Initially Koloff's career was short lived. He made his debut for Jim Crockett promotions in 1984 and was forced to retire as a result of a devastating blow to the head for WCW in 1993. In late 1992, he started feuding with Big Van Vader. The pair would meet at Halloween Havoc where a stiff Vader clothesline ended Nikita's career. The blow resulted in a herniated disk in Koloff's neck. In addition to the neck injury, he suffered a hernia while attempting to slam Vader. Koloff was best known for his run as "The Russian Nightmare" which was a play on "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. He would make a brief return to the ring, turning out for NWA:TNA in 2003 as a masked man called "Mr. Wrestling IV" who attacked Dusty Rhodes.
