Dean “The Shooter” Malenko may be wrestling’s most underrated athletes.  He is a
competitor who could have been World Heavyweight Champion numerous times over, but has
been passed over by promoters.  Son of Boris Malenko, Dean and his brother Joe have
earned respect throughout the world as being two very well schooled mat grapplers.  He has
been decorated in some respected, but many believe he has never reached his full potential
universally due to the politics of the sports.  He is not the only one.  Over the past six years,
Malenko has won belts in each of the three major wrestling organizations in the United States,
WCW, ECW and the WWF.  In August 2001, he announced his retirement during the Brian
Pillman Memorial Show in Ohio.  

  Malenko developed his technical abilities through Japan, Mexico and the American
Independents before gaining a certain amount of fame in Eastern Championship Wrestling
and later Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994.  Like his father, the World Heavyweight
Title eluded him throughout his career.  It’s not the belts around the Malenko’s waists, but the
ethic and determination to give the best match possible.  Dean Malenko accomplished that
every time he went through the ropes.  In May 1996, he joined a select group of wrestlers to
enter his first pay-per-view as a reigning champion, meaning promoters were eager to put a
belt on him before they could even schedule his first major match.

  Along with his father, Dean and Joe Malenko trained dozens of athletes for the pro-ranks.  
The Master of the Texas Cloverleaf and the “Man of 1,000 Holds,” Dean made his
professional debut in the early 1980s.  He ventured through several territories before going
overseas to Japan, where he began wrestling as Dean Solkoff.  He later changed his name to
Malenko.  In addition to teaming with his brother, Dean and Joe wrestled on occasion and
gave Japanese fans some great matches.  It wasn’t long before Malenko developed into a top
mat artist with a skill and knowledge of the sport’s basics, many of which are ignored today.

  In a memorable match with Joe on September 30, 1990 in Tokyo, they lost to Dynamite Kid
and Johnny Smith at Korakuen Hall.  He received a shot at the IWGP World Junior Title on
March 21, 1993 in Nagoya.  Jushin Liger beat Malenko to retain.  He signed with the NWA’s
Eastern Championship Wrestling out of Philadelphia in 1994 and quickly established a fan
base.  He was one of eight-men enlisted by promoters to participate in a tournament to
declare a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.  It was Malenko’s opportunity to show the
world what he could do.  As shown in a speech he gave on ECW television prior to the
tournament, it meant a lot to him.  It was a chance to win the same belt his father chased.

  On August 27, 1994 at the ECW Arena, Malenko joined 2 Cold Scorpio, Shane Douglas,
911, Osamu Nishimura, Chris Benoit, the Tazmaniac and Doink the Clown to begin the
tournament.  One of the eight would leave that night with the NWA World Title.  Malenko beat
Nishimura in the first round.  He wrestled Douglas in the second and lost.  Douglas went on to
win the tournament over Scorpio.  After the win, he denounced the NWA and stated that the
organization was dead.  He threw the NWA Belt to the ground and proclaimed himself the
initial World Champion of Extreme Championship Wrestling.  In a sad turn of events, Malenko’
s father died five days later in Florida at the age of 61.

  The Great Malenko was honored by hundreds at his funeral as fans paid their respects.  
Malenko returned to Philly and joined Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon in the new ECW.  He
took Jason Knight as his manager.  On October 1, 1994, he beat Don E. Allen and Dino
Sendoff in a special handicap match in Philadelphia.  In Hamburg on Friday, November 4th,
Malenko beat 2 Cold Scorpio and won the ECW World Television Title.  Later that month,
Malenko teamed with his brother Joe before more than 1,000 fans at the ECW Arena.  They
wrestled Sabu and Taz, a pair of the organization’s top athletes.  The match was well worth
fans’ money and in the end, the brothers lost.  Malenko remained the champion through the
holidays and into the new year.

  He teamed with Chris Benoit and the Public Enemy on January 7, 1995 in Philadelphia
against Taz, Sabu and 911.  The four-on-three match-up ended with Taz pin on Johnny
Grunge.  Malenko and Benoit found some successful together as a team.  On February 25,
1995 in Philadelphia, the duo captured the ECW World Tag Title from Sabu and Taz.  
Malenko became a double champion, until dropping the TV Title back to Scorpio on March
18th in Philadelphia.  The champions wrestling in a three-way dance on April 8th at the ECW
Arena against the Public Enemy and Taz and Rick Steiner.  Grunge and Rock captured the
tag straps.

  On July 21st, he beat Eddy Guerrero in a classic bout to win his second ECW World TV
Title.  A week later in Middletown, New York, Guerrero regained the belt.  They drew on
August 26th in Philadelphia in yet another memorable contest.  The Malenko-Guerrero series
were some of the most even and unpredictable matches seen in the U.S. during the ’90s.  
Fans still talk about them.

  Later in 1995, Malenko signed with World Championship Wrestling along with Benoit, Sabu
and Guerrero.  He wrestled Mr. J.L. in a scientific match on December 25, 1995, during a pre-
taped broadcast of Nitro.  Malenko won by submission.  On January 22, 1996 in Las Vegas,
Brian Pillman beat Malenko during another edition of Monday Nitro.  He became the second
man to hold the WCW World Cruiserweight Title on May 2nd in Orlando with a victory over
Shinjiro Ohtani at the Arena.  Four days later, Malenko wrestled a multiple-time holder of the
IWGP World Junior Title, Jushin Liger and won by pinfall to retain.  He appeared on his first
ever pay-per-view on May 19th at Slamboree as the defending World Cruiserweight
Champion.  He wrestled Brad Armstrong and won.

  On June 16th in Baltimore, Malenko wrestled a top athlete from Mexico, Rey Misterio Jr.  
The champion retained by pinfall.  The next night in Richmond, the two were matched up a
second time and the two performed spectacularly once again.  Malenko pinned Rey Jr.  The
Cruiserweight Division was quickly becoming the best division in America.  The Bash at the
Beach show was held on July 7, 1996 in Daytona Beach at the Ocean Center.  Malenko
wrestled the Disco Inferno and retained the title.  The next day in Orlando, Rey Misterio Jr.
challenged him and captured the belt.  He competed against another scientific grappler on
August 15th at the Clash.  Malenko won.

  Promoters signed a rematch between Rey Jr. and Malenko for the MGM Grand Garden
Hotel at Halloween Havoc in Las Vegas.  The event was held on October 27th.  Malenko beat
Misterio and won his second Cruiserweight Title.  Ultimo Dragon beat him on December 29,
1996 in Nashville to win the belt.  With Malenko, Misterio, Ultimo Dragon and others in the
organization, there was no question that most of the best matches were being staged on
either Nitro or on pay-per-view.  He challenged the champion in Milwaukee on January 22,
1997 and regained the Cruiserweight Title for a third time.  During SuperBrawl on February
23rd, Syxx, a member of the New World Order, beat Malenko in San Francisco to win the belt.

  From there, Malenko decided it was time to focus on a major belt in the heavyweight
division, the United States Title.  He beat Eddy Guerrero, a longtime foe, on March 16th in
South Carolina and accomplished that feat.  During the first week of April, Malenko wrestled a
former partner, Chris Benoit in Tupelo at during Spring Stampede.  He won by disqualification
in a wild match, where a number of wrestlers were also involved.  Arn Anderson hit Malenko,
causing the final decision.  He beat Jeff Jarrett by submission on May 18th in Charlotte and
retained the U.S. Title.  Many were surprised that he was still the champion going into the
summer.  Many wrestlers were gunning for him and the belt, but Malenko had clearly
established himself as the top man.  Jarrett finally beat him during an edition of Nitro in
Boston during the month of June.  He teamed with Jarrett on August 9th at Road Wild against
Benoit and Steve McMichael in a special elimination match.  Malenko and Jarrett wad
defeated.

