Thomas Leroy Kasat (March 24, 1956 – April 10, 2020) 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 or ...

, better known by his

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 projectin ...

, Teijo Khan/Teijho Khan. As Kahn, Kasat portrayed an Asian savage despite being

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

. He worked as part of

Paul Jones' Army Paul Jones' Army was a professional wrestling heel stable in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in the mid-1980s led by manager Paul Jones. The group's primary storyline was against "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant in a long running storylin ...

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

and also worked for the

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 o ...

(AWA). Was married to J. Elizabeth Freeman from 1996-2003.

Professional wrestling career

Kasat made his professional wrestling debut in 1986 portraying the Asian savage ring character Teijo Kahn (also spelled Teijho Kahn) despite being

. Kasat shaved his head bald and grew a thick

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comi ...

moustache to try to look more Asian. Having Caucasians portray Asian characters(or indeed having wrestlers from all manner of ethnic backgrounds portray ethnicities other than their own) were not unheard of in professional wrestling, examples such as Canadian Newton Tattrie working as

Geeto Mongol Newton Tattrie (July 12, 1931 – July 19, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Geeto Mongol (also spelled Geto Mongol). Tattrie started his career in the 1960s working for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling p ...

or Florida native Chris Champion portraying Yoshi Kwan. As Teijo Kahn he worked as a heel, wrestling term for those that portray the bad guys, as part of manager Paul Jones's

. As part of the army he teamed up with The Barbarian, The Warlord,

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

Superstar Billy Graham Eldridge Wayne Coleman (born June 7, 1943), better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, is an American former professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his tenure as the WWWF Heavyweight Champion in 1977–1978. He is a three ...

, Shaska Whatley,

Baron von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born July 30, 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 Cornhuskers wres ...

, Manny Fernandez,

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 ...

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was bo ...

and Vladimir Petrov as part of their storyline feud with "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant,

Wahoo McDaniel Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw-Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United ...

and

Hector Guerrero In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

. Kahn and Whatley teamed up for the 1987 Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament. They defeated

Jimmy Valiant James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jimmy Valiant. Early life Fanning was born in Tullahoma as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fanning. He later incorpo ...

and

Lazer Tron Lazer may refer to: * An incorrect spelling of laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation * An antiquated term for a person with leprosy. * Lazer, Hautes-Alpes, a commune in southeastern France * Panther Lazer, ...

in the first round, but lost to the previous year's tournament winners

The Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

(

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

and

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

) in the next round. Once the Army was dissolved Kasat resurfaced in the

(AWA) in 1988, still working as Teijo Kahn. In the AWA he worked as the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner of Soldat Ustinov, assisting Ustinov in a storyline feud against former Army partner Baron von Raschke and later on Sgt. Slaughter as well. Also in 1988 he spent some time in the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually re ...

(CWA), at one point getting involved in a CWA Heavyweight Title match between

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

and Jimmy Jack Funk. In 1991 Kahn won

Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Associatio ...

's PWA Heavyweight Championship, defeating Charlie Norris to win the title, holding it for 69 days before losing it back to Norris.

Film appearances

In 1986, Kasat had a part in the movie ''

Body Slam Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

'', where he portrayed a tag team, teaming with

Sione Vailahi Sione Havea Vailahi (born 6 September 1958) is a Tongan professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Barbarian. He is best known for his various stints with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and W ...

, also known as the Barbarian, managed by Captain Lou Albano. In 1992, he had a brief part in a movie called ''Equinox'', where he played "I.M. Stong" and was telling people how to use a clothesline.

Death

Kasat died at his home in Spring Valley, Nevada, on April 10, 2020, at the age of 64.

Championships and accomplishments

** PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 #257 of the top 500 singles wrestlers 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 Publis ...

in 1991

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Teijo American male professional wrestlers American male film actors 1956 births 2020 deaths Stampede Wrestling alumni Faux Mongolian professional wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers