Jim Lanning (born October 10, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Soldat Ustinov, who competed in North American regional promotions including the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA) during the 1980s. Before his professional wrestling career, Jim Lanning was a left offensive tackle known for pass blocking - he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys and briefly played in the USFL for the San Antonio Gun Slingers.

Career

American Wrestling Association (1987 - 1988)

Arriving in the AWA in 1987, he would begin teaming with

Boris Zukhov James Kirk Harrell (born December 13, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhukov ...

under manager Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie and together would defeat the Midnight Rockers for the AWA World tag team title in

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

on May 25, 1987. After defending the titles for almost five months with victories over

Wahoo McDaniel Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw-Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United S ...

D.J. Peterson David W. Peterson (July 17, 1959 – May 25, 1993), better known by his ring name D. J. Peterson was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for competing in various North American regional promotions during the 1980s, including the ...

on August 10, Zukhov jumped to 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 vario ...

in October as part of The Bolsheviks with

Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Yugoslav-American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Although Volkoff often p ...

. Replaced by "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers, he and Somers would hold the titles little more than a week before losing them to

Jerry "The King" Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Apr ...

& "Superstar" Bill Dundee on October 10, 1987. In 1988, Lanning would team with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie losing to Greg Gagne & "The Crippler" Ray Stevens on January 10 and to Wahoo McDaniel &

Baron von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born July 30, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke. Early life Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhuskers wrest ...

on January 17 as well as single matches to

Tom Zenk Thomas Erwin Zenk (November 30, 1958 – December 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, American Wrestling Association (AWA) 198 ...

and Stevens. Later that year, he feuded with

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 ...

losing to him by disqualification on September 17 although he and

Teijho Khan Thomas Leroy Kasat (March 24, 1956 – April 10, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Teijo Khan/Teijho Khan. As Kahn, Kasat portrayed an Asian savage despite being Caucasian. He worked as part of Paul Jones' ...

would defeat Slaughter and Keith Eric by countout in a tag team match the following night. On September 19, Lanning teamed with Khan and

Colonel DeBeers Edward Wiskoski (born January 10, 1945) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association under the ring name Colonel DeBeers from 1985 to 1990. Early life Wiskoski was the fi ...

in a 6-man tag team match losing to Sgt. Slaughter and

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known a ...

. He and Teijho Khan would later feud with

and The Top Guns (

Ricky Rice Ricky Rice is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Early career Trained ...

Derrick Dukes Derrick Dukes (born January 4, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer. He best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association in the late-1980s as one-half of the tag team "The Top Guns" with Ricky Rice. Pr ...

) before leaving the promotion by the end of the year.

Championships and accomplishments

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

(1 time) with

Boris Zhukov James Kirk Harrell (born December 13, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhukov ...

and replacement partner

Doug Somers Douglas Duane Somerson (September 22, 1951 – May 16, 2017) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. He worked in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-1980s as part of a tag team with " ...

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 Publish ...

**PWI ranked him # 310 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991

Notes

External links

Profile at Online World of Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ustinov, Soldat 1960 births Living people American male professional wrestlers Faux Russian professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions