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Over the years, WWE has produced many wrestlers who have contributed to the rise of the company and also pro wrestling in general. While some superstars stayed with the company and became big names, others left and made their contributions to wrestling by competing for other promotions or on the Independent Circuit.
One such wrestler was Mantaur. Having made his WWF debut in 1995, the wrestler was known for having a Giant Bison Head on top of his body during his entrance. He had some decent matches in the company. At one point, Mantaur wrestled Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship. However, interference by Jeff Jarrett made him lose the match.
Even though his career in the then-WWF did not last long, Mantaur wrestled many big names like Bret Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow. While he did not have favorable results against them, sharing the ring with such legends was a big honor.
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Apart from competing in WWE, Mantaur also wrestled in promotions like Catch Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, United States Wrestling Association, and also on the Independent Circuit. At CWA, he won the Tag Titles and the Catch Cup. He was also a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion.
Mantaur's last match came in 2019, where he wrestled at Game Changer Wrestling. The former USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion took part in a Battle Royal. Since then, he hadn't wrestled for any promotion or even on the Independent Scene.
Mantaur once recalled an incident he shared with Shawn Michaels backstage in WWE
Having worked for WWE during 1994-96, Mantaur was part of a company with some of the biggest names in wrestling. Naturally, backstage these wrestlers had a lot of interactions with each other. In an interview, he shared one such interaction with current NXT head Shawn Michaels.
During his time in WWE, Mantaur was rumored to be the brother or cousin of P.N. News. This rumor became a difficulty for the former as P.N. News had a bad reputation at the time due to some of his acts in WCW.
In an interview some time ago, Mantaur recalled how Michaels asked him about News. Mantaur said:
"He [Shawn Michaels] says, 'I need to just come out and ask you. Are you related to P.N. News?' and I said, 'No, why?' He said, 'Well, people say you guys are brothers or cousins, and he's not wanted around here. We don't want people like him around,' because I guess somebody said that he stole somebody's money or something when he was in WCW. I don't know, I wasn't there," Mantaur said. [From 0:22 to 0:46]
Upon listening to Mantaur, HBK was relieved, said the former. He also added that Michaels mentioned he was grateful for clarifying the rumors. Despite having a short run in WWE, Mantaur locked horns with some big names and made many iconic memories in his wrestling career.
If you take any quotes from this article, please credit Sportskeeda for the transcription.
