Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson in Minneapolis, March 9, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler who was a top Foreign Wrestling Heel in the mid-1980s. He debuted in 1984 and was introduced as "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff's "nephew" just arrived from the Soviet Union. He would compete primarily for National Wrestling Alliance promoter Jim Crockett in the Carolinas and for WCW, with side trips in "Cowboy" Bill Watts' Mid-South/UWF promotion and in the AWA until he retired in late 1992. Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 1x NWA National Heavyweight Champion
, a 1x NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, an NWA (Mid-Atlantic) 6-Man Tag Team Champion, a 2x NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Champion and a 1x NWA World Television Champion. He was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2008.
"The Super Tropes of the Soviet Union":
- Antagonist in Mourning: His initial Heel–Face Turn in 1986 was due to Magnum T.A.'s career-ending car accident.
- Arch-Enemy: The Road Warriors, Magnum T.A., Lex Luger, the Four Horsemen, Sting, Vader
- Charles Atlas Superpower: His strength was regularly noted by announcers, as he was hyped as the "Super-Athlete of the Soviet Union."
- Commuting on a Bus: After initially walking away from wrestling in 1988 to care for his wife, Mandy, who was dying, and ultimately did die, of cancer, he showed up again in WCW in early 1991 and was gone by the Fall. He returned in 1992 as an ally of Sting against the Dangerous Alliance and stuck around until Vader sent him into retirement following their match in October at Halloween Havoc.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": He actually changed his legal name to "Nikita Koloff."
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Well, either this or really great Theatrics of Pain on the part of his opponent. He once was in a Squash Match against Vernon Deaton. Koloff ran in and hit the Russian Sickle right off the bat. He tried lifting Deaton up and Deaton just fell back again. Koloff placed a knee on Deaton's chest and pointed down at Deaton and said, "USA, right here!"
- Evil Counterpart: Was dubbed "The Russian Nightmare" as a counterpoint to "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.
- Expy:
- Sometimes called "The Russian Road Warrior."
- Goldberg was often compared to Koloff, due to both being bald men with goatees with a no-selling and squash-heavy wrestling style.
- Finishing Move: The Russian Sickle (running clothesline)
- Foreign Wrestling Heel: One of the best of his era.
- Gimmick Matches: Russian Chain Matches, both of the pinfall rules variety and the drag-your-opponent-around-all-four-corners variety.
- Heel–Face Turn: Possibly one of the most famous of the Kayfabe era of wrestling, Nikita turned his back on both his evil "uncle" and Mother Russia after Magnum T.A.'s tragic accident, instead allying himself with Dusty Rhodes as "The Super Powers". In-universe, it was played as Nikita seeing much of himself in Magnum, and having grown tired of the petty politics of pro sports, choosing to strike out on his own and merely wrestle for a love of the sport rather than as a representative of the Soviet Union.
- Just a Stupid Accent: His attempt at a Russian accent. He went as far as shouting Russian-sounding gibberish (even outside of wrestling) to keep up his Soviet gimmick early on in his career when he actually didn't know Russian. (He would eventually learn the language later on.)
- Martial Arts Headband: Well, more like Pro Wrestling Headband, but he would wear a headband with "USSR" (or "CCCP") on it.
- Power Stable:
- Eddie Gilbert's the First Family
- Was part of The Russians, a three-man stable with his "uncle" Ivan and Krusher Khrushchev.
- Made a couple of appearances for TNA as the masked "Mr. Wrestling IV" aligned with Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme group, attacking former nemesis/ally Dusty Rhodes in 2003. He later unmasked and helped Rhodes before returning to retirement.
- Religious Bruiser: Is a born-again Christian and, in retirement, has co-promoted religious wrestling events with Ted DiBiase. He baptized Luna Vachon when she became a born-again Christian.
- Squash Match: This was essentially how he got over as a monster, running in and splattering guys in 15 seconds or so.
- Tag Team:
- The Russians, with Ivan and either Kortsia Korchenko or Krusher Khrushchev (Barry Darsow).
- The Superpowers, with Dusty Rhodes.
- That Man Is Dead: Once said in a wrestling magazine, "Scott Simpson, hey, that guy was a loser."
- Unrelated Brothers: As noted above, aside from a passing physical likeness, Nikita and Ivan Koloff had absolutely no relation to eachother.
- Wrestling Monster: At his best.
