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Vladimir Kozlov

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This article is about the professional wrestler. For other people, seeVladimir Kozlov (disambiguation).

In this name that followsEastern Slavic naming customs,thepatronymicisAleksandrovichand thefamily nameisPrudius.
Vladimir Kozlov
Kozlov in 2010
Birth nameOleg Aleksandrovich Prudius
Born(1969-04-27)April 27, 1969(age 55)[1]
Kyiv,Ukrainian SSR,Soviet Union
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Alexander Kozlov[2]
Oleg Prudius[3]
Vladimir Kozlov[3][4]
Billed height6 ft 8 in (203 cm)[4]
Billed weight302 lb (137 kg)[4]
Billed fromMoscow,Russia[4]
Trained byDeep South Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
DebutApril 7, 2006[3]

Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius(Russian:Олег Александрович Прудиус;Ukrainian:Олег Олександрович Прудіус,Oleh Oleksandrovych Prudius;born April 27, 1969)[1]better known by hisring nameVladimir Kozlov,is aUkrainian-Americanactor andprofessional wrestlercurrently signed toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling(TNA) under his real name. He is best known for his time inWWE,where he won theWWE Tag Team ChampionshiponcewithSantino Marella.[4]He is trained infreestyle wrestling,rugby,football,sambo,kickboxing,judo,jujutsu,Brazilian jiu-jitsuandmixed martial arts.[3][5]

Prudius signed a development contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2006 and was assigned to WWE'sdevelopmental system,Deep South Wrestling.He would later be reassigned toOhio Valley Wrestling,where he won theOVW Heavyweight Championship.He made his debut onSmackDownas Vladimir Kozlov on April 4, 2008. He was given a big push during his first few months on SmackDown, including a clean victory overThe Undertaker.At Survivor Series 2008, Kozlov facedTriple HandEdgefor theWWE Championshipin a losing effort. At the end of 2008, he received theSlammy Awardfrom WWE as the Breakout Star of the year. However, in the awards voting for the independentWrestling Observer Newsletter,Kozlov was voted as the Most Overrated Wrestler of the year, and his match at Survivor Series match was voted as the Worst Match of the Year. In 2009, Kozlov was assigned to WWE's third brand,ECW,where he teamed withWilliam RegalandEzekiel Jackson.After the ECW brand was dissolved, he was assigned toRawand started a tag team withSantino Marella,winning the WWE Tag Team Championships. Prudius left WWE in 2011.

Prudius has also worked as a stage and screen actor, notably having a small role inSpike Lee's25th Hour[3][5]and a walk-on role in the second season of the HBO seriesThe Wire.Prudius also had a role inGrindhouse,appearing in theWerewolf Women of the SStrailer; in addition to his credit under his real name and his WWE persona for the appearance as well as being a former Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) Heavyweight Champion, Prudius was the first Ukrainian to ever wrestle for the WWE.[3]

Before wrestling[edit]

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.[3]He has also playedAmerican footballfor the Ukraine national team as well asSanta Barbara City College.[4]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE[edit]

Deep South Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling (2006–2008)[edit]

Prudius in August 2007

On January 17, 2006,World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) announced that Prudius had signed a developmental deal and was sent toDeep South Wrestling(DSW).[6]On April 7, 2006, he debuted under his real name and had his first match in DSW against Bobby Walker.

On May 5, 2006, Prudius had his first untelevised WWE match during ahouse showinSan Jose, California,defeatingRob Conway.The next night, at another house show inSacramento, California,Matt Strikercut apromoon 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 inAmerica".

On the December 18, 2006 episode ofRaw,Prudius made an appearance as a WWE prospect namedVladimir KozlovorMoscow Mauler,which became hisring name.For the next several weeks, Kozlov was interviewed on WWE programming, proclaiming his love for "Double Double E" (WWE), but also began drawing avillainousresponseafter 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 ofdark matches,including one atArmageddon 2006,all of which he won.[7]

On July 28, 2007, inLouisville, Kentucky,Kozlov won theOVW Heavyweight Championshipby defeatingPaul Burchill,but gave the championship the same night to Michael W. Kruel due to an agreement they made before.[3]

WWE Championship pursuits (2008–2009)[edit]

