Line #21 Wrestling/MikeRotunda


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3	Lawrence Michael Rotunda (born March 30, 1958) is a retired American {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er from Syracuse, [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState NY]] best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s as '''Mike Rotunda''' and as '''Irwin R. Schyster.''' He debuted in 1981 in Florida teaming with brother-in-law Wrestling/BarryWindham. They went up to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1984 as the U.S. Express. They had two runs with the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Titles]] before they went back to Florida. After Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance promoter Jim Crockett shut down Florida in 1987, Rotunda was brought up to the Carolinas. He [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]] and joined Wrestling/KevinSullivan's JerkJock PowerStable Wrestling/TheVarsityClub. After that ran its course, he was briefly known as "Captain" Mike Rotunda, a sailor gimmick. At ''Clash of the Champions XIII,'' he announced that he had inherited a large amount of money and that his new name was Michael Wallstreet. He introduced his new manager [[Wrestling/TerriRunnels Alexandra York (Terri Runnels)]], launching the York Foundation gimmick.
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5	He left Wrestling/{{WCW}} in 1991 to go back to WWE to become Irwin R. Schyster. He and [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase "The Million-Dollar Man" Ted [=DiBiase=]]] would team up as Money Inc. and have three runs with the WWE World Tag Team Titles. Rotunda eventually sank into the midcard before going back to WCW in September 1995. He was first renamed '''V.K. Wallstreet''' (see TakeThat below) before going back to the Michael Wallstreet name. He joined the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] during a big brawl at the end of the December 16, 1996 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''. Due to [[{{Kayfabe}} some issue with his [=nWo=] contract]], he was [[PutOnABus shipped off]] to Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling until ''[=Starrcade=]'' in December ''1999'', when the Varsity Club (Sullivan, Rotunda and Rick Steiner) [[TheBusCameBack were reunited]] to team with Wrestling/HacksawJimDuggan in a losing effort against the Revolution (Wrestling/ShaneDouglas, Wrestling/DeanMalenko, Wrestling/PerrySaturn and Asya). After that run ended in early 2000, Rotunda went to Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, where he finished out his career, retiring in 2004. He then worked for WWE as a backstage official until 2020. Mike's sons Windham and Taylor once wrestled for the WWE under the names Wrestling/BrayWyatt and Wrestling/BoDallas respectively, though Windham tragically passed away at the young age of 36 on August 24, 2023. Mike was inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 2024 as part of the U.S. Express.
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7	!! "Read these tropes, you tax cheats!":
8	* AllAmericanFace: During his original run in the WWF along with Barry Windham as the U.S Express.
9	* ArchEnemy: [[Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors The Road Warriors[=/=]The Legion of Doom]], the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Wrestling/{{Scott\|Steiner}}), as he feuded with them in both WWE AND NWA/WCW.
10	* BadassFamily[=/=]WrestlingFamily: His father-in-law is [[Wrestling/TheBlackjacks [=Blackjack=] Mulligan]], his brothers-in-law are Barry and Kendall Windham, and his sons are [[Wrestling/BrayWyatt Windham "Husky Harris"/"Bray Wyatt" Rotunda]] and [[Wrestling/BoDallas Taylor "Bo Dallas" Rotunda]].
11	* BadassInANiceSuit: As Michael Wallstreet and as IRS.
12	* BashBrothers: with Barry Windham, Kevin Sullivan, Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, and Ted [=DiBiase=].
13	* TheBusCameBack: For the "Raw 15th Anniversary Battle Royal" on the December 12, 2007 ''Raw.'' IRS had originally won the match, but [=DiBiase=] walked down to the ring with a briefcase full of money. He handed it to IRS, who accepted it and eliminated himself, giving [=DiBiase=] the win.
14	* TheDragon: In the Varsity Club and in the York Foundation.
15	* EmbarrassingFirstName: As IRS, he was embarrassed by his first name Irwin, and the audience definitely let him hear it.
16	* FinishingMove: (As Rotunda): The Airplane Spin; (as IRS): The Write-Off, the Penalty; (as Michael Wallstreet) Stock Market Crash.
17	* ForeignWrestlingHeel: As a member of nWo Japan.
