The doors of the Rotten Ink Arena are open as it’s time to celebrate July 4th, the American holiday that allows us to celebrate our independence, and that is why the R.I.W has decided to hold this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” holiday update event special! And of course the wrestler we will be taking a look at has to be an American Hero and that is why the real life military veteran and popular mid-card babyface Corporal Kirchner is in our main event! So as you can see, the snack bar is selling hotdogs and burgers and they have many beers on tap so let’s grab our seats and before the night’s fireworks let’s watch Corporal Kirchner enter the squared circle and do so for America.
Corporal Kirchner was trained by Verne Gagne and started his in ring career in 1980 and by 1984 was signed to WWF and worked under the name RT Reynolds. He was used as a jobber and enhancement talent and would be beat up by names like Jimmy Snuka and David Sammartino. By 1985 he would have a name change and be called The Axe and was still being used to put over bigger stars. But by late 1985 he would be Corporal Kirchner the military hero who loved America and would feud with heels that cheated and put down our nation, he was a true veteran and served in the Army when he was a young man. He also filled the void that Sgt. Slaughter left when he left the WWF and they needed a flag-waving hero and Corporal Kirchner was the man for the job as fans got behind him. To help build up Corporal Kirchner the WWF would shoot some vignettes and have him interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund to get across his message and showcase his skills. They would also start having him wrestler matches against lower card heels like Steve Lombardi, Terry Gibbs and Mr. X but they would also put him over bigger named heels as well like Don Muraco, Moondog Spot and The Spoiler. He would however also take a few losses to Randy Savage at this time. His major feuds would be with Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff and this feud would see him loosing many of the matches as the feuds dragged on. He would have a series of Boot Camp matches against Volkoff and would come out on top. By 1986 Corporal Kirchner would start falling down the card and would be used as enhancement talent to put over the companies rising and established heels, as he was getting a bad reputation of being really stiff to work with in the ring. He would be involved in a match at WrestleMania II as he would beat Volkoff in a flag match and this being his biggest match during his WWF run. By 1987 the writing was on the wall as Corporal Kirchner would start pilling up the losses as he would be defeated by names like Rick Rude, Killer Khan, King Kong Bundy and Harley Race, and after failing a drug test he was suspended and Corporal Kirchner would not return to the company and just as fast as Corporal Kirchner came he was gone from the WWF.
After leaving WWF he would have a very small run in Stampede that would only be through 1987. And on a side note he also had a few matches for UWF in 1991. He then would start working in Japan and would have two short runs for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1989 and 1990 before landing in W*ING in 1992 and dropped being Corporal Kirchner and would become Leatherface who was inspired by the villain in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and would become a Hardcore/Death Match wrestler and would have many bloody matches against such names as Jason The Terrible, Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Mr. Pogo and Crash The Terminator. During his run in Japan Leatherface would get into a fight with a fan and this would cause him to be locked up in jail for six months as he hurt the man pretty bad, and W*ING would have wrestler Rick Patterson become Leatherface in order to keep the character alive as it was a big draw for them. And when returning Original Leatherface would team with the current Leatherface and would be called Leatherfaces and would wrestle in IWA Japan that is until late 1994 when he would leave the promotion after shooting on Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono in a Double Hell Deathmatch when Original Leatherface placed a bed of nails on the neck of Ono and stomped on it and then powerbombed him then on the nails his time was up for the company. And in 1995 Leatherface would become Super Leather and would sign with FMW in Japan and this is were he would really make a name for himself in Hardcore Wrestling and would become a major draw for the promotion and would have high profile matches against many of the companies top stars like Mike Awesome, Mr. Pogo, Masato Tanaka, Hayabusa and Ricky Fuiji to name a few. Super Leather would work for FMW till around 1999 and still would make random appearances for them in 2001 and 2002. In the 2000’s once more going just as Leatherface he would take matches in American companies like JCW and XWF and his final major match came in 2009 for PWR as he would win over Joey Vengeance. Sadly Corporal Kirchner passed away on December 22, 2021 from a heart attack at the age of 64.