On the April 4, 2008 episode ofSmackDown,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 defeatedMatt Bentleyin his first match,[8]and over the following weeks, Kozlov would go on toeasily winseveral matches, first against local talent and then established names includingColin Delaney,[9]Funaki,[10]Nunzio,[11]Shannon Moore,[12]Jimmy Wang Yang,[13]Jamie Noble,[14]andDomino.[15]On the July 11 episode ofSmackDown,Kozlov debuted an entrance theme and Titantron video as he defeatedStevie Richards.[16]

Kozlov onSmackDownin 2008

In the following weeks, as Kozlov continued to easily win matches, he began demanding "better competition". On the September 12 episode ofSmackDown,he started to seek that competition, attackingJeff Hardy.Over the following weeks, Kozlov would continue attacking both Hardy and theWWE ChampionTriple H,eventually starting a loosefeudbetween the three of them over the WWE Championship. On the November 7 episode ofSmackDown,Kozlov earned a match against Triple H for the WWE title atSurvivor Seriesafter defeatingThe Undertakerbydisqualificationafter he was attacked by Jeff Hardy.[17]The match was originally intended to include Kozlov, Jeff Hardy, and Triple H, although Hardy was removed due to astorylineinjury. The result of this was the addition ofEdgeto the match while it was in progress, and ultimately Edge would go on to pin Triple H and win the title.

Continuing his pursuit of the WWE Championship, Kozlov competed in and was unsuccessful in winning aBeat the Clock Challenge matchagainstECW ChampionMatt Hardyfor another title shot. This led to the two meeting atArmageddon,where Kozlov gained his firstpay-per-viewwin by defeating Hardy in a non-title match.[18]Kozlov competed in the2009 Royal Rumblematch, entering as the sixth participant, but was eliminated by Triple H after eliminatingThe Great Khali,Carlito,andMontel Vontavious Porter.He then qualified to be part of theNo Way OutElimination Chambermatch, where he was pinned for the first time after receiving aLast Ridefrom The Undertaker, though he still remained unpinned inone-on-one competition.[19]Kozlov's undefeated streak in televised singles competition ended on the March 2, 2009 episode ofRaw,in which he was defeated byShawn Michaels;[20]this match was for the opportunity to face The Undertaker atWrestleMania 25.His first televised singles loss onSmackDowncame against The Undertaker himself on March 13.[21]

The Ruthless Roundtable (2009–2010)[edit]

On April 13, 2009, Kozlov was drafted to theECWbrand as part of the2009 WWE draft,as ECW's only pick of the night. Shortly after the draft, hischaracterwas tweaked to further highlight the training he received within the Russian military. He won his first match on the brand when he easily defeated alocal competitor.On the June 30 episode ofECW on Syfy,he teamed withWilliam Regalto defeatChristianandTommy Dreamer.[22]His first defeat in singles competition on ECW came on the July 7 episode ofECW,where he lost a #1 contenders match to Christian for Tommy Dreamer's ECW Championship atNight of Champions.

On July 21, Kozlov began an angle withEzekiel Jacksonin which, week after week, after one of them had easily defeated a local competitor, the other would come out and execute their finishing move on the fallen opponent in a game ofone-upmanship.[23][24][25][26]On the August 18 episode ofECW,Jackson was set to team with ECW Champion Christian against the team of Kozlov and number-one contender William Regal. Jackson turned on Christian, forming an alliance with Regal and Kozlov.[27]Kozlov and Jackson aided Regal in his feud with Christian over the ECW Championship, but Regal was unable to capture the title.[28][29]

On the December 15 episode ofECW,Kozlov came out with Regal to face Jackson in an ECW Homecoming battle royal qualifying match. During the match, Regal turned on Kozlov by pulling his feet while at ringside, which ultimately cost him the match. After the match, Kozlov attempted to attack Regal, but Jackson jumped him from behind and both proceeded to attack Kozlov. This split Kozlov from the Ruthless Roundtable.

Teaming with Santino Marella (2010–2011)[edit]

Kozlov and Marella in November 2010 onRawin Manchester, England

When theECWbrand came to an end, Kozlov, along with all otherECWtalent, became a free agent. Kozlov would make his debut for theRawbrand on March 8, 2010, in ahandicapgauntlet matchwithJohn Cenacompeting against Kozlov,Mr. McMahon,Batista,Mark Henry,Drew McIntyreandJack Swagger.On the May 3 episode ofRaw,he would team again with his former tag team partner William Regal to face theWWE Tag Team ChampionsThe Hart Dynasty,Kozlov and Regal were defeated when Regal tapped out toDavid Hart Smith'sSharpshooter.

