[News Update] Corporal Kirchner Passes Away Last Weekend
LegendsChampionshipWrestling.com was saddened to learn today tha former WWE wrestler Thomas Spear, professionally known as Corporal Kirchner, had passed away of natural causes Sunday, October 15th, in his home in White Marsh, Maryland. He is survived by his two sons, daughter and step-daughter, as well as two grandchildren.
Upon learning of the passing, LCW Chairman of the Board Christian Calaway released the following statement: We at Legends Championship Wrestling are saddened to hear of the lost of Corporal Kirchner. While Kirchner wasn't a legend on the roster of Legends Championship Wrestling, he was considered for involvement in the future. However, time caught up with Kirchner before we could include him in our organization."
It was also announced by the Legends Championship Wrestling Board of Directors that on LCW Showdown next Wednesday, there would be a special match in memory of Corporal Kirchner: a six man tag team match featuring The Axis of Evil (Sgt. Slaughter, The Iron Sheik, and Nikolai Volkoff) against Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Rocky Johnson, and Tony Atlas.
Spear, a Vietnam veteran, portrayed the character Corporal Kirchner for the WWE in the early 80s. His most celebrated victory took place at WrestleMania 2 where he defeated Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match. He was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time and his career suffered slightly because many wrestlers were afraid to to work with him. He was eventually terminated by the WWE and allegedly assaulted Vince McMahon in the process. He then made a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan where he worked Super Leather and Leatherface gimmicks.
His career in Japan flourished as the masked Leatherface, using the mask and character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He originally wrestled for Atsushi Onita's FMW promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in FMW. He was put into jail for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries.
During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character, which Kirschner created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left FMW and went to IWA. During his stint in IWA, Kirschner was released from prison, and during a subsequent Leatherface (Patterson) match in IWA, the original Leatherface (Kirschner) appeared in the crowd. This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. The match was a Bed of Nails match (and was part of the 1995 King of the Deathmatch tournament in Japan) against two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono.
In a match that would become legendary among hardcore wrestling fans, Kirschner ripped off a piece of the bed of nails and placed it on Ono's throat, before performing a leg-drop. He then powerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Kirschner afterward left the promotion. After his departure, the promotion claimed that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.
Upon learning of the passing, LCW Chairman of the Board Christian Calaway released the following statement: We at Legends Championship Wrestling are saddened to hear of the lost of Corporal Kirchner. While Kirchner wasn't a legend on the roster of Legends Championship Wrestling, he was considered for involvement in the future. However, time caught up with Kirchner before we could include him in our organization."
It was also announced by the Legends Championship Wrestling Board of Directors that on LCW Showdown next Wednesday, there would be a special match in memory of Corporal Kirchner: a six man tag team match featuring The Axis of Evil (Sgt. Slaughter, The Iron Sheik, and Nikolai Volkoff) against Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Rocky Johnson, and Tony Atlas.
Spear, a Vietnam veteran, portrayed the character Corporal Kirchner for the WWE in the early 80s. His most celebrated victory took place at WrestleMania 2 where he defeated Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match. He was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time and his career suffered slightly because many wrestlers were afraid to to work with him. He was eventually terminated by the WWE and allegedly assaulted Vince McMahon in the process. He then made a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan where he worked Super Leather and Leatherface gimmicks.
His career in Japan flourished as the masked Leatherface, using the mask and character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He originally wrestled for Atsushi Onita's FMW promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in FMW. He was put into jail for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries.
During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character, which Kirschner created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left FMW and went to IWA. During his stint in IWA, Kirschner was released from prison, and during a subsequent Leatherface (Patterson) match in IWA, the original Leatherface (Kirschner) appeared in the crowd. This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. The match was a Bed of Nails match (and was part of the 1995 King of the Deathmatch tournament in Japan) against two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono.
In a match that would become legendary among hardcore wrestling fans, Kirschner ripped off a piece of the bed of nails and placed it on Ono's throat, before performing a leg-drop. He then powerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Kirschner afterward left the promotion. After his departure, the promotion claimed that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.
posted by Legends Championship Wrestling at 5:02 PM
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