Tony Kozina
| Tony Kozina | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 23, 1970 Portland, Oregon, U.S.[1][2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Canadian Cougar[1][3] Tony Kozina |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 174 lb (79 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Portland, Oregon |
| Trained by | Billy Jack Haynes[1] Matt Osborne[1] North American Wrestling Asylum Michelle Starr[1] |
| Debut | January 26, 1997[1][2] |
Tony Kozina (born October 23, 1970) is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his work in the Pacific Northwest especially in Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance. He has also made appearances in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Full Impact Pro, IWA-Mid South, World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Professional wrestling career
[edit]Training
[edit]In the summer of 1996, Kozina started training with Billy Jack Haynes and "Maniac" Matt Borne and helped train others at North American Wrestling Asylum.[3]
Independent wrestling (1997–present)
[edit]On October 20, 1998, Kozina defeated Torch for the newly created NWA Pacific Northwest Junior Heavyweight Championship. On July 21, 2001, Kozina defeated Scotty Mac to claim his sixth NWA Pacific Northwest Junior Heavyweight Championship. The title was vacated on April 5, 2002, due to inactivity.[2] On January 14, 2000, Kozina won his first NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Vince Kaplack. In a rematch at the NWA 52nd Anniversary Show on October 20, Kaplack defeated Kozina to become the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Canadian Wrestling's Elite (2015–present)
[edit]On May 5, 2017; at Canadian Wrestling's Elite 8th Anniversary Show in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Kozina defeated Mentallo to become the new Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Champion. This marks the first time in nearly 10 years that the title has been active. Following the match, Kozina called out Billy Corgan and the National Wrestling Alliance. He stated he wants a shot at the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
On the January 1, 2018, Canadian Wrestling's Elite stopped in St. Albert, Alberta with the "Pick Your Poison Tour." "The Original" Marky defeated Kozina to become the new Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Championship. On January 3, 2018; the CWE "Pick Your Poison Tour" made a stop in Calgary, Alberta. Kozina won the Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Championship for the second time in a Six Man Scramble which included "The Original" Marky, Chayse Britton, Strife, Darren Burns, and "The Prodigy" Matt Hart.[4]
WWE
[edit]On August 10, 2003, Kozina teamed up with Buddy Wayne on an episode of WWE Heat. They lost to the team of Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade.[5]
Ring of Honor
[edit]In January 2011, Kozina faced Davey Richards in Ring of Honor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Richards won via knockout when the referee stopped the bout in just under 5 minutes.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
[edit]On February 16, 2015 (which aired on September 4, 2015) Kozina faced Davey Richards in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for the TNA One Night Only Gut Check pay-per-view. Richards won when Kozina went up top for a moonsault, but slipped off and Richards got the roll up for the win.[6]
Fale Dojo (2018–present)
[edit]On May 28, 2018 Bad Luck Fale owner of Fale Dojo in New Zealand announced Kozina as their head trainer.[7]
Filmography
[edit]| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Time Toupee | Tony Donovan | |
| 2017 | The Damnedwich | Pastor Troy | Short |
| 2018 | Ring Warriors | Himself | Documentary |
Championships and accomplishments
[edit]- American Wrestling Association Superstars of Wrestling
- AWA Washington Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
- Canadian Wrestling's Elite
- Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[9]
- Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[2][3]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Junior Heavyweight Championship (6 times)[2][3]
- National Wrestling Alliance
- National Wrestling Alliance Virginia
- NWA Virginia Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- Pinnacle Pro Wrestling
- Pinnacle Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Davey Richards[11]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Slam! Wrestling
- Canadian Hall of Fame[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "CageMatch.de Profile" (in German). CageMatch.de. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h ""Tornado" Tony Kozina's profile". ECCW.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e ""Tornado" Tony Kozina's profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (January 5, 2018). "CWE PICK YOUR POISON WITH JAKE ROBERTS RESULTS FROM CANADA". PWInsider. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ Obal, Alex (August 10, 2003). "411's WWE Sunday Night Heat Report 08.10.03". 411Mania. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ "Csonka's TNA One Night Only Gut Check Review". 411Mania. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "Fale Dojo is very honoured to announce Tony Kozina as it's [sic] new head trainer". Fale Dojo. Twitter. May 28, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "AWA Washington Light Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Championship". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "NWA Virginia Junior Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "Pinnacle Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2002". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Slam! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame list". Slam! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
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