On the May 10 episode ofRaw,he appeared backstage withSantino Marella,William Regal, andFlavor Flavin a backstage segment, where Marella asked to join him in a tag team. However, Kozlov refused to join, stating that "he (Marella) always loses". On the May 31 episode ofRaw,Kozlov turnedfacefor the first time when he slammed William Regal behind the referee's back during a mixed tag team match, allowing Santino Marella andEve Torresto pick up the win. On the June 7 episode ofRaw,he and Santino Marella were forced to compete in a dance-off, which Kozlov won. On June 14 episode ofRaw,Kozlov served as aspecial refereefor the match between Regal and Marella which Marella won after Kozlov intentionally gave him a fast count. On the June 28 episode ofRaw,he fought Marella one on one with the stipulation being if Kozlov loses he would become Marella's tag team partner. He won, however, with Regal interfering after the match, Kozlov stopped Regal with a big boot to the chest and then carried Marella backstage. The following week, Kozlov teamed with Marella, defeating William Regal andThe Great Khali.In the following weeks, Kozlov and Santino would continue their undefeated streak on bothRawandSuperstars.

At theNight of Champions,Kozlov and Marella competed in a tag team turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful as the titles were won by Drew McIntyre andCody Rhodes.On the November 15 episode ofRaw,Kozlov and Marella defeatedThe Usos(Jimmy and Jey) to be number one contenders for WWE Tag Team Championship. Kozlov and Marella challengedHeath SlaterandJustin Gabrielfor the WWE Tag Team Championship atSurvivor Series,but were unsuccessful.

On the December 6 episode ofRaw,Kozlov and Marella captured the WWE Tag Team Championship by defeating the defending champions Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel,Mark HenryandYoshi Tatsu,and The Usos in afour-way elimination tag team match.AtTLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs,Kozlov and Marella defeated Slater and Gabriel via disqualification to retain the title. The duo lost the tag team titles back to Slater and Gabriel at2011 Elimination Chamber.[30]Kozlov was supposed to be a part of an eight-man tag match atWrestleMania XXVII.However, during aWrestleMania Axxessmatch, he was attacked byThe Corre,Kofi Kingstontook his place at the event.

On March 8, Kozlov then became the Pro toConor O'BrianonNXT Redemption[broken anchor].[31]On the March 22 episode ofNXT Redemption,Kozlov and his rookie O'Brian defeatedJTGand his rookie Jacob Novak in a dance-off. Afterwards, Kozlov began teaching O'Brian sambo-like dancing and board breaking. O'Brian was eliminated on the June 28, episode ofNXT,being the fourth rookie eliminated from the competition. Kozlov would then go on to feud with JTG onNXT,defeating JTG on three occasions.[32][33][34]Kozlov's last WWE match was on the August 5 episode ofSmackDown,where he lost to Mark Henry. After the match, Henry (kayfabe) broke Kozlov's left leg beforeSheamuscame down to the ring and saved him from Henry. On the same day, WWE announced that Kozlov was released from his WWE contract.[35]His release (as well as the releases ofChris MastersandDavid Hart Smith) was referenced in aworked shootmoment on the August 8 episode ofRawbyWWE ChampionCM Punk.

Inoki Genome Federation (2011–2012)[edit]

On August 30, 2011, it was announced that Prudius would be making his first post-WWE appearance on September 3, working for the Japanese promotionInoki Genome Federation(IGF) under his new ring nameAlexander Kozlov.[2]He made his debut on September 3 atGenome17,losing to Eric Hammer in under three minutes.[36]On December 2, Kozlov defeated Montanha Silva. On May 26, 2012, at the IGF Genome 20, Prudius battledJérôme Le Bannerfor the IGF Championship, but lost in three minutes.[37]On July 10, Prudius got a rematch for the title, but lost again to Jerome Le Banner.[38]

Impact Wrestling/Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2021–present)[edit]

On April 26, 2021, Prudius joinedImpact Wrestlingas a Russian-language commentator viaRutube.His debut at the2021 Rebellionevent was his first wrestling appearance in eight years.[39][40]He made an on screen cameo on March 17, 2023, where he reunited withSantino Marella.[41]On the October 12, 2023, edition of Impact Wrestling, Prudius returned to assistDirty Dangoin a five-way match.[42][43]

Other media[edit]