  During the September 8th edition of Nitro from Milwaukee, he forced Psicosis to submit in a
very respected contest.  In a match to determine the number one contender to the U.S.
Heavyweight Title, Malenko wrestled Jarrett on September 14, 1997 in Winston-Salem at Fall
Brawl.  Jarrett won the match, but left the organization in the weeks that followed.  On January
24, 1998 in Dayton, Malenko ran out to save Chris Benoit from an attack by members of the
Flock during Souled Out.  Malenko made several confusing comments after a March 15th
match against Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho in Mobile, Alabama

  Malenko lost the match and afterwards had an interview with Gene Okerlund.  There, he
announced that he was going “home.” Fans were unsure of what he meant.  Malenko
disappeared from the WCW scene, but Jericho kept his memory alive by dedicating his
Spring Stampede match with Prince Iaukea to Malenko on April 19th in Denver.  Jericho was
victorious.  The next night in Colorado Springs, Jericho went to the ring with a picture of the
“Shooter” before his match with Juventud Guerrero.  Jericho had many words to say and
much of the audience was torn between disgust and laughter.  On May 4th in Indianapolis,
Jericho continued to goad Malenko with verbal attacks.  Another picture was displayed.

  The champion spoke about Dean’s father Boris and even had a video of a past interview in
which Malenko dedicated his career to his late father.  Jericho even fought a Dean look-alike
named “Bore-us” Malenko.  He easily won by submission.  Joe Malenko appeared for Jericho’
s May 11th interview in Kansas City and was attacked while defending his family’s honor.  A
masked cruiserweight named Cyclope appeared on May 17th in Worcester as part of a 14-
man battle royal to determine who would receive a shot at Jericho’s belt later in the night.

  Cyclope won the match and revealed himself to be the returning Dean Malenko.  He was
back and wanted revenge.  Later that night, he beat Jericho and won the World
Cruiserweight Title.  Jericho was on the top of his verbal game, pointing out to J.J. Dillon the
controversies of the situation.  Rather than continue the talk, Malenko handed the belt to
Dillon on June 11th during Thunder, leading up to a Great American Bash rematch.  On June
14th in Baltimore, Jericho beat Malenko and won the vacant title.

  Before more than 41,000 fans on July 6th in Atlanta, Malenko was defeated by WCW World
TV Champion, Booker T.  Jericho distracted him in the loss.  Malenko was announced by
Dillon as the special referee for Jericho’s title match with Juventud Guerrera on August 3rd in
Denver.  He counted the challengers pin in Sturgis on August 8th.  Malenko became a
member of the Four Horsemen with Chris Benoit, Arn Anderson, Steve McMichael and Ric
Flair.  He beat Curt Hennig by disqualification at Fall Brawl in Winston-Salem.  Rick Rude
jumped Malenko, but Arn Anderson was there to help him battle his attackers off.  Malenko
reformed his successful tag team with the “Crippler” Chris Benoit.

  The two entered the vacant WCW World Tag Team Tournament in early 1999.  Malenko
and Benoit made it to the finals of the double elimination tourney, and faced Curt Hennig and
Barry Windham on February 21st in Oakland already with one loss behind them.  Their
opponents had none until their first match when Malenko forced Windham to submit to his
Texas Cloverleaf.  Thirty seconds went by before match two between the teams began
again.  Windham pinned Malenko to win the contest and the World Tag Title.  They received
a rematch at Uncensored on March 14th in Louisville and won the championship that night at
the Freedom Hall.  

  Before the end of the month, they would lose the belts on Monday Nitro to Billy Kidman and
Rey Misterio Jr.  Malenko and Benoit joined the “Revolution” with Shane Douglas and Perry
Saturn in July 1999.  The Revolution had many hopes to reshape WCW, but failed to do so.  
During the fall, Benoit left and the group eventually fell apart.

  In early 2000, Malenko left the organization with Benoit, Saturn and Eddy Guerrero and
signed with the World Wrestling Federation.  On January 31, 2000, Malenko and his pals sat
ringside for the WWF’s Raw in Pittsburgh.  They got physically involved in an altercation with
the WWF World Tag Team Champions, the New Age Outlaws.  From there, the foursome
walked out from the ring area to the dressing room rather than return to their seats.  The
group met with Mick Foley, the man who had invited them to the show.  Malenko teamed with
Benoit and Saturn in a six-man loss during their first WWF pay-per-view appearance on
February 27, 2000 at the Civic Center in Hartford.  The trio were defeated by Too Cool and
Rikishi and the latter pinned the “Man of 1000 Holds.”

  Malenko captured the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title on March 13th from Esse Rios in
East Rutherford during Raw.  He became the first man to have held both the WCW
Cruiserweight and WWF Light Heavyweight Titles since the WWF Title was revived in ’97.  An
estimated 18,000 fans were live at WrestleMania on April 2nd in Anaheim.  Malenko teamed
with Guerrero and Saturn against Chyna and Too Cool.  Chyna pinned Guerrero to win the
bout.  On April 17th, Scotty Too Hotty beat Malenko to win the Light Heavyweight Title in
State College, Pennsylvania.

  Dean regained the belt on April 25th in Charlotte and then gave Scotty a rematch on April
30th at the Backlash pay-per-view.  Malenko retained and a long reign was ahead.  On May
21, 2000 in Louisville, Malenko wrestled his Radical Teammates Saturn and Guerrero, the
WWF European Heavyweight Champion.  Guerrero pinned Malenko to retain his belt.  In
November of 2000, the Radicals remained strong.  Malenko teamed with Benoit, Guerrero
and Saturn against Chyna, K-Kwick and the New Age Outlaws at Survivor Series in a special
elimination match.  Malenko was eliminated five and Billy Gunn was last, giving his team the
victory as both Benoit and Saturn remained.

  During the final months of 2000, Malenko began going to the ring with beautiful women on
his arm.  His attitude and demeanor seemed to change.  Malenko got into a semi-war with
Lita, shocking some with the amount of violence crossing gender lines.  Malenko teamed with
Saturn and Guerrero on December 10, 2000 at Armageddon in Birmingham.  Their
opponents were the Hardy Boys and Lita.  At the end, Malenko forced Lita to submit to his
Texas Cloverleaf and won the bout for his team.  After almost a year of holding the Light
Heavyweight Title, he was beaten by Crash Holly on March 13, 2001 during a taping for
Sunday Night Heat in Anaheim.

  Malenko appeared in Cincinnati at the Oak Hills High School for the annual Brian Pillman
Memorial Show and some breaking news was about to be felt throughout the wrestling
community.  Malenko teamed with Saturn in a match against Raven and Justin Credible.  For
the win, he locked in his submission hold on Credible and got a tap out.  After the match,
Malenko spoke on the house microphone and announced his retirement from professional
wrestling.  Les Thatcher joined him in the ring and had words to say about the news and
about Malenko.  The fans expressed their admiration.

  Malenko, to this day, continues to train the future of wrestling.  Knowing that, audiences
can sit back and understand that those up-and-coming stars will have an aspect of wrestling
from the man who they knew as the “Shooter.”

Biography written around 2001 and needs to be updated.

TITLE HISTORY:

  -ICWA Light Heavyweight Title (1992) defeated Jim Backlund
  -A two-time ECW World TV Champion
          -Defeated 2 Cold Scorpion (1994)
          -Defeated Eddy Guerrero (1995)
  -A four-time WCW World Cruiserweight Champion
          -Defeated Shinjiro Ohtani (1996)
          -Defeated Rey Misterio Jr. (1996)
          -Defeated The Ultimo Dragon (1997)
          -Defeated Chris Jericho (1998)
  -WCW United States Heavyweight Title (1997) defeated Eddy Guerrero
  -Co-holder of the WCW World Tag Team Title (1999) w/ Chris Benoit
  -A two-time WWF World Light Heavyweight Champion
          -Defeated Essa Rios (2000)
          -Defeated Scotty Too Hotty (2000)




Research by Tim Hornbaker
Dean Malenko Wrestling History
Custom Search
PPV Ring Record        TV Ring Record        Career Record
Legends of Pro Wrestling