Victor Zangiev

Victor Zangiev
Victor Zangiev
Born	Victor Dzantemirovich Zangiev; May 26, 1962 (age 59); Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	247 lb (112 kg)
hide Medal record
Representing the Soviet Union
Men's freestyle wrestling
World Cup
Junior World Championships
Junior European Championships
	Professional wrestling career
Residence	Moscow, Russia
Billed from	Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, U.S.S.R.
Trained by	Antonio Inoki; NJPW Dojo
Debut	1989
Retired	1994

Victor Dzantemirovich Zangiev (Russian: Виктор Дзантемирович Зангиев, Ossetian: Зæнджиаты Дзантемиры фырт Виктор; born May 26, 1962) is a retired Soviet and Russian freestyle wrestler of Ossetian origin, who wrestled professionally in Japan, where he became the cultural inspiration for the Zangief character of the Street Fighter series.^{[citation needed]}

Amateur wrestling career[]

Victor Zangiev was an amateur wrestler from the Soviet Union. In 1981, he reversed the first seat in the 100 kg class for the in freestyle wrestling. In 1985, he won two major amateur wrestling titles, the U.S.-Soviet Cup Championships and the World Cup Championships. In 1988, Zangiev won the Soviet Championships.

Professional wrestling career[]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1989–1990)[]

In 1989, Zangiev, along with several other amateurs, were invited by Antonio Inoki to train in his dojo and wrestle professionally in his promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Debuting on February 22 at Sumo Hall, Zangiev wrestled two exhibition matches, first against Salman Hashimikov (which ended in a time-limit draw), then against Osamu Matsuda, whom he defeated. In April 1989, he participated in a tournament to determine the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion at New Japan's first show at the Tokyo Dome; he defeated Buzz Sawyer in the quarterfinals, but lost to Shinya Hashimoto in the semifinals. Zangiev would continue wrestling in the mid-card, before leaving at the tail end of 1990.

Before their departure, he and Hashimikov were chosen to represent the Soviet Union for the Pat O'Connor International Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade '90: Collision Course for World Championship Wrestling; they defeated the Canadian team of and in the quarterfinals, but lost to Masa Saito and The Great Muta in the semifinals.

UWF International (1994)[]

In April 1994, Zangiev returned to Japan, this time with the shoot-style UWF International. Like in NJPW, he didn't compete for championships, he mainly wrestled in mid-card single and tag team matches. In October 1994, he left UWFi and retired from professional wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments[]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #71 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

External links[]

Cagematch Profile