Paul Orndorff, WWE's 'Mr. Wonderful,' Dies At 71

Paul Orndorff, the professional wrestler known to WWE WWE fans as “Mr. Wonderful,” died on Monday at the age of 71.

A Life In The Ring: Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. was born Oct. 29, 1949, in Brandon, Florida, and first gained prominence as a running back at the University of Tampa, scoring 21 career touchdowns. He was a 12th round selection in the 1973 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, but didn't pass the NFL physical. He played one season for the World Football League’s Jacksonville Sharks in 1975 before switching careers to professional wrestling.

Orndorff worked his way through various leagues, battling Jerry Lawler in the Mid-Southern Wrestling and teaming with Jimmy Snuka in the National Wrestling Alliance. He also crossed the Pacific to team with Big John Studd in the New Japan Pro Wrestling league.

Orndorff signed with the World Wrestling Federation, later the WWE, in late 1983. His timing was serendipitous, as the company was quickly becoming a pop culture sensation and its wrestlers were turning into celebrity figures. Orndorff quickly became a crowd favorite, memorably teaming with Rowdy Roddy Piper against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in the first Wrestlemania.

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A Career Wrap-Up: Orndorff suffered an arm injury during weight training in the run-up to a 1986 match against Hogan, but opted not to seek surgical treatment. By 1988, the injury forced him to retire, and his absence from wrestling led to a rumor that he passed away.

Orndorff recovered enough to return to the ring in 1990 via the World Class Wrestling tournaments. He later performed in regional leagues before returning to WCW in 1992, finally retiring in 1995.

Although Orndorff never won a singles championship in WWE or WCW, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He would make occasional appearances at wrestling events, but in 2016 he was part of a class-action lawsuit filed against WWE accusing the company of being responsible for neurological injuries suffered by wrestlers. The lawsuit was twice dismissed by the courts.

Orndorff’s son Troy stated that the wrestler has been diagnosed with dementia, which he believed was caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition created through by repeated head trauma.

In a statement, WWE said that with “his awe-inspring in-ring style and umatched swagger, ‘Mr. Wonderful’ turned his talent into a prototype for the modern-day Superstar.”

Troy Orndorff asked his father's fans to contribute to a GoFundMe page to cover his funeral expenses.

Photo: Courtesy WWE.