Birth name Eugene Otto Zumhofe Debut 1972 Retired 2014 Ring name(s) Buck Zumhofe Name Buck Zumhofe Billed from Minneapolis | Role Professional wrestler TV shows AWA All-Star Wrestling Billed weight 220 lb (100 kg) | |
 | ||
Residence Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, Minnesota | ||
Billed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
Jesse Ventura & Adrian Adonis vs Buck Zumhofe & Frank Reese
Eugene Otto "Buck" Zumhofe (born March 21, 1951) is an American former professional wrestler better known as Buck "Rock n' Roll" Zumhofe, wrestling's self-proclaimed original rock and roller. In 2014, Zumhofe was sentenced to 25 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct.
Contents
- Jesse Ventura Adrian Adonis vs Buck Zumhofe Frank Reese
- Yokozuna vs buck zumhofe
- Training
- Professional wrestling career
- Legal issues
- In wrestling
- Championships and accomplishments
- References
Yokozuna vs buck zumhofe
Training
Zumhofe was trained along with Ricky Steamboat, Jan Nelson, Scott Irwin and Khosrow Vaziri (aka The Iron Sheik).
Professional wrestling career
Always accompanied by his trademark boombox, Zumhofe would go on to become one of the top light heavyweight competitors in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the early and mid 1980s. He would feud primarily with "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal over the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship during that time.
He also wrestled in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) where he teamed with Iceman King Parsons as the Rock 'n' Soul Connection. The team was successful, holding the WCCW American Tag Team titles twice. The team rose to main event status on the World Class weekly tour loop as the Von Erichs (the established main event talents) would only wrestle in the main cities. Zumhofe had a reasonably successful run as a singles wrestler, making it all the way to the final of the TV title tournament, losing in the final to Rip Oliver in March 1985. Zumhofe left WCCW in October 1985 after a near two-year stay.
Returning to the AWA in 1985, he claimed his second AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Steve Regal, but was forced to vacate the title in July 1986 after he was sent to prison following his conviction for sexual misconduct. In 1988, he wrestled for Windy City Wrestling and Pro Wrestling America. Zumhofe returned to the AWA in 1989 and eventually won the AWA World Light Heavyweight title for the third time in 1990 on ESPN television, defeating Jonnie Stewart. He feuded with Stewart over the title until the promotion closed in 1991.
Zumhofe also made sporadic appearances for the World Wrestling Federation in preliminary matches during the 80s and 90s. He was the first wrestler to be put in a body bag by The Undertaker and was also the wrestler that Triple H faced in his WWF debut. During Zumhofe's career he also wrestled for Roy Shire's promotion in San Francisco, in Vancouver for Al Tomko, in Portland for Don Owen & in Japan for Giant Baba.
In 2000, Zumhofe opened the Rock & Roll Wrestling promotion, which runs shows in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota.
Legal issues
Zumhofe was jailed in July 1986 when he was found guilty of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Zumhofe served 36 months in prison after being convicted of fourth degree sexual conduct with a minor on January 23, 1989.
Zumhofe was again arrested on May 27, 2013, charged with twelve felony counts of criminal sexual misconduct. Zumhofe is alleged to have sexually abused his daughter between June 1999 and June 2011. He was convicted on all twelve counts on March 5, 2014. Following the verdict, Zumhofe attempted to flee from the court house, but was quickly tackled by court officers and charged with "escape from custody". On May 6, 2014, he received a total of 25 years in prison on two first-degree and two third-degree counts of criminal sexual conduct. The judge ordered the sentences on the four counts to be served consecutively. His escape from custody charges were eventually sentenced to run concurrently with his 2014 criminal sexual conduct sentence.