NIKITA: A Tale of the Ring and Redemption

Nikita Koloff, better known as the "Russian Nightmare," stormed the wrestling world as few others have in the history of the sport. Imposing, immovable, and unbeatable, Nikita left a trail of fallen opponents as he brought the Cold War that loomed over the globe into the ring. From a hard-scrabble beginning to rings around the world, Nikita Koloff filled arenas, thrilled fans, and captured five world titles in the process. And then, when he was at the top of his game, he walked away from the sport. This is not just the story of Nikita Koloff, the wrestler. It is the story of Nikita Koloff, the man. It is the story of a remarkable and unique journey. It is a story that, in many ways, is common to all of us. "A Tale of the Ring and Redemption" captures a time of upheaval and change in the wrestling business that lay witness to the end of the age-old territories and the dawn of a new global era that made wrestling the most-watched sport and entertainment venue of all time. Most importantly, "A Tale of the Ring and Redemption" is just that: a story of the career of one of the most prominent wrestlers who has ever stepped into the ring. It is the story of a man who has touched hundreds of thousands of lives with his own narrative. Nikita s story is a story for everyone. Excerpt from Chapter 8 Copyright © Nikita Koloff and Bill Murdock Our five minutes of practice in the ring did nothing more than infuriate Jim (Crockett) all the more. He certainly had a reason to be livid. He was taking a huge chance with me and had already spent most of the previous day establishing my image and building me up to the fans. Now he was faced with the possibility of me completely blowing it in a matter of seconds after I entered the ring. "That s it," Jim shouted. "He s out. He doesn t wrestle tonight." Ivan went to Jim and did his best to calm him and to try to change his mind, but Jim was adamant about his decision. There was no way he was going to let me in the ring, only to see me fall flat on my face, embarrassing not only myself, but Jim Crockett Promotions in the process. To this day, I have no idea what Ivan said to Jim, but whatever he said, it eventually worked. That is just another of the countless things for which I have to thank "Uncle" Ivan. After meeting with Jim, Ivan came back to the dressing room and said, "Nikita, it s okay. We re all set, so get ready to go. Just one more thing; be careful getting into the ring. Crockett said if you trip over the ropes getting into the ring, you re finished." Great, as if I wasn t worried enough about what I was going to do when I got into the ring, now all I could think about was how I was going to get into the ring.