Line #5 Wrestling/DeanMalenko


1	[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deanmalenko_3903.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:230:After winning the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-c.html WCW World Cruiserweight Championship]] via an ImpersonationGambit at WCW's ''Slamboree'' 1998.]]
3
4	->''"HesBack!"''
5	-->--'''Mike Tenay''', following Malenko unmasking himself as Ciclope at ''Slamboree'' 1998.
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7	Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960 in Irvington, UsefulNotes/NewJersey) is a retired American {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er, trainer and official best known for his work for Wrestling/{{ECW}}, Wrestling/{{WCW}} and Wrestling/{{WWE}} as '''Dean Malenko'''. He started his career in 1979 in UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} allied with his father Boris and brother Joe. They had actually broken away from the established Championship Wrestling from Florida to form their own outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established territory in opposition) promotion called Sun Belt Wrestling, which did not last very long. He and Joe competed around the Florida independent scene as well as in Japan and in WCW before Joe retired. Malenko became a regular in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's rising Junior Heavyweight scene, often facing and/or teaming with Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, who was usually known as either Wild Pegasus or the Pegasus Kid, or Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, often known as Black Tiger #2. Malenko went to ECW in 1994, where he would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-tv.html ECW World Television Title]] twice and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html ECW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. Malenko continued his feud with Guerrero after he arrived in early 1995. All three went to WCW in the fall of 1995, with ECW announcer Wrestling/JoeyStyles explaining it as being due to something in their contracts with New Japan, which had a working relationship with WCW. In WCW, Malenko would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Title]] once, the WCW World Cruiserweight Title four times and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. He made his [=PPV=] debut successfully defending the WCW World Cruiserweight Title against fellow second-generation wrestler Wrestling/BradArmstrong at ''WCW [=Slamboree=] 96''. All three along with Wrestling/PerrySaturn jumped to WWE at the start of 2000. Malenko would have two runs with the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mexico/uwa/wwf-lh.html WWF World Light Heavyweight Title]] and would retire from full-time competition in 2001.
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9	In May 2019, he became a producer for Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling. He made a minor appearance in front of the cameras as one of the three judges appointed for the Championship match between Wrestling/CodyRhodes and his old enemy Wrestling/ChrisJericho at ''Full Gear,'' and later got caught up in the feud between the face-turned Jericho's faction the Wrestling/InnerCircle and their rivals Wrestling/ThePinnacle in 2021.
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11	----
12	!! "The Man of 1000 Tropes":
13	* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, [[Wrestling/TooColdScorpio 2 Cold Scorpio]], Wrestling/ChrisJericho, [[Wrestling/MattHardy the]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Hardys]], Wrestling/{{Lita}}.
14	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: For their match against Wrestling/RickySteamboat and Wrestling/NikitaKoloff in the First Round of the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-t.html NWA World Tag Team Title]] Tournament at ''WCW Clash of the Champions XIX'', the Malenkos were billed as representing "UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}." Not any specific ''place'' in Europe, just "Europe."
15	* AscendedExtra: Not immediately, but, he ''was'' the referee for the Wrestling/RandySavage vs. [[Wrestling/GeorgeSteele George "The Animal" Steele]] match and the Corporal Kirchner vs. Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff match on the January 4, 1986 (taped December 19, 1985) episode of ''WWF Saturday Night's Main Event,'' which was held at the [[http://www.sundomearena.com USF Sun Dome]] in Tampa, FL. His first actual match on WWE TV would happen ''14 years'' later.
16	* {{Badass\|Family}} WrestlingFamily: Son of Boris Malenko.
17	* BadassIsraeli: One of the more recognizable Jews in wrestling over the past 30 years.
18	* BadassNormal: Not known for strength or aerial ability, but ''very'' well-regarded for his technical skills.
19	* BadassTeacher: His trainees include Wrestling/MollyHolly, Wrestling/{{Kane}} (at his wrestling school in Florida), [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar (both in OVW).
20	* BashBrothers: Joe Malenko, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Wrestling/PerrySaturn, Eddie Guerrero
21	* CasanovaWannabe: In his "Franchise/JamesBond" "Ladies' Man" gimmick in WWE in 2000-2001. His teammates Tazz and Perry Saturn helped feed his ego, the latter claiming Dean had more women than the Pope had Catholics.
22	* CelebrityResemblance: Part of the reason he was given his "shooter" gimmick in ECW (besides this technical skills) was because of his resemblance to early UFC fighter Royce Gracie.
23	* DemotedToExtra: During the Wrestling/{{n\|ewWorldorder}}Wo takeover, Larry Zbyszko and Wrestling/TonySchiavone said that [[Wrestling/WilliamRegal Steven Regal]], the then Television Champion, was the last champion in WCW, before saying that Dean Malenko, the then Cruiserweight Champion, didn't matter because he was a cruiserweight.
24	* {{Determinator}}: It was reported on November 22, 2010 that he had suffered a heart attack but he was back to work within ''days.''
25	* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Fell victim to this courtesy of Wrestling/JeffJarrett in summer 1997 after Jarrett had been kicked out of the Four Horsemen. Jarrett suggested they team up against the Horsemen in retaliation, and, after thinking about it, agreed. This led to them facing Benoit and Steve "Mongo" [=McMichael=] in an elimination match at the ''Road Wild 1997'' [=PPV=]. After some back-and-forth action between Malenko and Benoit, Dean tagged in Jarrett, who pulled Mongo on top of himself so he could basically pin himself and leave. This, of course, led to Malenko losing the match.
