Corporal Kirchner

Michael Kirchner (born Michael Penzel; September 7, 1957) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former United States Army paratrooper. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Corporal Kirchner in the mid-1980s. He is also known for his appearances in Japan under the ring name Leatherface.

Military career
Kirchner enlisted in the United States Army as a teenager, becoming a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He left the Army when in his early twenties.

Professional wrestling career
While working as a mechanic and bouncer in Minnesota, Kirchner met professional wrestler Hulk Hogan in a gym. Hogan introduced Kirchner to American Wrestling Association promoter Verne Gagne and helped him enroll in a professional wrestling school operated by Gagne.

World Wrestling Federation
After working as a preliminary wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation under the name "RT Reynolds", Kirchner was eventually given the character of a military hero after WWF owner/promoter Vince McMahon discovered that he had been in the 82nd Airborne. Kirchner then adopted the ring name Corporal Kirchner and used a militaristic character with several vignettes airing showing him in typical army survival training exercises to help build his character as a patriotic American. He is known for his brief feud with Nikolai Volkoff in the World Wrestling Federation in 1986, which included a victory over Volkoff at WrestleMania 2 in a Flag Match; they would trade victories, though Kirchner would beat Volkoff fair, and Volkoff would always cheat to win. During a pre-Wrestlemania 2 interview with Jesse "The Body" Ventura in Ventura's "Body Shop" segment, he talked about his time in the U.S. Army, and even made a reference to Ventura's time as a Navy SEAL, causing Ventura to momentarily break character and agree with him.

He was a member of the WWF's Australian tour in mid-1986 (the WWF's first tour to Australia under Vince McMahon's ownership), wrestling in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time. He was also considered one of the stiffest wrestlers in the WWF and his career suffered because many wrestlers were reluctant to work with him. He was suspended by the WWF for testing positive for drug use in 1987 and when his suspension ended, he declined to return and left the company. Kirchner followed his WWF run with a brief run in the Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While there he was known as "Col. Kirchner".

In 2001, Kirchner was announced as a participant in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. The WWF went as far as to picture him in a graphic on WWF.com promoting the match, though he was removed weeks before the event.

Japan
Following his dismissal from the WWF, he made a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan as he created the ring name and gimmick of "Leatherface" and tied it in with the villain of the same name from the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He originally wrestled for Victor Quiñones' W*ING promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in W*ING. However, Kirchner was later arrested and jailed for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries. During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character that Kirchner created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left W*ING and went to International Wrestling Association of Japan. During a subsequent match in the IWA that the new Leatherface competed in, the original Leatherface (Kirchner) appeared in the crowd.

This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted for only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. On December 13, 1994, the Leatherfaces faced two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono, in a Double Hell Deathmatch. In a match that would become a classic within hardcore wrestling, Kirchner broke kayfabe after the match and ripped off a piece of the bed of nails, placed it on Ono's throat and then executed a leg drop onto the patch of nails. He then powerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Kirchner afterward left the IWA, with the promotion claiming that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.

Kirchner then left for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. Using a modified version of his Leatherface gimmick, he debuted for the promotion under the name "Super Leather" and later formed a tag team with Chris Romero. The team proved to be successful, as they managed to score wins over popular and well-known tag teams including Jado and Gedo, and Masato Tanaka and Iko Kuroda. Kirchner remained with FMW until its closure in 2002 and by 2004, he retired from wrestling full-time.

Semi–retirement
In 2007, Kirchner revived his Leatherface character for his first match since 2004. In his return match, he teamed with Jayson Voorhees as The Serial Killers in a losing effort to Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher on February 25, 2007 during the Insane Clown Posse's Tempest Release Party. On March 2, the Serial Killers defeated KJ Hellfire and Ricky during the Tempest Release Party.

Personal life
Kirchner was reportedly announced dead on October 15, 2006 by former employer World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation). On October 21, it was announced that he was still alive. This came as a result of confusion over Kirchner's actual name, which was believed to be Thomas Spear at the time. There, in fact, was a Thomas Spear who died in White Marsh, Maryland, but he is completely unconnected to Kirchner.

Kirchner's mom actually heard about the WWE's announcement of her son's death and immediately called her son to inform him. Kirchner and his mom then contacted the WWE to tell that Kirchner was still alive and in good health, leading to the WWE's announcement on October 21. Kirchner, who was working as a truck driver at the time, later remarked that he was honored and surprised that people still remembered him 20 years after his brief rise to fame in wrestling.

Wrestling moves

 * Finishing moves
 * Airbourne Slam (Fallaway slam)
 * Corporal Clutch (Cobra clutch) – WWF
 * Signature moves
 * Football tackle
 * Short-arm clothesline

Championships and accomplishments

 * Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
 * FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jason the Terrible
 * FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Headhunters
 * Wrestling International New Generations
 * W*ING World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Freddy Krueger
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI ranked him #287 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991