Charles Donald Kernodle Jr. (May 2, 1950 – May 17, 2021) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

with the National Wrestling Alliance's

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

Professional wrestling career

In college, Kernodle

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

four times in amateur wrestling. He was also a two time national

arm wrestling Arm wrestling (also spelled armwrestling) is a sport with two opponents who face each other with their bent elbows placed on a table and hands firmly gripped, who then attempt to force the opponent's hand down to the table top ("pin" them). The s ...

champion. After graduating from

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate ...

, Kernodle started wrestling in 1973 in the National Wrestling Alliance's

. He got his start by accepting a "shoot" wrestling challenge from

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Gr ...

. Although Roop defeated Kernodle by submission, Kernodle's skills impressed

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

and Gene Anderson who both offered to train Kernodle for free.

Cobra Corps in Mid-Atlantic

At first, he (now known as Pvt. Kernodle) was part of

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

's "Cobra Corps" and teamed with Slaughter and Pvt. Jim Nelson. In 1982, the team of Kernodle and Nelson won the

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Co ...

from

Porkchop Cash Bobby Cash (born October 22, 1947) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He competed primarily in promotions operated by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), like the Continental Wrestling Association and Georgia Championship Wres ...

and

Jay Youngblood Steven Nicolas Romero (June 21, 1955 – September 2, 1985) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jay Youngblood. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions in a tag team with Ricky Stea ...

. They later lost the title to Cash and

King Parsons King Bailey Parsons Jr. (born June 11, 1950) is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Iceman King Parsons. Professional wrestling career Parsons started wrestling in 1979 after being trained by Nick Kozak. King started fo ...

, from whom they also regained the title. After Nelson was removed from the alliance, Kernodle became the tag partner of Sgt. Slaughter, with whom he held the NWA World Tag Team Championship in late 1982 and early 1983. They lost the titles in a steel cage match vs. Rick Steamboat and

on March 12, 1983.

World Wrestling Federation

While teaming with Nelson, the duo wrestled on at least three cards co-promoted by the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

in 1982, wrestling Steamboat and Youngblood at least twice, with Kernodle defeating Youngblood for the

NWA Canadian Television Championship The NWA Canadian Television Championship was a secondary singles title in Toronto-based NWA affiliate Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1982 to 1984, when the title was abandoned after the promotion left the NWA to join the World Wrestling Federation ...

in a solo bout on August 8, 1982. Kernodle would continue to wrestle on co-promoted cards through May 23, 1983 when he made his Madison Square Garden debut for the WWF. Kernodle would wrestle in the WWF through November 1983, being primarily featured on television defeating the likes of Jeff Craney, Jack Carson, Bill Dixon, Steve King, and Tony Colon but falling short to

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher. Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with ...

and

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...

in single competition and The Invaders in tag team competition. Additionally, Kernodle was frequently used as a substitute for

Afa Anoa'i Afa Amituana'i "Arthur" Anoa'i (born November 21, 1942) is a Samoan-American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild ...

in main event matches throughout 1983. Kernodle's last bout in the WWF was on a co-promoted card in 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens against Santana.

Return to NWA

Following the title loss and brief stint in the WWF, Kernodle remained a

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

and formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with

Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton Jr. (born November 10, 1950), better known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Bar ...

and was managed by Gary Hart. He soon turned against America and formed a tag team with

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was ...

and won the NWA World Tag Team Title. When Koloff's "nephew"

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...

arrived in late 1984, Kernodle helped to train him. Also in 1984, the Koloffs turned on Kernodle after he and Ivan lost the NWA World Tag Titles to Dusty Rhodes and Manny "The Raging Bull" Fernandez and started a feud. Kernodle teamed with his brother Rocky to feud with the Koloffs and helped the

Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson (wrestler), Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Universal Wrest ...

to win the Tag Team Title from them at Starrcade '85: The Gathering. In 1986, Kernodle left the NWA and wrestled in various

independent promotion In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wres ...

s in the Carolinas. He later became a Sergeant for Immigration Customs Enforcement for Alamance County. Since 2002, Kernodle and his brother wrestled several times per year with

CWF Mid-Atlantic Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic (CWF Mid-Atlantic, formerly known as the Carolina Wrestling Federation and FWA-Carolinas) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Rudd in 2000. The promotion is based i ...

near their home in Burlington, NC. He was a deputy sheriff with the Alamance County sheriffs office.

Other media

He appeared in the 1978 Sylvester Stallone movie ''

Paradise Alley ''Paradise Alley'' is a 1978 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone (in his feature directorial debut). The film tells the story of three Italian American brothers in Hell's Kitchen in the 1940s who beco ...

''.

Death

Kernodle died on May 17, 2021, at the age of 71. Kernodle had been suffering from several health issues prior to his death. It was later revealed that Kernodle died after committing suicide by gunshot after visiting the doctor.

Championships and accomplishments

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's Dan Gable Museum. The hall of fame honors wrestlers with a strong amat ...

**Class of 2021 *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athl ...

( 1 time) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promoti ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with Pvt. Jim Nelson (2) **

NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and originally promoted in the NWA Mid-America territory based out of Tennessee. Originally called the "NWA S ...

( 1 time) - with Ivan &

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

( 3 times) - with

(1),

(1), and Ivan Koloff (1) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

**PWI ranked him # 463 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 **PWI ranked # 29 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Sgt. Slaughter *

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended in the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

( 1 time) **

WWC Television Championship The WWC Television Championship is a tertiary championship that is currently defended in the World Wrestling Council. The title was initially created in 1986 and used until 2003, then from February 3, 2007 until July 11, 2008. The title was brought ...

(

)

Footnotes

External links

Profile
at Online World of Wrestling
Article
at The Times News {{DEFAULTSORT:Kernodle, Don 1950 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides American male professional wrestlers Elon University alumni People from Burlington, North Carolina Professional wrestlers from North Carolina Suicides by firearm in North Carolina 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions WWC Television Champions NWA Canadian Television Champions WCW World Tag Team Champions