Dory Funk Jr.,

Anton Geesink Antonius Johannes Geesink (6 April 1934 – 27 August 2010) was a Dutch people, Dutch List of judoka#Highest grades, 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championships, a feat he accomplished in 196 ...

and

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavy ...

. In 1977 he teamed with his arch rival Billy Robinson. By the end of 1977 Hoffman retired from wrestling. It is said that

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...

was influenced by Hoffman's green attire and boots that Misawa wore it.

Championships and accomplishments

*British Wrestling Association **

European Heavyweight Championship The European Heavyweight Championship is a name used for various top titles competed for throughout the European professional wrestling circuit. The title was recognised as official by UK national TV network ITV for the purposes of their coverage ...

(1 time)

References

General * Specific

External links

Horst Hoffman at Cagematch.netHorst Hoffman at OWW.comHorst Hoffman at Wrestlingdata.comHorst Hoffman at WrestlingScout

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Horst 1935 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers German male professional wrestlers Czech wrestlers Living people