During the late '80s, Paul Orndorff was one of the prime players in WWE. His first run with the company would last five years before he retired in early 1988 due to his arm injury, focussing on running his bowling alley in Fayetteville. He debuted with 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper as his manager, Piper would be the one to name him 'Mr Wonderful'. He challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship less than a month after his debut and fought Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana during a brief departure from the main event scene. However, Piper's feud with Hogan thrust Mr Wonderful back into the spotlight and culminated in the first WrestleMania main event match with Piper and Orndorff taking on Hogan and Mr T. Orndorff's next big storyline came when he turned face and went against his then manager Bobby Heenan. This would lead Heenan putting a $25,000 bounty on the head of Orndorff. Everyone failed so Heenan put it up to $50,000. This led to another feud with Piper. Orndorff would enter a programme with Hogan which is recognised as one of the most profitable in wrestling history, making it even more amazing that he never won a WWE title. Mr Wonderful reunited with Heenan and wrestled Hogan in an outdoor match in Toronto in front of an estimated 76,000 fans. After a series no contests, it was decided that Hogan and Orndorff would clash in a steel cage match. The cage match saw both Orndorff and Hogan climb over the top of the cage and touch the floor at the same time. After reviewing the footage it was decided that it was a draw and the match was restarted. Hogan easily exited the cage to win the match following a leg drop. It was during this feud that Orndorff would injure his arm, causing him to 'retire'. Orndorff returned to the squared circle on the independent scene before having a successful run in WCW throughout the 1990s. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and made an appearance at Hulk Hogan's birthday celebration on Monday Night Raw earlier this year.
