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Boris Zhukov (born James Kirk Harrell; January 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the WWE (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhukov, as well as his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions as Private Jim Nelson.
Harrell returned to the promotion the following March, this time wrestling under a wrestling mask as "Mr. Russia". He left the next month after losing a mask versus mask Lights Out match to Jerry Stubbs.
In early 1986, Harrell formed a tag team with Nord the Barbarian. The duo occasionally teamed with other foreign heels such as The Mongolian Stomper and Adnan Al-Kaissie. After the tag team dissolved in August 1986, Harrell unsuccessfully challenged AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel on several occasions.
In April 1987, Harrell formed another tag team with Soldat Ustinov, winning a tag team tournament. The following month, they defeated The Midnight Rockers for the AWA World Tag Team Championship. In September 1987, Harrell left the AWA to join the WWE, with the explanation given being that Wahoo McDaniel had driven him out of the promotion after a brutal chain match.
The Bolsheviks separated in early 1989 after Volkoff temporarily departed the WWF, with Zhukov competing as a single wrestler. His regular opponents included Paul Roma, Ronnie Garvin, and Tim Horner. In September 1989, Volkoff returned to the WWF and reformed their tag team. In December 1989, The Bolsheviks began a lengthy series of matches with The Bushwhackers. At WrestleMania VI in April 1990, The Bolsheviks lost to The Hart Foundation in a squash. and days later again failed to capture the World tag team title from Demolition in another squash. History of WWE - WWF 1990
The Bolsheviks permanently disbanded in May 1990 after a further crushing defeat by the Rockers, with Volkoff turning face by embracing America and feuding with Zhukov. After the feud ended in August 1990, Zhukov faced Koko B. Ware in a series of matches. At Survivor Series 1990, Zhukov teamed with his former Cobra Corps partner Sgt. Slaughter plus "The Orient Express" (Sato, and Pat Tanaka) as "The Mercenaries", losing to "The Alliance" (Volkoff, The Bushwhackers, and Tito Santana).
Zhukov left the WWF in February 1991.
In April 1991, Harrell began wrestling for the Universal Wrestling Federation in Florida and New York. He made his final appearance in June 1991 at the Beach Brawl pay-per-view in Palmetto, Florida, defeating Paul Samson.
After leaving the UWF, Harrell wrestled sporadically over the following decade. He formally retired in 2001.
In 2007, Zhukov resurfaced as a heel in Virginia-based promotion American Championship Wrestling (ACW) and allied with local heel Eclipso. He was attacked and injured, leading to a face turn and a "Wrestle or Retire" match on September 8 for Eclipso's ACW Championship. Before the match, Zhukov told the crowd he was retiring, but a replacement had been chosen. Later that night, his old persona, Pvt. Jim Nelson (who had not been seen since an assault by Jack & Gerry Brisco in 1983) was revealed as that replacement. Now clean-shaven and dressed in army camouflage, he'd redone Sgt. Slaughter's boot camp and was promoted to Sgt. Jim Nelson in a pre-match ceremony. Nelson won the match and title after interference from both managers. Due to the controversy, the title was held up.
Zhukov last match was on October 6, 2012, losing to Colonel Spud Wade.
World Wrestling Federation (1987–1991)
Harrell debuted in the WWE in October 1987, once again performing as "Boris Zhukov". In fact, he legally changed his name to Boris Zhukov at this time in order to retain the legal rights to the name. He formed a villainous tag team with fellow pseudo-Russian Nikolai Volkoff (whose previous tag partner The Iron Sheik had just been fired by the WWF) known as "The Bolsheviks". Over the following 15 months, The Bolsheviks competed against teams such as The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Powers of Pain, The Rougeau Brothers, and The Young Stallions. Both men entered the 1988 Royal Rumble, which was won by Jim Duggan. In October 1988, Zhukov took part in the King of the Ring tournament, losing to Mike Sharpe in the first round. That same month the Bolsheviks unsuccessfully challenged fellow heels Demolition for the WWF World Tag Team Championship in a match, later released on a Demolition VHS compilation, where the crowds cheered Demolition who turned babyface a month later at the Survivor Series after teaming with the Bolsheviks. History of WWE - WWF 1987 History of WWE - WWF 1988
Late career (1991–2001, 2007–2012)
In January 1991, Harrell made a brief tour of Japan with the Super World of Sports promotion.
Personal life
In July 2016, Zhukov was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018.
Championships and accomplishments
External links
Categories: 1959 Births, American Male Professional Wrestlers, Faux Russian Professional Wrestlers, Living People, Masked Wrestlers, Professional Wrestlers From Virginia, Sportspeople From Roanoke, Virginia, 20th-century Male Professional Wrestlers, 20th-century American Professional Wrestlers, 21st-century Male Professional Wrestlers, 21st-century American Professional Wrestlers, Nwa Canadian Television Champions, Awa World Tag Team Champions
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