Prudius has made many television and film appearances and is actively pursuing an acting career in Hollywood. He appeared in the second season of the HBOdrama seriesThe Wire,as well asRoksalanaandIt's Not To Easyon Ukrainian TV.[5]In 2002, he appeared inSpike Lee's film25th Hour,playing a Russian mafia enforcer.[5]He appeared in the Russian militarytheatreplayVictory Dayand a Ukraine University playThree Musketeers.[5]In 2013 he was also featured inseason 7,episode 4ofUSA Network's TV series,Burn Notice.[44]He was also a stuntman for the filmFast & Furious 6,and forJohn Wick 2.Oleg received his biggest acting break in the 2017 Chinese BlockbusterWolf Warriors 2.[45]In 2019, he appeared in the Marvel seriesThe Punisherin season 2.

In 2009, he became aU.S. citizen.[46]

In 2014, Prudius opened Quasar Entertainment, a full service production company where he's the company's Vice President.[47]

Other ventures[edit]

Prudius is the owner and creator of the Moscow Mauler Vodka brand.[48]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Martial arts[edit]

  • Sambo
    • USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion (2005)[3]
  • Kickboxing
    • United States Kick-Boxing Association International Heavyweight Grappling Champion

Professional wrestling[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Alexander Kozlov's IGF profile".Archived fromthe originalon May 5, 2012.RetrievedMay 11,2012.
  2. ^ab"Kozlov's in-ring return announced, what is his new wrestling name?".Pro Wrestling Torch.August 30, 2011.RetrievedAugust 30,2011.
  3. ^abcdefghi"Vladimir Kozlov - OWW".RetrievedDecember 30,2019.
  4. ^abcdef"WWE Alumni Bio".WWE.RetrievedAugust 21,2011.
  5. ^abcde"Vladimir Kozlov resume"(PDF).Carry Company. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 23, 2004.RetrievedJune 16,2008.
  6. ^"Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius - Biography".Internet Movie Database.RetrievedJune 17,2008.
  7. ^"Vladimir Kozlov".Online World of Wrestling.RetrievedFebruary 23,2019.
  8. ^Passero, Mitch (April 4, 2008)."Mixed Emotions".World Wrestling Entertainment.RetrievedAugust 13,2008.
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  21. ^"Takin' it back".Wwe.com.RetrievedFebruary 23,2019.
  22. ^Sitterson, Aubrey (April 13, 2009)."Rough Draft".World Wrestling Entertainment.RetrievedApril 20,2009.
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  30. ^Galo Loglisci (April 3, 2011)."Eight-Man Tag Team Match".WWE.
  31. ^Bishop, Matt (March 9, 2011)."WWE NXT: Redemption beings for 6 former rookies".Slam! Sports.Canadian Online Explorer.Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.RetrievedMarch 9,2011.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  32. ^Caldwell, James."CALDWELL'S WWE NXT RESULTS 5/17: Complete" virtual time "coverage of NXT Season 5, Week 11 - First elimination of the season".PW Torch.RetrievedAugust 6,2011.
  33. ^Caldwell, James."CALDWELL'S WWE NXT RESULTS 7/19: Ongoing" virtual time "coverage of NXT Season 5, Week 20 - Latest Rookie matches & challenges".PW Torch.RetrievedAugust 6,2011.
  34. ^Caldwell, James."CALDWELL'S WWE NXT RESULTS 8/2: Complete" virtual time "coverage of NXT Season 5, Week 22, plus TUCKER'S INSTANT REACTION".PW Torch.RetrievedAugust 6,2011.
  35. ^"Vladimir Kozlov released".WWE. August 5, 2011.
  36. ^"Genome17".Inoki Genome Federation(in Japanese).RetrievedOctober 23,2012.
  37. ^"IGF Genome 20 at Tokyo Dome City".Pro Fight Database.RetrievedDecember 19,2012.
  38. ^"Matches « Vladimir Kozlov « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Cagematch.net.RetrievedFebruary 23,2019.
  39. ^"IMPACT Wrestling Hire Ex-WWE Star to do Commentary".Whatculture.com.April 30, 2021.
  40. ^"Vladimir Kozlov Makes Interesting Return to Wrestling".April 30, 2021.
  41. ^Laslo, John (March 18, 2023)."Impact Wrestling Hits & Misses 3/16: Santino Marella, Jonathan Gresham & Bailey vs. Decay, Bullet Club vs. Alexander & Swann & Kazarian".PW Torch.RetrievedOctober 13,2023.
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External links[edit]

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