26	* FinishingMove: Tiger Driver, Texas Cloverleaf, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Tiger Driver & Texas Cloverleaf]]
27	* ForeignWrestlingHeel: Of a sort. After Benoit was split off from the Revolution near the end of 1999, Malenko, Saturn and Douglas declared themselves to be their own country, leading inevitably to a feud with wrestling's resident AllAmericanFace [[Wrestling/HacksawJimDuggan "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan]].
28	* GenreBlindness: Averted during the Benoit[=/=]Malenko vs. Wrestling/{{Raven}}[=/=]Perry Saturn vs. WCW World Tag Team Champions Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr[=/=]Wrestling/BillyKidman match at ''WCW Slamboree 99'', when Malenko was able to powerbomb Kidman.
29	* HandsomeLech: Despite his "ladies' man" gimmick, he wasn't particularly played as abrasive creep, even offering the women he courted a match with him that if they won, he would move on from them, and even the matches themselves were more based on holds rather than slams or strikes. Problem is, Malenko was famous for being "The Man of 1000 Holds" after all.
30	* HeterosexualLifePartners: He was a three-way example with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, though the two were closer to each other than they were to him.
31	* ImpersonationGambit: After failing to defeat Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title at ''WCW Uncensored 98'', March 15, 1998, he told interviewer "Mean" Gene Okerlund that he was going "home." This led to Jericho cutting hilarious promos mocking Malenko for ''months,'' including the "1004 Holds" one. At ''Slamboree'', May 17, there was a Cruiserweight Battle Royal[[note]]Which featured Jericho's [[http://www.cagematch.net/?id=93&nr=98 classic sarcastic intros]][[/note]] where the winner would get a shot at Jericho's title. It came down to Juventud Guerrera, who was a former Champion, and "Ciclope."[[note]]While the actual Ciclope was successful in Mexico, he was a lower-tier luchador at the time in WCW.[[/note]] Juvy eliminated ''himself'', giving "Ciclope" the win, and when Jericho ran out to try and get the jump on his challenger, "Ciclope" unmasked to reveal Malenko. Malenko then proceeded to beat the heck out of Jericho as revenge for everything Jericho had said about him and his family (including bringing out a guy named "Bore-Us Malenko") and ultimately won the title. In the post-match interview, Malenko dedicated the win to his father.
32	* {{It Runs\|InTheFamily}} InTheBlood
33	* IWasBeatenByAGirl: Two of them, in fact. Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} and Wrestling/{{Ivory}} defeated him in a non-title handicap match on the July 6 (taped July 4), 2000 ''[=SmackDown!=]'' after Crash Holly interfered and held down Malenko's foot during the cover.
34	* MaliciousMisnaming: During their feud, Jericho would refer to him as "Deano Machino" (which isn't that bad) and "Stinko Malenko" (which is.)
35	* PowerStable:
36	** (in ECW) The Triple Threat, with Wrestling/ShaneDouglas and Benoit
37	** (in WCW) The Four Horsemen, with Wrestling/RicFlair, Benoit, Steve "Mongo" [=McMichael=] and Wrestling/ArnAnderson as manager.
38	** The Revolution, with Benoit, Douglas, Saturn and Asya.
39	** (in WWE): The Radicals, with Benoit, Saturn, Guerrero and Wrestling/TerriRunnels
40	* RedBaron: "The Shooter," "The Man of 1000 Holds," "The Iceman"
41	* RetiredBadass: Since 2019 works as a road agent for AEW.
42	* SomethingPerson: "The Man of 1000 Holds," "The Iceman"
43	* TheStoic: He was called "The Iceman," after all.
44	** NotSoStoic: When Chris Jericho's constant needling of him finally pushed him too far.
45	* TagTeam: With his brother Joe.
46	** For a very brief time in 1992, Malenko teamed with [[Wrestling/{{TPE}} Ted Petty]] under masks as the Komodo Dragons in Jim Crockett Jr.'s failed World Wrestling Network promotion.
47	* UnrelatedBrothers: To Debbie Malenko, aka Debbie Drake, real name Debbie Killian.
48	* TheVoiceless: Never spoke in ECW until after his and Eddie's last match, and he tended to not say a lot if he could get away with it.
49	** One of the very few wrestlers from a traditionally English-speaking country in the 90's, along with Chris Benoit and a few others, to achieve considerable success in the ring, including a number of championship runs, while being given almost ''zero'' interview time. The absence was almost never noticed; being a prototype for the technically savvy wrestlers that continued to gain popularity in promotions like Wrestling/RingOfHonor throughout the 2000's after he left active competition, he always let his ring work do the talking for him. After joining WWE in 2000 and being given time on the mic, the change was very jarring.
50	** BewareTheQuietOnes
51	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not himself, but he held the WWF Lightheavyweight title for so long that after a while they stopped billing him as champion and he didn't even bother carrying the belt around with him.
52	* WildCard: He was very much a tweener during his run in WCW from the beginning until he returned for the Jericho feud, when he became a full-blown {{Face}}. He was able to be an effective heel in 2000 in WWE, though.

Context Wrestling / DeanMalenko