1. Kenneth Wayne Patera was born on November 6,1942 and is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and strongman competitor.
35 Facts About Ken Patera
1. 2.
Ken Patera was well known in the World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1981,1984 to 1985 and 1987 to 1988 and American Wrestling Association.
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Ken Patera grew to become one of the nation's premier track and field weight throwers, competing at Brigham Young University.
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Ken Patera won several medals at the 1971 Pan American Games, and finished second in the 1971 World Weightlifting Championships just behind Vasily Alekseyev.
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On his native soil, Ken Patera won four consecutive US Weightlifting Championships in the super heavyweight class from 1969 to 1972.
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At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Ken Patera was expected to be a serious competitor to Vasily Alekseyev, but he failed to total and was not among the medal recipients.
7.
Ken Patera competed in the inaugural World's Strongest Man contest in 1977, finishing third behind Bruce Wilhelm and Bob Young.
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Ken Patera became a "strongman" in professional wrestling in 1972, following his weightlifting career.
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Ken Patera wrestled mainly as a heel for the World Wrestling Federation, National Wrestling Alliance, and American Wrestling Association during the 1970s.
10.
Ken Patera made his debut for the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1976.
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When Bob Backlund later won the title, Ken Patera unsuccessfully challenged him.
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Ken Patera was one of the most hated heels in wrestling, and often used his swinging full nelson to "injure" babyface opponents during matches.
13.
Ken Patera returned to the Mid-Atlantic territory as a heel, defeating area legend Chief Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship in April 1978.
14.
Ken Patera held that title, off and on, for over a year, losing it to, and regaining it from, Tony Atlas.
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Ken Patera then lost the title to fellow AWA alumnus Jim Brunzell, in Richmond, Virginia.
16.
In fall of 1979, Ken Patera returned to the WWWF which was now called the World Wrestling Federation.
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Ken Patera won the WWF Intercontinental Championship on April 21,1980 in New York City defeating Pat Patterson.
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Ken Patera would become the second champion ever to hold the title.
19.
Ken Patera dropped the title to Pedro Morales on December 8,1980.
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Ken Patera did two more tours for New Japan in 1981, and 1984.
21.
Ken Patera was an integral part of the Heenan Family in the AWA, and later in the WWF.
22.
Ken Patera returned to the WWF and resumed his feud with Hogan, challenging him for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on May 25,1985 at the Spectrum and assisted Big John Studd in his feud with Andre the Giant, helping Studd cut Andre's hair after both had attacked him in December 1984.
23.
In June 1985, Ken Patera went to prison for assaulting a police officer and did not wrestle for nearly two years.
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Ken Patera was in top physical condition at this point, and his appearance had changed, as he wore natural brown hair, rather than his previous bleached blonde look.
25.
Ken Patera then began feuding with the Heenan Family.
26.
Shortly after his return, Ken Patera ruptured the bicep tendon in his right arm, which led him to miss some time and re-emerge afterward with a stiff and bulky full-length brace for protection.
27.
Ken Patera returned to the AWA in early 1989 and unsuccessfully challenged the new AWA world champion Larry Zbyszko for the title.
28.
When it was Ken Patera's turn to lift, Enos and manager Johnny Valiant attacked and injured Ken Patera and Rheingans.
29.
Ken Patera continued to feud with Bloom and Enos until he left the AWA.
30.
Ken Patera went on to wrestle for Herb Abrams' UWF, as well as PWA and on independent cards primarily in the Minnesota area well into the 1990s, sometimes even promoting his own events.
31.
Ken Patera is the younger brother of Jack Ken Patera, who coached the NFL's Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1982.
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Ken Patera is the brother of former San Francisco 49ers player Dennis Patera.
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Ken Patera has been married three times and has two daughters.
34.
Sixteen months later, at which point Ken Patera was in the WWF, he was sentenced to two years in prison.
35.
In July 2016, Ken Patera was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury.