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| ====ECW (2009)==== | ====ECW (2009)==== | ||
| On April 13, 2009, Kozlov was drafted to the ] brand as part of the ], as ECW's only pick of the night. Shortly after the draft, his gimmick was tweaked to further highlight the training he received within the Russian military. He won his first match on the brand when he easily defeated a ]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/04132009//|accessdate=2009-04-20|date=2009-04-13|last=Sitterson|first= Aubrey|title=Rough Draft|publisher=]}}</ref> |
On April 13, 2009, Kozlov was drafted to the ] brand as part of the ], as ECW's only pick of the night. Shortly after the draft, his gimmick was tweaked to further highlight the training he received within the Russian military. He won his first match on the brand when he easily defeated a ]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/04132009//|accessdate=2009-04-20|date=2009-04-13|last=Sitterson|first= Aubrey|title=Rough Draft|publisher=]}}</ref>{{fact}} <!--DO NOT ADD WEEK BY WEEK EVENTS, RUMORS OR SPECULATION. THIS INCLUDES ANNOUNCED MATCHES THAT HAVE NOT YET OCCURRED. WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A NEWS SITE BUT AN ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA. Please see the articles "Misplaced Pages:Recentism", "Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not" and "Misplaced Pages:Guide to writing better articles" for more information. --> | ||
| ==Other media== | ==Other media== | ||
Revision as of 23:21, 10 June 2009
This article is about the WWE wrestler. For the Soviet Union international footballer, see Vladimir Kozlov (footballer).| Oleg Prudius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1972-04-27) April 27, 1972 (age 52) Ukrainian SSR |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Oleg Prudius Vladimir Kozlov |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Billed weight | 302 lb (137 kg) |
| Billed from | Moscow, Russia |
| Trained by | DSW Training staff OVW Training staff |
| Debut | 2005 |
Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius (Template:Lang-uk; (born on April 27, 1972) is a Ukrainian professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and is working on the ECW brand. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, rugby, football, sambo, kickboxing, judo, and mixed martial arts. He was introduced to WWE by Jerry Jarrett.
Prudius has also worked as a stage and screen actor, notably having a small role in Spike Lee's 25th Hour. Kozlov also had a role in Grindhouse, appearing in the "Werewolf Women of the SS" trailer; he was credited under his real name and his WWE persona for the appearance. He is a former Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
Career
Pre–wrestling
Prudius has won numerous achievements, becoming the 2005 USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion and a United States Kick-Boxing Association (USKBA) International Heavyweight Grappling Champion. He has also played American football for the Ukrainian National Team as well as Santa Barbara City College.
World Wrestling Entertainment
On January 17, 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment announced that Prudius had signed a developmental deal and was sent to Deep South Wrestling. On April 7, 2006 he debuted under his real name "Oleg Prudius" and had his first match in DSW against Tommy Suede.
On May 5, 2006, Prudius had his first untelevised WWE match during a house show in San Jose, California, defeating Rob Conway. The next night, at another house show in Sacramento, California, Matt Striker cut a promo on Prudius, calling him a "filthy immigrant," causing Prudius to attack him. Prudius then picked up the microphone and said he that he is "proud to be in America."
On the December 18, 2006 episode of Raw, Prudius made an appearance as a WWE prospect named Vladimir Kozlov, which became his ring name. For the next several weeks, Kozlov was interviewed on WWE programming, proclaiming his love for "Double Double E" (WWE), but drawing some heel heat for declaring his superiority over whatever wrestlers were competing at the time, saying "I could beat both of them." He then was taken off television for over a year while working in the developmental system and participating in a number of dark matches all of which he won.
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2007–2008)
On July 28, 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky, he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship by defeating Paul Burchill, but gave the Championship the same night to Michael W. Kruel due to an agreement they made before.
SmackDown (2008–2009)
On the April 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Kozlov made his official WWE debut as a heel, with the unique quirk of having no entrance music and no TitanTron video – his "entrance" consisted of complete darkness except for a solitary spotlight following him to the ring. He defeated Matt Bentley in his first match, and over the following weeks, Kozlov would win a series of squash matches, first against local talent, and then established names including Colin Delaney, Funaki, Nunzio, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jamie Noble, and Domino. On the July 11, 2008 airing of SmackDown, Kozlov debuted an entrance theme and TitanTron video as he defeated Stevie Richards.
In the following weeks, as Kozlov continued to easily win matches, he began demanding "better competition". On the September 12, 2008 edition of SmackDown, he started to seek that competition, attacking Jeff Hardy. Over the following weeks, Kozlov would continue attacking both Hardy and the WWE Champion Triple H, eventually starting a loose feud between the three of them over the WWE title. On the November 7 episode of SmackDown Kozlov earned a match against Triple H for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series by defeating The Undertaker by disqualification after he was attacked by Jeff Hardy. The match was originally intended to include Kozlov, Jeff Hardy, and Triple H, however Hardy was removed due to a kayfabe injury, the result of this was the addition of Edge to the match while it was in progress, Edge would go on to pin Triple H and win the title.
Kozlov lost a beat the clock challenge against Matt Hardy for another title shot, this led to the two meeting at Armageddon, where Kozlov gained his first pay-per-view win by defeating ECW Champion Matt Hardy in a non-title match. Kozlov competed in the 2009 Royal Rumble match, entering number 6 but was eliminated by Triple H after eliminating The Great Khali, Carlito, and Montel Vontavious Porter. He then qualified to be part of the No Way Out Elimination Chamber match, where he was pinned for the first time after receiving a Last Ride from Undertaker, though he still remained unpinned in one-on-one competition. Kozlov's undefeated streak in televised singles competition ended on the March 2, 2009 episode of Raw, in which he was defeated by Shawn Michaels; this match was for the opportunity to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV. His first televised singles loss on SmackDown came against The Undertaker on March 13, 2009. Although he was unable to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV, Kozlov did participate at the event as a lumberjack during the tag team championship unification match between The Colóns and John Morrison and The Miz.
ECW (2009)
On April 13, 2009, Kozlov was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft, as ECW's only pick of the night. Shortly after the draft, his gimmick was tweaked to further highlight the training he received within the Russian military. He won his first match on the brand when he easily defeated a local competitor.
Other media
Prudius has made many television appearances. He appeared in the second season of the HBO drama series The Wire, as well as Roksalana and It's Not To Easy on Ukrainian TV. In 2002, he appeared in Spike Lee's film 25th Hour, playing a Russian mafia enforcer. He appeared in the Russian military theatre play Victory Day and a Ukraine University play Three Musketeers.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Backbreaker rack drop – OVW / WWE; 2007–early 2008
- Battering ram to an oncoming or diving opponent – WWE
- Iron Curtain (Kneeling leg trap chokeslam pin) – WWE
- Scoop lift dropped into an inverted DDT – WWE
- Fallaway slam
- Fireman's carry takeover
- Kick to the chest of an opponent draped horizontally over the top turnbuckle
- Overhead / Side belly to belly suplex
- Over the shoulder arm drag
- Pushing big boot to the opponent's chest
- Scoop powerslam
- Single leg Boston crab
- Entrance themes
- "All For The Motherland" by Jim Johnston (2007–2008; Used for dark matches)
- "Pain" by Jim Johnston (2008–present)
Championships and accomplishments
Martial arts
- Sambo
- USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion (2005)
- United States Kick-Boxing Association
- USKBA International Heavyweight Grappling Champion
Professional wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #149 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Slammy Award for Breakout Star of the Year (2008)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Most Overrated (2008)
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2008) vs. Triple H and Edge at Survivor Series
References
- http://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/wi/2009/0427/405422/christian_cage/index.shtml
- http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.sqorpio.narod.ru/prudius.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doleg%2Bprudius%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_ru%257Clang_uk%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dopera%26rls%3Den-GB%26sa%3DG
- ^ "WWE Bio". WWE. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ "Vladimir Kozlov resume" (PDF). Carry Company. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- "Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius - Biography". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- Online World of Wrestling Profile
- Passero, Mitch (2008-04-04). "Mixed Emotions". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- Passero, Mitch (2008-05-02). "Championship Friday". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- Passero, Mitch (2008-05-16). "Fear and loathing in Grand Rapids". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- DiFino, Lennie (2008-05-23). "Stood up". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- "The Animal is Running Wild". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Unknown parameter|l ast=ignored (help) - Passero, Mitch (2008-06-06). "California dreamin'". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- Passero, Mitch (2008-06-20). "Spear of influence". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- Rote, Andrew (2008-06-27). "SmackDown goes gold". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- DiFinno, Lennie (2008-07-11). "SmackDown: Endless love?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/archive/11072008/
- http://www.wwe.com/shows/armageddon/matches/8874194/results/
- http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/matches/9253224/results/
- http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/03022009/
- http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/archive/03132009/
- Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-04-13). "Rough Draft". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ Tedesco, Mike (2008-09-16). "Smackdown Results - 9/12/08 - Milwaukee, WI ('New #1 Contender')". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "WWE: The Music Vol 9 CD". wweshop.com. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- "Complete PWI 500 list for 2008". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-10.