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Karen Lauer-Silva, M.D. Obstetrics/Gynecology Fremont Nebraska NE famc.org | IHRSA - Mar 2006 CBI Lauer healthclubs.com | Invisalign | David H. Seligman, DMD, PC | David H. Seligman, DMD |... seligmanortho.com |
Bruno Lauer (born October 27, 1965), better known by his ring name Harvey Wippleman, is a professional wrestling manager, referee, and occasional wrestler. He began his career working in professional wrestling promotions in the Southern United States, especially Memphis. In the 1990s, he debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he managed wrestlers such as Big Bully Busick, Kamala, and Bertha Faye. In 2000, he became the first and only man to win the WWF Women's Championship. He currently works backstage in World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF) and occasionally performs as Downtown Bruno in Memphis Wrestling.
[edit] Professional wrestling career[edit] Early careerIn 1979, Lauer attended an independent wrestling show at a circus in Pennsylvania.[1] In exchange for helping to tear down the ring after the show, he was given free admission.[1] He later joined the company and toured Ohio.[1] During this time, The Royal Kangaroos' Jonathan Boyd became his mentor.[1] Back in Pennsylvania, Geeto Mongol trained Lauer and gave him the ring name Dr. Lennerd Spazzinsky.[1] He then moved to Memphis where he performed under the name Downtown Bruno.[1][3] In 1986, he became the most prominent villainous manager in Memphis.[1] In addition, wrestlers like Jerry Lawler and Sid Eudy helped his career.[1] He continued to work in the Southern promotions for the rest of the late 1980s.[1] In September 1988, he won the Continental Wrestling Federation's Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship and held it until the promotion closed in 1989.[4] [edit] World Wrestling FederationIn 1991, Sid Eudy helped bring Lauer to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1][3] He debuted as Harvey Wippleman, the villainous manager of Big Bully Busick.[5] In April 1992 at WrestleMania VIII, Wippleman managed Sid Justice—the character played by his friend Sid Eudy—in his main event match against Hulk Hogan which ended with Justice losing by disqualification.[2] After Eudy left the WWF, Lauer's "push" was lessened, and he began managing lower-level talent.[3] Afterward, Wippleman managed Kamala, who was feuding with The Undertaker.[6] After Kamala was defeated by Undertaker in a Coffin match at Survivor Series in 1992, Kamala left Wippleman and Reverend Slick became his new manager.[7][8] Wippleman's continued to feud with the Undertaker and brought a new wrestler to the WWF, the nearly eight-foot-tall Giant González, who interfered in the 1993 Royal Rumble and eliminated the Undertaker.[9] Gonzalez and the Undertaker wrestled at WrestleMania IX, where Gonzalez knocked Undertaker unconscious with a chloroform-soaked rag.[10][11] The feud culminated in a Rest in Peace match at SummerSlam, which Undertaker won.[12] Wippleman's next high-profile storyline was in 1995, when he managed his on-screen girlfriend Bertha Faye.[2][13] Faye, with Wippleman in her corner, won the WWF Women's Championship by defeating Alundra Blayze at the SummerSlam event in 1995.[14][15] Wippleman then began feuding with WWF ring announcer Howard Finkel.[16] Their feud culminated in a Tuxedo match on January 5, 1995.[16] The following year, Lauer made appearances as a referee.[3] During The Attitude Era, he won the WWF Women's Championship from The Kat while he was in a disguise and used the name "Hervina" in a "Lumberjill Snow bunny" match, a match that took place in a snow filled pool surrounded by female wrestlers whose purpose was to keep the competitors from leaving the pool.[2][17] The win made him the first male to hold the Women's Championship.[17] He lost the title on February 3, 2000 to Jacqueline in a match that lasted under a minute.[18] Subsequently, Whippleman served as a road agent for the company.[19] [edit] Personal lifeLauer grew up impoverished in Pennsylvania.[3] According to Lauer, he spent his teenage years "sprawling on car hoods, smoking cigarettes, and drinking beer with no particular ambition in mind".[1] His drinking eventually caused Lauer to have jail time in Memphis.[1] In 1994, Lauer was in a car accident with Joey Marella, which claimed Marella's life and injured Lauer.[1] The crash occurred as a result of Marella falling asleep at the wheel while driving on the way to Newark.[20] Marella was not wearing his seat belt, but Lauer–the passenger–was wearing his.[20] Because of the severity of his injuries, however, Lauer had approximately $10,000 in medical expenses.[1] He also wrote an autobiography Wrestling with the Truth, which was released in 2008.[1][3] The book received critical praise. According to Rich Tate of Georgia Wrestling History, "Downtown' Bruno Lauer takes the reader on a thrill ride that is a mixed bag of brutal honesty, insightful self-deprecation, sincere appreciation, sad situations, and hilarious moments, which leave you feeling you know the whole story, but also wanting a sequel."[21] Mark James of Memphis Wrestling History calls the book "highly entertaining".[22] [edit] In wrestling
[edit] Championships and accomplishments[edit] References
[edit] External links
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