Mike Polchlopek
Ring name(s)	Bart Gunn[1] Brett Colt[1] Bodacious Bart[1] Mike Barton[1]
Billed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Billed weight	258 lb (117 kg)[1]
Born	December 27, 1965 (1965-12-27) (age 43)[1] Titusville, Florida
Resides	Melbourne, Florida
Billed from	Austin, Texas[1]
Trained by	Caesar Barraza Blackjack Mulligan Boris Malenko
Debut	1991

Michal Burton "Mike" Polchlopek, Jr.^[2] (born December 27, 1965) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, also known by the ring names Bart Gunn and Mike Barton. He is perhaps best known for his six-year tenure in the World Wrestling Federation.^[1]

[edit] Career

[edit] World Wrestling Federation

Polchlopek was famous in the World Wrestling Federation as one-half of the tag team The Smoking Gunns with his kayfabe brother Billy Gunn. The team were WWF World Tag Team Champions three times before breaking up and engaging in a brief feud.

Polchlopek then recreated the Midnight Express tag team as "Bodacious Bart" with partner "Bombastic" Bob Holly. The team had limited success, though they did hold the NWA World Tag Team Championship for a brief period in 1998.

When the WWF announced a shoot tournament called the Brawl for All in which the competition would be real and winners would not be predetermined, Bart Gunn participated. Gunn actually drew partner Bob Holly in the first round but was declared the winner by the complicated point system. When Gunn fought Steve Williams, many were surprised when he won by knockout. He won the tournament with a victory over the Godfather in the semi-finals and Bradshaw in the finals.

Afterward, Gunn feuded with both Holly and Williams, the pair angry at having been beaten in the tournament, the latter masking himself and pushing Gunn off a stage. To continue capitalizing on the impressive Brawl for All showing, the WWF set up a Brawl for All match between Gunn and heavyweight boxer Eric "Butterbean" Esch at WrestleMania XV. Esch knocked out Gunn within 30 seconds. Polchlopek was soon released by WWF.

[edit] Japan and Mixed Martial Arts

After leaving the WWF, Polchlopek found success wrestling in Japan (due to the fame of Steve Williams in Japan and his knockout pushing him as tougher than Dr. Death) with New Japan and All Japan Wrestling under the ring name Mike Barton. He also had a short stint in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003.

Polchlopek made his mixed martial arts debut on June 17 2006, defeating Wesley "Cabbage" Correira at Rumble On The Rock: Beatdown in less than two minutes by technical knockout on the basis of a cut suffered by Correira. In his most recent match, Polchlepek faced Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa on the PRIDE Bushido 13 card, losing via unanimous decision to Minowa.

On the RAW 15th Anniversary Spectacular on December 10, 2007, Gunn participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal and was eliminated by Steve Blackman.

[edit] Personal life

On December 19 2007, Polchlopek's son Michael Polchlopek III died at the age of nineteen as the result of an accidental shooting five days earlier.^[2][3]

[edit] In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Barton Buster (Elevated powerbomb)^[1]

• Signature moves
  • Barton Cutter (Three-quarter facelock bulldog)^[1]
  • Barton Disaster^[1]
  • Barton Spike (Chokeslam)^[1]
  • Brainbuster
  • Left-handed knockout hook
  • Sidewalk slam

• Managers
  • Jim Cornette^[4]
  • Sunny

• Nicknames
  • "Bodacious"
  • Bart "The Hammer" Gunn^[1]
  • "Lefty"

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[5] – with Johnny Ace

• International Wrestling Federation
  • IWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times)^[6] – with Kip Winchester^{[citation needed]}

• Panama Championship Wrestling
  • PCW Americas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^{[citation needed]}

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Ranked him # 377 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.^[7]

• World Wrestling Federation
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bombastic Bob^[8]
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times)^[9] – with Billy Gunn
  • Brawl for All Champion^[10]

[edit] Mixed Martial Arts

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	1–1	Ikuhisa Minowa	Decision (Unanimous)	PRIDE - Bushido 13	02006-11-05 November 5, 2006	2	5:00	Yokohama, Kanagawa
Win	1-0	Wesley Correira	TKO (Cut)	ROTR - Beatdown 1	02006-06-17 June 17, 2006	1	1:46	Hawaii

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)

[edit] External links

Professional wrestling portal

• A Farewell to Arms
• Mike Plotcheck at PuroresuFan.com
• Mike Plotcheck at RumbleWorld.tv
• Mike Plotcheck at Sherdog.com
• RFVideo Shoot Interview with Bart Gunn, July 2007
• Mike Plotcheck at the Internet Movie Database