18	* FourEyesZeroSoul: Wore glasses as IRS, though he didn't wear them in-ring.
19	* FunWithAcronyms: [[SarcasmMode Wow]], if you take the three initials in his name, it spells '''IRS'''.
20	** {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in his ring introduction: "Irwin R. Schyster, otherwise known as IRS"
21	* IHaveManyNames: He also used the name Mike Drond in Japan.
22	* [[IKnowKarate I Know Collegiate Wrestling]]: He lettered in wrestling at Syracuse University, and was the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association 215lb champion in 1981.
23	* ImprobableWeaponUser: A briefcase as IRS. An infamous example is him using it on Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake's face, after the latter returned to action after recovering from his near fatal parasailing accident.
24	* InspectorJavert: He believed that every Face in the WWF was a tax cheat, and by God he was going to wrestle them until they paid their fair share!
25	* IntimidatingRevenueService: His whole damn gimmick.
26	* JerkJock: As a member of the Varsity Club.
27	* LegacyCharacter: Arguably, the Florida indy team the Market Crashers ([=NA$DAQ=] and Dow Jones) were one for his Michael Wallstreet persona.
28	* LeotardOfPower: Wore a singlet in his Varsity Club run.
29	* LightIsNotGood: Wore white shirts as Wallstreet and IRS despite being a heel.
30	* MeaningfulName: As IRS.
31	* {{Mook\|s}}[=/=]{{Jobber}}: In the nWo.
32	* MysteriousMiddleInitial: The "R" in "IRS."
33	* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: As a heel, he'd regularly grab the ropes out of the view of the referee.
34	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: On August 24, 2023, Mike's eldest child, Windham, aka Bray Wyatt, passed away due to a heart attack. When Mike is inducted into WWE Hall of Fame in 2024, he breaks down in tears, mentioning Windham and wishes that his son could've been on stage. After ending his speech, Mike asks the fans to pay tribute to his son by switching on the flashlight on their cell phones, referencing the "fireflies" that are always associated with Windham's character.
35	* PowerStable:
36	** (in Florida): [[Wrestling/DustyRhodes Dusty Rhodes' Family]]
37	** (in NWA/WCW): The Varsity Club
38	** The Captain's Crew, with Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher and [[Wrestling/MikeShaw Norman the Lunatic[=/=]Trucker Norm]]
39	** The York Foundation
40	** The [=nWo=]
41	** (in WWE): Ted [=DiBiase=]'s The Million Dollar Corporation
42	** (in New Japan): Team 2000
43	** (in All Japan): Black-Ship
44	* PunnyName
45	* RedBaron: 'Captain' as his sailor gimmick and in the Varsity Club.
46	* SleevesAreForWimps: His turn as IRS saw him taking the sleeves off his dress shirts when it came time to wrestle.
47	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: For some odd reason, before the IRS gimmick he went by Mike Rotund'''o''' instead of Mike Rotund'''a''', his real last name.
48	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: As IRS.
49	* TagTeam:
50	** The U.S. Express
51	*** The American Express, with Wrestling/DanSpivey
52	** Money Inc.
53	* TakeThat: As V.K. Wallstreet as in [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon "Vincent Kennedy" [=McMahon=]]]. Interestingly, he debuted this name in 1995, four years before WWE's [=IPO=].
54	* VillainHasAPoint: IRS was consistently booked as s {{Heel}}, but in many of his vignettes the offences he cited people for were legitimate, albeit petty, examples of tax fraud, for example, a man claiming his daughter’s birthday party as a business expense. Similarly, some of his “Top Ten Tax Tips” were pretty good advice, like reporting cash tips and getting a signed receipt for donations to a church.
55	* UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC: Billed from there as IRS.
56	* WrestlingDoesntPay: A wrestling sailor as Captain Mike Rotunda and a [[Film/WallStreet Gordon Gekko]]-style stock market analyst as Wallstreet, but easily his most famous was Irwin R. Shyster, a wrestling tax accountant. Turns out that a crooked accountant getting punched in the face really resonates with people.
57	* WrestlingFamily: Among others, father of Wrestling/BrayWyatt and Wrestling/BoDallas.

Context Wrestling / MikeRotunda