Ion William Croitoru was a Canadian professional wrestler and outlaw biker, known to wrestling fans by his ring names Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba and Bruiser Bedlam.
69 Facts About Ion Croitoru
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Ion Croitoru wrestled as a jobber in the WWF but was booked to win titles in several other promotions.
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In 2005, Ion Croitoru was arrested for the murder of lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred; the charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence.
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Ion Croitoru was then arrested in May 2009 for conspiracy to murder the Bacon Brothers, resulting in the killing of Jonathan Barber.
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Ion Croitoru pleaded guilty in July 2013 to conspiracy in exchange for a stay of proceedings on the murder charge.
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Ion Croitoru was the focus for episode 11 of the third season of the Vice TV documentary series Dark Side of the Ring.
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Ion William Croitoru was born to Romanian parents in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Ion Croitoru grew up in the working class district of East Hamilton and as a teenager exercised at a local gym known as Bad Boy's.
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Ion Croitoru was an accomplished weightlifter and once bench pressed 625 pounds.
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Ion Croitoru began his career as a bouncer in a Hamilton bar, and was recruited into wrestling after being observed by a patron who happened to be a wrestler.
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Ion Croitoru trained with Nick DeCarlo and Victor Rosettani Sr.
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In 1985, Croitoru entered the US wrestling scene and joined the American Wrestling Association, where he received a push and was given a reign as AWA Southern Heavyweight champion.
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Ion Croitoru claimed that he decided on this name while being arrested after a fight; he saw "K-9" written on a paddywagon and decided on the ring name.
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Ion Croitoru usually showed up in the ring wearing black tights and a collar around his neck, and proceeded to generate heat from the audiences before his matches started.
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Ion Croitoru worked as a jobber to the stars, putting over such wrestlers as Pedro Morales, Tito Santana and Paul Orndorff.
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Ion Croitoru wrestled in many tag team matches and formed a short-lived team with Barry O in 1986, but his biggest match in the WWF was a televised bout against Hulk Hogan.
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The mere fact that Croitoru had wrestled Hulk Hogan made him famous, all the more so as many of the blue collar citizens of Hamilton were fans of professional wrestling.
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Ion Croitoru admitted to his weakness for the "fast life", saying he liked expensive cars and staying out late at nightclubs.
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In 1993, Ion Croitoru opened up a gym called Bad Boy's in Burlington, named after the gym he had patronized in his youth.
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In September 1993, Croitoru was convicted of forgery, being fined CA$500 and placed on probation.
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Ion Croitoru joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1994, where he was given the ring name Bruiser Bedlam.
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Cornette stated that Ion Croitoru never moved to Tennessee during his time in SMW, and instead drove down from Hamilton every weekend for his matches.
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Cornette stated that he was aware that Ion Croitoru was involved in crime during his time in SMW, but maintained that he was only a petty criminal who liked to exaggerate his importance in the underworld.
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Ion Croitoru went on to feud with Tracy Smothers, and the two wrestled in a lengthy series of matches, including several Coalminer's glove matches, in which a glove is available for the wrestlers to use as a weapon.
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Later that in 1994, Ion Croitoru wrestled several matches against Tony Anthony.
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The series consisted of several steel cage matches in which Ion Croitoru put Anthony over, as well as tag team matches where Ion Croitoru teamed with Cornette and Anthony teamed with Ron Wright.
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In 1994, Croitoru began wrestling in Midwest Territorial Wrestling, an independent promotion based in Michigan.
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Ion Croitoru continued using the ring name Taras Bulba and proclaimed himself "King of chain matches".
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Ion Croitoru was pushed for a run with the belt defeating Mickey Doyle on January 21,1995, to win the vacant title.
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Ion Croitoru held the championship for almost four months before dropping it to Marty Jannetty.
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Cornette had booked the match in the hope that Ion Croitoru might be able to return to the WWF, but the company was not interested.
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Ion Croitoru wrestled in Border City Wrestling and was pushed to win the BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship by defeating Scott D'Amore on May 21,1995.
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Ion Croitoru held the title for a little over a month before dropping it back to D'Amore.
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Once again using the ring name Bruiser Bedlam, Croitoru wrestled for Insane Championship Wrestling for a short time in 1996.
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Ion Croitoru wrestled New Jack at ICW's Holiday Hell supercard in a match that ended in a double countout.
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Ion Croitoru wrestled on World Championship Wrestling's first annual Ilio DiPaolo tribute show, teaming with Cowboy Danny Johnson in a loss to Tony Parisi and Dominic DeNucci.
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Ion Croitoru feuded with Greg Valentine, and the two wrestled in a series of matches.
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Ion Croitoru wrestled his final match on June 6,2013, where he defeated Panama Wasp at Thrash Wrestling in Lumby, British Columbia.
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Ion Croitoru had been selling illegal steroids for a number of years, and through another steroid dealer known to the media only as "Jimmy Rich", he came into contact with the Satan's Choice outlaw motorcycle club.
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Ion Croitoru was especially close to Michel Dube, the president of Satan's Choice Sudbury chapter, who was considered by Isnor to be the most dangerous outlaw biker in Ontario.
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Lorne Edgar Campbell, a long-time member of Satan's Choice, described Ion Croitoru as being of limited intelligence but being a fierce competitor would not accept any defeats, which Campbell found highly ironic given Ion Croitoru's previous work as a wrestling jobber.
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At point, Ion Croitoru had a rematch and won, leading Campbell to state: "When I showed him, he almost broke my back".
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Ion Croitoru was arrested for trafficking cocaine and served ten months in prison.
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Ion Croitoru encountered more problems in late 1996 when he and several friends from Satan's Choice were refused entry to a strip club for wearing their gang's colors.
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Ion Croitoru had a member of the Hamilton chapter, Jure "Jerry" Juretta, build a bomb.
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The Musitano brothers wanted Croitoru killed because of his connections with the Hells Angels as they feared that he might allow the Angels to establish more influence in Hamilton at their expense.
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Additionally, Croitoru had started to work for the rival Luppino family, which "Fat Pat" Musitano regarded as a betrayal.
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Ion Croitoru was left speechless for a moment before thanking Murdock.
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Ion Croitoru's attempt to transfer over to the Toronto chapter was rejected as it was felt that he was a loose cannon who was a liability for Satan's Choice.
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Ion Croitoru got in a fight in Hamilton with another former Satan's Choice member, "Jimmy Rich", on January 13,1998.
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In September 1998, Ion Croitoru was brought to trial for his role in the bombing.
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Ion Croitoru was convicted and sentenced to 33 months in prison.
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Ion Croitoru pleaded guilty to his role in having the bomb built.
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Besides for his role in the bombing, Ion Croitoru was convicted of illegally selling steroids, largely on the basis of the testimony of his former friend "Jimmy Rich".
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The police maintained that Ion Croitoru worked as an enforcer and a debt collector for the Gravelle family of Hamilton after he was expelled from Satan's Choice.
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Ion Croitoru maintained that he rarely had to strike anyone as a debt collector because he was sufficiently intimidating to make people pay up.
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Smith stated he saw pieces of the runner's face "smeared all over the wall" and there was blood everywhere as Ion Croitoru had broken his nose, jaw and orbital bone.
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Ion Croitoru was charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
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Ion Croitoru was arrested on December 2,2005, for violating his bail terms, and police filed another extortion charge against him.
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In June 2006, Croitoru pleaded guilty to the charges of extortion and violating the terms of his bail.
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Ion Croitoru was asked to appear on the show, but he declined.
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Ion Croitoru lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his common-law wife Tracy Edwards from 2007 onward.
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Ion Croitoru had a brief acting career appearing in a movie titled Oklahoma Smugglers, in which he portrayed a wrestler, and in such television shows as Reaper.
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Police sources told the author Jerry Langton that Croitoru tried to join the Hells Angels' Vancouver chapter, but they directed him to the United Nations gang.
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Clayton Roueche, the leader of the United Nations gang, had heard of Croitoru and recruited him.
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On May 15,2009, Croitoru was arrested, along with seven other members of the United Nations gang.
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On January 24,2011, Croitoru was charged with first degree murder in connection with the execution of Jonathan Barber and the attempted murder of Barber's girlfriend Vicky King, then 17, in Burnaby on May 9,2008.
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Ion Croitoru was sentenced to 13 years in prison, which was reduced to four years and eight months after factoring in time served.
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Ion Croitoru died on February 21,2017, at a federal halfway house in Toronto at the age of 53.