Thomas Leroy Kasat (March 24, 1956 – April 10, 2020) was an American

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 ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

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

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

. He worked as part of Paul Jones' Army in

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

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

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

Professional wrestling career

Kasat made his professional wrestling debut in 1986 in

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

, portraying the Asian savage ring character Teijo Khan (also spelled Teijho Khan) despite being

. Kasat shaved his head bald and grew a thick

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) 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 f ...

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 include 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 promo ...

or Florida native Chris Champion portraying Yoshi Kwan. As Teijo Khan, he worked as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

as part of manager Paul Jones's Paul Jones' Army. 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 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 ...

, Shaska Whatley,

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 ...

, 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 wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...

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, where he was billed from Russia and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ...

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 professional football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United States Heavyweight Champio ...

and

Hector Guerrero In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

. Khan 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 "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant. Early life Fanning was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fann ...

and Lazer Tron 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 originally composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road W ...

(

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

and

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

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

(AWA) in 1988, still working as Teijo Khan. 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 establis ...

partner of

Soldat Ustinov Jim Lanning (born October 10, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Soldat Ustinov, who played a fictional Russian character during his career. He competed in North American regional promotions including ...

, assisting Ustinov in a storyline feud against former Army partner Baron von Raschke and later, 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 ...

(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 retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

and

Jimmy Jack Funk Ferrin Barr Jr. (born April 14, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Championship Wrestling from Florida under the ring name Jesse Barr and with the World Wrestling Federation under the rin ...

. In 1991 Khan won

Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is an independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, MN during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Association and owner of t ...

'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 Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and WWE, World ...

, also known as the Barbarian, managed by

Captain Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

. 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 A clothes line, also spelled clothesline, also known as a wash line, is a device for hanging clothes on for the purpose of drying or airing out the articles. It is made of any type of rope, cord, wire, or twine that has been stretched betwe ...

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 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 ...

'' **PWI ranked him #257 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''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 ...

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 male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers