The Bolsheviks
Encyclopedia
The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling
tag team
in the World Wrestling Federation
from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.
The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff
and Boris Zhukov
portraying a pair of Russia
n Communist
bad guys
. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although he portrayed a Russian as a wrestler, he was, in fact, from Croatia
. Zhukov was an American named Jim Barrel, who had spent the previous few years of his wrestling career portraying a Russian.
The pair made their first PPV appearance together in the 10 team elimination match at the inaugural Survivor Series
in 1987. The pair had little success and were the first team eliminated from the match.
They then made an appearance in the 20 man battle royal
held at WrestleMania IV
in Atlantic City. The duo lost to the Powers of Pain
at SummerSlam '88
. They were once again apart of the 10 team elimination match held at Survivor Series '88
but were eliminated early once again.
They spent much of 1989 on the low end of the card, feuding with The Bushwackers and despite being on the active roster the entire year they never made to a PPV card, missing out on events like the Royal Rumble
, WrestleMania V
and SummerSlam '89
, Survivor Series '89
and Royal Rumble '90
.
The duo never held any titles together, and made their last notable PPV appearance as a team at WrestleMania VI
, where they were defeated in 19 seconds by The Hart Foundation
.
After WrestleMania, the duo split up. Volkoff became a flag-waving American face
and Zhukov remained the Russian heel
. The duo feuded throughout 1990 and ultimately culminated at Survivor Series 1990
in an eight man elimination match when Volkoff's team of Tito Santana
and The Bushwackers, called The Alliance defeated The Mercenaries, a team consisting of Sgt. Slaughter
, The Orient Express
and Zhukov. Santana was the sole survivor.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.
The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
and Boris Zhukov
Jim Barrell
James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
portraying a pair of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
bad guys
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although he portrayed a Russian as a wrestler, he was, in fact, from Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. Zhukov was an American named Jim Barrel, who had spent the previous few years of his wrestling career portraying a Russian.
Career
Zhukov was brought in as Volkoff's partner in 1987 after Volkoff's regular partner Iron Sheik was fired.The pair made their first PPV appearance together in the 10 team elimination match at the inaugural Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1987)
Survivor Series was the first Survivor Series pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1987 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio....
in 1987. The pair had little success and were the first team eliminated from the match.
They then made an appearance in the 20 man battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
held at WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
in Atlantic City. The duo lost to the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
at SummerSlam '88
SummerSlam (1988)
SummerSlam was the first annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, located in New York, New York. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival...
. They were once again apart of the 10 team elimination match held at Survivor Series '88
Survivor Series (1988)
Survivor Series was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
but were eliminated early once again.
They spent much of 1989 on the low end of the card, feuding with The Bushwackers and despite being on the active roster the entire year they never made to a PPV card, missing out on events like the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1989)
Royal Rumble was the second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , and the first one to be held on pay-per-view. It took place on January 15, 1989 at The Summit in Houston, Texas....
, WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
and SummerSlam '89
SummerSlam (1989)
SummerSlam was the second annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 28, 1989 in the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey....
, Survivor Series '89
Survivor Series (1989)
Survivor Series was the third annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1989 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. This was the first Survivor Series event to feature team...
and Royal Rumble '90
Royal Rumble (1990)
Royal Rumble was the third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 21, 1990 at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida....
.
The duo never held any titles together, and made their last notable PPV appearance as a team at WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
, where they were defeated in 19 seconds by The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
.
After WrestleMania, the duo split up. Volkoff became a flag-waving American face
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
and Zhukov remained the Russian heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
. The duo feuded throughout 1990 and ultimately culminated at Survivor Series 1990
Survivor Series (1990)
Survivor Series was the fourth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
in an eight man elimination match when Volkoff's team of Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...
and The Bushwackers, called The Alliance defeated The Mercenaries, a team consisting of Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
, The Orient Express
The Orient Express
For the full article on Badd Company see Badd CompanyThe Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato....
and Zhukov. Santana was the sole survivor.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Backbreaker hold (Volkoff) / Second rope axe handle elbow drop (Zhukov) combination
- ManagerManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
s- SlickKen Johnson (wrestling)Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation...
- Slick
Championships and accomplishments
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Worst Tag Team (1988)