This Olympic strongman reigned for eight months in 1980 as Intercontinental champion, winning the gold in the first legitimate title change witnessed by fans. Patera took part in a handful of notable storylines during the latter half of the decade, one of which saw him and Big John Studd cut the hair of Andre the Giant prior to the inaugural WrestleMania. After serving a brief prison sentence in the mid-eighties, Patera resumed his WWE career, taking part in an angle where he accused former manager Bobby Heenan of turning his back on him. The highlight was Patera wrapping a chain around Heenan's neck and violently whiplashing him, the catalyst for Heenan wearing a neck brace on TV for many months. It's possible that Patera's conviction may cause WWE officials to shy away from association, though he did take part in several of their DVD releases in recent years as a talking head.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
