Shaun Koen
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Shaun Koen is a South African
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 ...
. He is the owner and promoter of the Africa Wrestling Alliance and is the promotion's current African Heavyweight Champion. Koen is a
second-generation Second generation or variants may refer to: * Second generation immigrant ** Nisei, one of the second generation of people of Japanese descent in the Americas * Second generation of Chinese leaders, see Generations of Chinese leadership * Second-ge ...
professional wrestler; his father Jackie Koen was also a competitive professional wrestler.


Professional wrestling career


Early career


1987–1989

Shaun Koen was born into a family of athletes in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, the son of promoter and multi-time All-Africa Heavyweight Champion Jackie Koen. He made his debut at the age of sixteen in 1987 for his father's promotion, Ring Promotions, losing to veteran Jumbo Swart in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
. In his second-ever match the next night, he lost to Leon Venter at the
Good Hope Centre The Good Hope Centre in Cape Town, South Africa (1976) by Pier Luigi Nervi, is an exhibition hall and conference centre, with the exhibition hall comprising an arch with tie-beam on each of the four vertical facades and two diagonal arches su ...
in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. On 8 March 1989, he defeated John Powers. On 12 June 1989, he defeated
Gary Albright Gary Mitchell Albright (May 18, 1963 – January 7, 2000) was an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Japan, first with UWF International (UWFi), and later All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, Albright was a two ...
. On 15 November 1989 in a big eight-man tag team match at the Good Hope Centre, he teamed with Danie Brits, Kalahari Boerboel and Tolla The Animal to beat the kayfabe foreign invading team of Tojo Yamamoto, Akam Singh, The Mexican Phantom and Mr India. On 29 November 1989, Koen beat Greg Bragg.


1990–1994

In 1990, he toured the
Catch Wrestling Association The Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) was a professional wrestling organization based in Austria and Germany that was founded as the Internationalen Berufsringer Verbandes (IBV) in 1973. Since the late 1980s it has been known as the CWA in honour ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. His experiences wrestling in Europe would greatly influence his style and future training methods. Upon returning to South Africa, he lost to South African Heavyweight Champion Danie Brits on 22 October 1990. On 27 February 1991, Koen defeated Oscar Strongbow. On 29 June 1991, he lost to champion
Danie Brits Danie Brits was a South African professional wrestler and former South African Heavyweight Champion, known for his work in many of South Africa's major promotions in the past and for his 1980s stint as ''The Masked Tornado''. Career Early ca ...
in a match for the South African Heavyweight Title. He lost in a subsequent rematch on 10 July 1991. In 1992, he won the All-Africa Heavyweight Championship from the
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
an Big Mike Zuma in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, his first major title victory. On 23 January 1992, he defeated German rival Ulf Herman at the Good Hope Centre. On 13 March 1992, Koen beat Mad Mike in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
. On 22 April 1992, he defeated
Steve Regal Steve Regal (born August 25, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Regal started wrest ...
. On 6 May 1992, he teamed with Danie Brits to defeat Jason The Terrible and Steve Regal. On 19 April 1993, he lost to The Barbarian at Good Hope Centre in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. On 8 September 1994, Koen teamed with
Gama Singh Gadowar Singh Sahota ( Punjabi: ਗਦੋਵਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ); born December 8, 1954) is an Indo-Canadian retired professional wrestler known as Gama Singh ( Punjabi: ਗਾਮਾ ਸਿੰਘ) and Great Gama Sahota was a villa ...
to defeat
Bad News Allen Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer O ...
and Tim Flowers. In 1994, Koen's father died.


Africa Wrestling Federation / Alliance


1995–1999

In 1995, he formed the Africa Wrestling Federation. Koen would train over thirty of Cape Town's wrestlers in the forthcoming years. The All-Africa Heavyweight Title, which had historic roots in
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
and had been held by his father, was established as the main championship in the AWF. Upon its founding, the promotion became renowned in regions such as Pretoria and Cape Town, and remained regional until expanding several years later. On 4 February 1995 at an All Stars Wrestling event, he lost to champion Giant Warrior in an EWU Super Heavyweight Title match. On 26 April 1995, he defeated The German Avalanche at the Good Hope Centre. On 19 October 1995, he defeated
Bad News Allen Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer O ...
. In 1996 during a tour of
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, Koen lost the title to King Jacob, but regained it three weeks later in a no-holds barred challenge. He defended the championship many times against Big Bad Bruce, his arch-rival in the 1990s. In 1999, he formed a dream team with Tornado II, who was on par with Koen in popularity.


2000–2004

In 2001, he suffered a severe arm injury that forced him out of action for almost a year. In 2004 at the height of the AWF's popularity, Shaun Koen and AWF signed their first television contract with nationally broadcast network
e.TV e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. Founded in 1998, the company is headquartered in Cape Town. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the ...
. In June that year, Koen lost the title to Terry Middoux, who ended Koen's reign at 3042 days, the longest reign in the title's history. On 11 December 2004, he defeated Middoux on the final episode of the AWF's show ''AWF on E Slam Series Final'' to win his record-breaking third All-Africa Heavyweight Title.


2005–2009

In 2005, the Africa Wrestling Federation was renamed the Africa Wrestling Alliance. In December, 2006 at the Parow Civic Centre, he defended the title against rival Missing Link in a match that would be hailed as the most violent in Koen's career, winning after Missing Link was thrown through a table engulfed in fire. Koen would go on to defend the title successfully until 30 April 2008, when he was defeated by Missing Link in a four-way match also involving BDX-Treme and African Warrior. On 9 December 2009 at the Night of Champions event, Koen defeated Missing Link to win his fourth All-Africa Heavyweight Title, breaking his previous record of three reigns in the process.


2010

On 30 March 2010 at the USA vs. RSA show, Koen wrestled Giant Warrior to a double disqualification in his first title defense since reclaiming the All-Africa Heavyweight Title. On 9 June 2010, Koen defended his title successfully against Boerseun. Following the match, he was challenged by professional kickboxer and mixed martial arts star
Jan Nortje Johannes "Jan" Nortje (born 11 April 1975) is a South African professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist and undefeated professional boxer who has fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, K-1, Inoki Genome Federation, PRIDE Fighting Championship and Ne ...
, who promised to wager all three of his legitimate kickboxing titles against Koen's All-Africa Heavyweight Title in a future match. In August, 2010, the
Sanlam Sanlam Limited is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is one of the largest insurance companies in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock ...
-operated online brand SmartAboutWhat.co.za, which focuses on proving whether or not several popular beliefs and myths are real, held a filmed exhibition entitled ''Is Wrestling Real?'' at Shaun Koen's training centre in Pinelands, pitting one of their staff writers against Koen and concluding in the end that "wrestling is indeed real".


Professional wrestling style and persona

Koen is referred by the nickname "The Lion of Africa". His finishing move is the '' Lion's Claw'' while he uses a
diving leg drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are performance techniques used in professional wrestling for simulated assault on opponents. The techniques involve jumping from the ring's posts and ropes, demonstrating the speed and agility o ...
and an
enzuigiri Strikes can be offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional ...
.


Championships and accomplishments

* Africa Wrestling Federation / Africa Wrestling Alliance ** AWF/A African Heavyweight Championship (
4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...
) ** AWF Royal Rumble Championship (
2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...
) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' **Ranked No. 342 of the top 500 wrestlers in the ''PWI'' 500 in 2007


References


External links


Official African Wrestling Alliance website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Koen, Shaun 1970 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers South African male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Cape Town South African people of British descent