Guest Author - Vance Rowe

Konnan, born Charles Ashenoff, is a professional wrestler born in Cuba but was billed as being from Mexico. He got his start with EMLL and AAA. Konnan was trained by the likes of Rey Misterio Sr. and Eddie Guerrero. He had an illustrious career as a professional wrestler and was very popular in Mexico. So popular in fact that he was sometimes called the “Mexican Hulk Hogan.” He had a troubled childhood as he grew up on Miami and even did time in jail as a youth when he got involved with a street gang and drugs. Finally, he was given the choice of doing time again for being involved with drug dealers or joining the military. He joined the Navy and stayed in for four years. While in the Navy, he trained as a boxer and even became the California Middleweight Boxing Champion in 1982 and in 1983.

When he was discharged from the Navy, he made his home in San Diego and trained to become a body builder. It was from there that he became a professional wrestler. He was enthralled by the Mexican wrestling culture and associated the masked and caped luchadores with superheroes. He then went to Mexico and began his wrestling career. He debuted as a masked wrestler named “El Centurion” for the Universal Wrestling Alliance and made just fewer than twenty dollars for his first match. He soon left the UWA for greener pastures in the EMLL where he was known as Konnan El Barbaro and was a main event wrestler. In 1991, Konnan won his first major title when he won a tournament to become the first CMLL World Heavyweight champion. However, he lost it two months later in his first defense.

In 1992, Konnan joined the WWF (E) a masked wrestler from Outer Space named Max Moon. He wrestled in three television matches before leaving the company after he had a disagreement with Vince McMahon about getting a guaranteed contract. When he left the company, Paul Diamond took over the Max Moon character. In 1996, he began wrestling for WCW on a full time basis and eventually brought other Mexican wrestlers into the company like Rey Misterio Jr., Psicosis and LaParka among others. He joined WCW as a face and won the United States Heavyweight Championship from One Man Gang. He subsequently lost the title to Ric Flair and a few months after that he turned heel and joined the Dungeon of Doom. In 1997, he joined the now and feuded with the Mexican wrestlers he brought into WCW.

After touring Australia and Europe when he left WCW after it was sold to the WWE, he joined TNA and was there until 2007 when he filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company for not paying for surgeries for him or Ron Killings but paid for surgery for Scott Steiner. He returned to AAA in Mexico after that and also underwent a successful kidney transplant surgery. Konnan has come a long way from being a common street thug to being a great professional wrestler with a lot of title belts and the respect of his peers. Bret Hart also credits Konnan for teaching him the “sharpshooter”.