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Benefit For Paul Orndorff

Posted: Apr 28th 2011 By: CMBurnham

For many years Paul ?Mr. Wonderful? Orndorff was a fixture on the Mid-Atlantic scene going up and down the coast in search of NWA gold in one form or another. Orndorff has always been known as a fighter from having been one of the best running backs at the University of Tampa to getting selected by the New Orleans Saints in the NFL draft to eventually playing a season in the defunct World Football League. Even the infamous locker room incident with Big Van Vader, a man much bigger and considered by many in the business to be a bully, Orndorff came out on top. Now the Hall of Fame wrestler is fighting his greatest enemy, cancer.

Orndorff has been diagnose with melanoma or skin cancer which is generally one of the more easily treatable cancers if caught early enough. Unfortunately for Orndorff, somehow the cancer has attached itself to an artery making surgery impossible and the treatments, including chemotherapy, very painful. In fact Orndorff stated in interviews that ?this is the most painful thing I have ever been through in my life.?

While in the Carolina?s Orndorff made his name coming here after a short run in the Mid-South where he had a feud with Jerry Lawler capturing the Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship from ?The King.? From there Orndorff would go on to capture NWA gold in the form of the North American Championship twice from legendary Ernie Ladd. A phenomenal feud with Masked Superstar would segue into a an NWA World Tag Team Championship with partner ?Superfly? Jimmy Snuka.

Orndorff would travel to the Continental area and eventually into Mid-South territory with Bill Watts and his super group where easily fell into the mix and won the North American Championship from Jake ?The Snake? Roberts. Orndorff would return to the Carolina?s and Mid-Atlantic wrestling, more commonly known as Georgia Championship Wrestling and began to feud with Buzz Sawyer again winning the National Heavyweight Championship. The Super Destroyer and Orndorff would battle for the title up and down the coast making many stops in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and along the Atlantic Coast.

When Vince McMahon would begin his raid and eventual destruction of the territories Orndorff was one of the first to go to New York. Roddy Piper would eventually start out as a manager for Orndorff but the pair would wind up being an integral part of the biggest event in wrestling and one that would ultimately save the WWF, WrestleMania as he and Piper would challenge Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.

Orndorff had a great and successful run in the WWE including some off the chart matches with Hulk Hogan for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. Orndorff would be forced into retirement after an injury training left one of his arms almost useless. During this time Orndorff would be content to run a bowling alley he owned but in wrestling you never leave the business, the business leaves you and eventually Orndorff would return.

Orndorff worked for the Herb Abrams short lived UWF and for Jim Cornette?s Smoky Mountain Wrestling as well before returning to World Championship Wrestling and back to the Mid-Atlantic area. Orndorff would win the WCW World TV Championship as well as multiple tag team titles with partner Paul Roma. A neck injury would eventually force Orndorff from active competition but for a short time Orndorff was a trainer at the WCW Power Plant.

Orndorff won a multitude of championships during his career, winning titles everywhere he went as well as being inducted into the University of Tampa College Football Hall of Fame and into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum for his accomplishment. Now at age 62 Orndorff is once again finds himself in battle with the most unpredictable opponent anyone could ever wrestle, cancer.

On Sunday, May 18 starting at 1:00p.m. at The Southern Comfort Bar in Conley, Georgia there will be a benefit for Paul Orndorff to help offset some of his medical bills after having gone through his life savings fighting this horrible disease. According to the Southern Comfort Bar there will be auctions, live music and a variety of wrestlers on hand to support and help out one of wrestling?s greatest icons. You can get more information and find out how and where to send donations by going to the Southern Comfort Bar site.

--New NWA World Heavyweight Champion The Sheik will be a guest on ?And Then The Bell Rings? radio next Wednesday, May 4 at 6:00p.m. EST. Be sure to tune in on BlogTalkRadio.

--Jeff Hardy has not entered a rehab program as some have reported but is being assessed to see what kind of treatment would suit Hardy best. The assessment will take a reported 28 days which may be where the confusion came into place about Hardy going into rehab. There are plans for Hardy to be admitted into rehab at some point though.

--A DVD on Mexi-Mini Rey Mysterio will be released this summer along with a three disc Greatest Superstars of the New Milennium.

--Chris Jericho was voted off ?Dancing With The Stars? this week which is more interesting news than the supplemental draft the WWE held yesterday. Many ?news? sites spent the entire day covering this worked, mock draft.

--Kevin Nash and his latest report on Scott Hall is ?he is watching the Bull?s game and seems to be fine.?

--Charly Manson, who I reported on yesterday in the Columbus, OH Pro Wrestling Examiner report, is going to be held without bail if the prosecutor has his way. One of the officers involved is reported to have suffered a fractured skull and brain trauma while the other had major surgery on his nose. Manson and an underage friend of his, Adrian Lopez Reyes, who was shot in the leg in the skirmish could face 8-10 years in prison if convicted. Early Sunday morning the two were arrested for being intoxicated in public and resisting arrest.

--Mark Henry took a big Scott Toler and lost 50# so congratulations to him.