Growing up Corporal Kirchner was a wrestler I remember as he was on TV at the time of my youth and most kids I knew had the LJN figure of him, and that is the odd thing he was never a wrestler that was super popular with my friends who watched wrestling and yet we all had his figure…strange looking back at it now as every kid who had the WWF LJN figures I knew really did have him. Corporal Kirchner was clearly a wrestler that WWF at first had faith in as they booked him pretty strong and would give him some solid wins over mid-card and lower card heels, but you can tell when they soured on him and his losses started to pile up and he was given the jobber treatment. But even when being booked on the loosing end of matches it was clear that he was well loved by fans as he would get good cheers, and during the time it was clear that he was not only in the WWF to take the place of Sgt. Slaughter but also because the Rambo films was super popular at the time and Kirchner was the perfect choice to fill that role as he had not only the background but also the look. And while I liked Kirchner I was a fan of his when he turned into the brutal Leatherface as I was a big watcher of FMW that I would buy the DVD and VHS releases as well as had a few tapes from the grey market and Leatherface was one I always enjoyed and when I found out it was Kirchner behind the mask it made him even cooler as who would have ever thought that the Pro-American Hero was the same guy wearing the Leatherface mask and throwing opponents into barbwire. Plus for those of you who didn’t know Kirchner got into wrestling after meeting and befriending Hulk Hogan who was raising as a superstar at a gym and the two spent time chatting about the fame of being a pro wrestler and Kirchner was hooked and knew he wanted to become one. I also find it interesting that during his time in the WWF many of his opponents complained about Kirchner being to rough and stiff and with many of them not wanting to work with him is why he fell down the card, and is why he became enhancement talent much like many names before him…looking at you Outback Jack. And imagine what could have been for Kirchner if he would have stayed in WWF instead of quitting way back in 1987 and I think that when Sgt. Slaughter came back to WWF in 1990 the two would have had a small feud. But also kind of glad he did leave, as then the world of hardcore wrestling would not have had Leatherface! While Kirchner was never one of my favorites I did find him entertaining and a good babyface for the federation at the time when American heroes was a big theme in wrestling. Oh I should also note once he walked around from full time in ring work he became a truck driver.
We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Corporal Kirchner for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready lets step into the ring with Corporal Kirchner.
Best Of Corporal Kirchner
Match 1: Corporal Kirchner vs. Paul Orndorff
As the bell rings Kirchner and Orndorff lock up and its shown that while the two are strong it’s Orndorff who is the stronger as he keeps backing Kirchner into the ropes, and after doing so three times when the pair break apart Orndorff slaps Kirchner across the face. This fires up Kirchner who ends up pushing Orndorff against the ropes, and for doing so Kirchner takes a cheap shot as the referee breaks them up. And Orndorff then starts beating the hell out of Kirchner with hits, kicks, knees and moves all done super aggressive as the fans boo. Kirchner changes the tide with a hip toss and a series of dropkicks that even knocks Orndorff out of the ring. But Orndorff takes back over the match and delivers a powerful suplex as well as a knee to the head of the downed Kirchner, Orndorff places on a chin lock and when Kirchner tries to get out of the hold he is beatdown for making the attempt he is even thrown outside the ring and has his neck dropped on the railing. Once back in the ring Kirchner makes a small comeback but is pined when Orndorff hits him with a piledriver. This is a really good match as the top heel Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff does a great job of wrestling dirty, getting the fans fired up with boos and is able to showcase his strongman style in the ring all the while proving why he was one of the best heels at that time to step foot into a WWF ring. And while he comes off the true star and attraction of the match he does not bury Kirchner and does make him look strong in spots. It’s clear that Kirchner was being used as a upper card enhancement talent as he is able to get some great moves in before finally taking the loss. Orndorff’s piledriver is on point and in the 80’s he was the master of the move for me as the impact that his version just seemed always so brutal, I also have to say the series of dropkicks by Kirchner was also very well done and looked good. A solid match and both guys looked good and for the most part they had really good chemistry together.
Grade: ***
Match 2: Corporal Kirchner vs. Kamala
Before the bell rings Kirchner gets the fans cheering for him and America, and when the bell finally rings the two run the ropes and Kamala knocks Kirchner down on the mat and this happens twice. And every time Kirchner tries to attack he is taken down by Kamala who is using massive head butts, ripping at Kirchner’s face and even uses chops. Kirchner makes a comeback and uses his punches and headbutts to try and rock the Ugandan Giant. But after missing a dropkick Kirchner is crushed by Kamala who lands two big splashes and gets the pin victory. After the bell Kamala climbs to the top rope and lands a big splash that makes Kirchner twitch in pain, and he keeps splashing him over and over. This match was a squash one and while Kirchner tries to fight off Kamala he is easily taken down and defeated and then continues to get his butt kicked after the bell and is made to look like a total jobber. Kamala is clearly the main star of the match and uses chops and his splashes to win and as always Kamala looks like a monster heel threat. Kirchner at times over sells and even when landing moves he flip’s around and at time it looks silly. The fans are for Kirchner and they boo Kamala and this is a good quick match that is clearly a way to build him as one of the companies top heels. This is a good squash match that was super quick and did its job of telling its story.
Grade: **1/2
Match 3: Corporal Kirchner vs. King Harley Race
Kirchner makes his way to the ring waving the American Flag and getting the fans cheering for him and the nation he loves. But before the bell rings with his back turned Race attacks and unloads on him with punches, moves and well placed knees. Race continues just beating the hell out of Kirchner who tries to make a quick comeback landing some big hits, but Kirchner climbs to the top rope and tries to land a flying elbow drop and misses and this gives Race the chance to climb the top rope and hit a clothesline, Race then hits a cradle suplex and gets the three count and the win. This is another match that is clearly to put over the heel King Harley Race as the match is short and Harley is able to defeat Kirchner cleanly in the center of the ring, and while Kirchner is able to get some moves in it’s clear that he is the enhancement talent in the match. And while the fans are behind Kirchner its clear he is not near the upper card. And while he gets fired up and lands some great punches he does not really get to showcase much of his talent at all. Race however looks great and his moves are pulled off flawless and his aggressive nature really did make him look like a major heel threat to any baby face. Not much to say besides a good enhancement match for Race and a match that proved that Kirchner while liked by fans was not climbing the card.
Grade: **1/2
Match 4: Corporal Kirchner vs. Iron Sheik
As soon as the bell rings Kirchner takes the action to Iron Sheik and unloads on him as the fans go crazy. But when Nikolai Volkoff comes to ringside Kirchner gets distracted and this allows Iron Sheik to attack and take over the momentum of the match and when getting Kirchner down he even spits on him. Iron Sheik then gets Kirchner in a abdominal stretch and cranks it in, but Kirchner is able to break the hold and lands a knees but misses a dropping elbow. Iron Sheik then drapes Kirchner over the ropes and then jumps on him chocking him on the ropes, after being tossed out of the ring and beat up on a little more Kirchner tries to roll up Iron Sheik to get a pin but it fails. In the end after they both go back and fourth its Kirchner that gets the win by DQ when Volkoff enters the ring to stop a pin and they two beat Kirchner up. As the two beat up Kirchner more it’s the Killer Bees that run in and make the save. This is a good match between two brawling style wrestlers that allows both to go back and fourth and each come out of the match looking good with Iron Sheik looking like the heel that he is and Kirchner looking like the American hero that WWF was building him up to be. While none of the moves in the match are overly impressive they get the job done and they get the right pop from the fans. It was nice seeing Kirchner get the win as Iron Sheik had to cheat in order not to be pinned and this was the right move to help build the feud they were in. Over all I enjoyed this match even if it was by no means a Five Star match as the two told a story in the ring even if it was a sloppy brawl style.
Grade: **1/2
Match 5: Corporal Kirchner vs. Mike Miller
This match takes place in the indie’s and Kirchner is the heel in the match! The two start the match locking up and it ends in a stalemate as neither gain the momentum, they need walk around the ring sizing each other up looking for the right time to strike. And when he can Kirchner does his best to take a few cheap shots at Miller who is getting fired up. And they two then exchange arm drags and this makes the fans pop as Miller is clearly now frustrating Kirchner. And Miller then gets Kirchner into an arm bar that is only broke when Kirchner is able to get his foot on the ropes. The two then get moves and escape moves on each other with Kirchner missing a big elbow drop causing him to be in pain. During a test of strength it looks as if Kirchner will be getting the upper hand that is until he takes several kicks to the gut from Miller who then takes over the match, that is until Kirchner stalls again slowing down the pace and gives him time to take charge. After going back and fourth Kirchner charges Miller in the corner who moves and this causes Kirchner to hit hard the turnbuckle and Miller is able to backslide and get the pin over Kirchner. This match is just ok as I feel that while both Kirchner and Miller are trying to tell a story in the ring you can tell neither are given 100% and that the match is plagued with lots of stalling and rest holds. And while I found it to be kind of boring the fans in the crowd seemed to be into the match as Mike Miller was clearly a big face for the OWF an indie promotion and its puzzling as he did not offer much in this match besides very basic movies and a limited brawling style. Kirchner did not look good either as being the heel he stalled and used rest holds way to much and never pushed the pace of the match and just really helped make the match kind of boring. Not much more to say besides it was cool seeing Kirchner as a heel and that the match just did not bring the entertainment to me.
Grade: *1/2
Match 6: Corporal Kirchner vs. Ricky Santana
This is another match that has Kirchner as the heel and is for OWF again. When the bell rings Kirchner hits Ricky with a knee to the gut and this drops him causing him almost to fall out of the ring. But Ricky uses his speed to land some hip tosses and a dropkick and the fans start going crazy with cheers. Both guys start working over each others arms when finally Ricky is able to get Kirchner to the mat still working his arm and even driving knees into it causing pain and damage, and even when Kirchner gets out of the hold he is quickly put right back into it. But Kirchner truly escapes with a jawbreaker and starts unleasing a beating on Ricky as the crowd tries to cheer to give their fan favorite a boost. Kirchner hits a suplex and goes for the pin but Ricky kicks out, Ricky then hits a flying back elbow and takes the tide until Kirchner tosses him out of the ring. Ricky is able to then roll up Kirchner and get the pin and the win, but Kirchner beats up Ricky after the bell. This match started out entertaining as Ricky Santana used his speed to take on and down the brawling Kirchner, but sadly it travels the route of rest holds and the pace is slowed so down that it starts to drag. But when it once more gets on pace the match picks back up and is a good TV Match that has both guys trying to tell a story in the ring even though its very basic and the fans in attendance are eating it up. Ricky Santana is good and reminded me of a mix of Tito Santana and Marty Jannetty as his moves and speed reminded me of them, while he was not as good as those two he had potential. Kirchner is the total heel as he is rough, gives cheap shots and uses his brawling style to try and beat up Ricky. Again no move stands out in the match as its not a fantastic one it’s just an enjoyable one that is clearly building Kirchner as a top heel as he attacks and even bags up Ricky after the match. Over all not bad and if you like mid-card matches from the indies in the 80’s this one is for you.
Grade: **1/2
Match 7: Corporal Kirchner vs. Adrian Adonis
Kirchner is able to get Adonis in the corner after the two lock up and from there is able to showcase his power to Adonis even knocking him out of the ring. Once back in the ring Adonis tries to take the action to Kirchner, but its stopped as Kirchner once more starts beating up Adonis to the fans delight. Jimmy Hart who is the manager of Adonis keeps trying to distract Kirchner to buy his man some time to recover. Kirchner gets Adonis is a headlock, but Adonis gets out of the hold with a side suplex and with that Adonis climbs the ropes and with a splash landed he gets the win via pin. This is a very quick match and while Kirchner is in charge most of the match using his brawling style he is done in with a suplex and a splash showing at this time he was 100% being booked as enhancement talent as the match was clearly to put over Adonis who has a big match against Roddy Pipper shortly at WrestleMania III. The down side being is that Adonis did not look all that great as he mostly got beat up by Kirchner who was being very limited in the moves he was trying to pull off. Over all this was pretty much a squash match that was booked oddly and did a good job of at least showing that Kirchner was a fighter.
Grade: **
Match 8: Corporal Kirchner vs. J.T. Southern
This match takes place in OWF and once more Kirchner is the heel. The two start the match squaring up and Southern is able to take Kirchner down as the fans go crazy. And Kirchner keeps getting beat up and rolls out of the ring. Kirchner’s leg is hurting and when he gets back in the ring the two have a test of strength and Kirchner gets the upper hand with a cheap shot kick and goes for the pin that Southern kicks out and delivers a nut shot that crumples Kirchner to the mat as the fans cheer like crazy. Southern goes crazy and unloads big punches on Kirchner who is still down, and even as Kirchner tries to get away Southern just continues to unload on him. Kirchner begs for timeout but Southern keeps up his attack and stomps him in the corner and then locks him into a chin lock. Once out of the hold Kirchner is able to take over the momentum and even hits a powerful clothesline from behind. Kirchner hits a few power moves and goes for the pin, but each time Sothern kicks out and this frustrates him as he wants to end the match. But Southern is able to get a small package rollup and get the pin and win. After the bell Kirchner attacks Southern as he was angered over loosing. He also puts Southern in the body bag and drops a top rope knee on him. This is a fun mid-card match and both tell a pretty good story in the ring as both throughout the match look good and have their time to shine. J.T. Southern is the ultimate baby face as he plays to the fans, gets fired up and really takes it to the heel. While Southern does nothing to impressive move wise in the match he is so over with the fans that it helps draw you into the match and look past any limitations he has in the ring. He is also the typical Rock N Roll wrestler who is complete with long hair and tiger striped tights. Kirchner in the match is a total chicken shit heel who begs for mercy, tries to cheat and gets the fans worked up with his ego and smirks. Kirchner hits a few really great looking impact moves and I do like his gimmick of putting his opponents in military body bags after the match has ended. Over all this is a good match that was entertaining.
Grade: **1/2
Corporal Kirchner is a wrestler who went from an American Hero to a chainsaw-swinging madman based on a Horror Movie character. The thing with Corporal Kirchner is that when he was in the WWF he was a popular mid-carder that got the fans to chant for America and as well always did his best to bring down the heels that he had to face. He was in the military and this helped him seem legit in the character he was playing in the ring. Well as you can see, just across the street at the Rotten Ink Staduim they are going to be setting off fireworks soon for the holiday and I am sure were ever you are from the fireworks will be going off soon so I think its time to head on out, and with that I would like to thank you for spending apart of your 4th of July with me here and I would also like to let you know that our next update will take us to the land of Monster Bash Convention and we will be taking a look at the 2010 remake of the George Romero film The Crazies! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next update for a crazy spooky good time!
Rotten Ink 