Kurt Koski (February 7, 1958 – February 11, 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 or ...
, better known by his
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 ...
Rusty Brooks. He competed in several North American
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
promotions, including
International World Class Championship Wrestling
International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW, originally known as International Championship Wrestling) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his son ...
(IWCCW),
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(FCW) and 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). He also appeared in 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 ...
(WWF) "now WWE" during the mid-1980s as a preliminary wrestler.
Professional wrestling career
Koski was trained by "Gentleman" Jim Isler and
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name, Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐlˈɛnko, pron), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. ...
.
Brooks made his wrestling debut in
Buddy Gilbert's
World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...
against
Steve Brody on October 31, 1982.
Within two years, he signed with 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 ...
(WWF) and was used extensively on ''
WWF Championship Wrestling
''WWF Championship Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It aired from 1971 to August 30, 1986 and was the original television show of the WWF. Originally produced u ...
'' against
Tony Parisi,
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...
,
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname h ...
and
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
. In 1985 Brooks had a nationally televised match with
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
. On television he also faced then
World Tag Team Champions Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...
and
Mike Rotunda
Lawrence Michael Rotunda (born March 30, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s under the ring names Mik ...
and
The British Bulldogs
The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams in h ...
. In the WWF, Brooks primarily played a
heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
jobber
Jobber may refer to:
Athletics
* Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match.
* Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911
Commerce
* A person or corporation ...
(a wrestler who was used to make the top stars look good). Brooks often teamed with fellow preliminary wrestlers
Steve Lombardi
Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promo ...
,
Barry O
Randal Berry Orton (May 28, 1958 – March 19, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton, brother of professional wrestler Bob Orton Jr., and uncle of professional wrestler Randy Orto ...
, and
Mr. X in tag team competition, and Brooks also scored upset wins over his former partners.
After leaving the WWF in late 1985, he competed on the independent circuit in Florida, including a stint in
International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, "The Genius" Lanny ...
(ICW) as Super Duper Mario. He spent the next decade in various independent promotions, where he won several tag team titles with Dr. Red Roberts, Matt Otto, Jumbo Baretta, "Pretty Boy" Aldo Lane (
Ricky Santana
Ricardo Santana Ortiz (born November 21, 1958), better known as Ricky Santana, is a professional wrestler of Cuban descent who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestl ...
),
Soulman Alex G
Alex Gibson (April 21, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known as "Soulman" Alex G. He is one of the two trainers who trained former WWE United States champion Montel Vontavious Porter and former NXT Tag Team champion Konnor.
A ...
and
Gangrel. In 1986, he worked for
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
in 1986. From 1986 to 1987, he competed in Florida for Global Championship Wrestling, capturing the Global tag team title with Jumbo Baretta from
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
and
Joe Malenko
Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American pharmacist and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe Malenko. He is the son of Boris Malenko and the older brother of Dean Malenko.
Professional wrestling career
Japan
...
. Brooks and Baretta were managed by wrestling veteran
Ox Baker
Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...
and later
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name, Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐlˈɛnko, pron), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. ...
. They
feuded with The Soul Patrol and Malenko brothers.
In December 1988, Brooks returned to the WWF, teaming with
Iron Mike Sharpe
Michael Sharpe (October 28, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known as "Iron" Mike Sharpe. A second-generation wrestler whose father and uncle ( Mike and Ben Sharpe) also competed in the profession, Sharpe w ...
losing
Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
on
WWF Superstars
is a List of wrestling video games, wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcade game, arcades in 1989. It is the first WWE, WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the WWF Superstars (Game ...
and lost to
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
on
WWF Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
.
In 1991, he competed in
Herb Abrams
Herbert Charles Abrams (July 9, 1955 – July 23, 1996), also known by the nickname Mr. Electricity, was an American professional wrestling promoter from Queens, New York, who founded the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990.
Early life ...
's
Universal Wrestling Federation where he had matches with
B. Brian Blair
Brian Leslie Blair (born January 12, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler and politician. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name B. Brian Blair as one half of the tag te ...
and
Bam Bam Bigelow
Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...
.
He later wrestled for
Future of Wrestling
Future of Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in southern Florida starting during the late 1990s. Founded by Bobby Rogers, the promotion was a predecessor of Full Impact Pro, Independent Pro Wrestling and NWA Florida a ...
(FOW), where he won the heavyweight and hardcore titles around 2000. He was named "Wrestler of the Year" by FOW. In 2001, he began teaming with Bobby Brooks as The Brooks and later The Masked Assassins in FOW and the Independent Professional Wrestling Association. In 2002, he went to Peru with FOW as they were doing a tour there. During his time in southern Florida, he also faced
Hack Meyers
Donald Haviland (December 7, 1973 – December 5, 2015) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Hack Meyers. He was best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1993 to 1996.
Professional wrestling ...
,
Barry Horowitz
Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Early life
Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled.
...
, and
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
before his retirement in 2002.
On July 31, 2004, Brooks
refereed a match during the HCW Incredible 8 Tournament in Davie, Florida. He called a bout between his son, Jeff "J-Dawg" Brooks and
Jimmy Rave
James Michael Guffey (December 8, 1982 – December 12, 2021), better known by the ring name Jimmy Rave, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
E ...
. On February 4, 2006, he was honored by
Nick Mayberry with an HCW Award, along with three other Florida wrestlers.
He returned to wrestling in 2009 and competed in the independent circuit in Florida. He wrestled his last match in 2013.
Promoting and training
Koski trained students in his Rusty Brooks Pro-Wrestling Academy, which operated in his backyard in the late 1980s and in a warehouse in the 1990s. He later operated the School of Hard Knocks
wrestling school
Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...
with
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name, Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐlˈɛnko, pron), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. ...
in Florida.
[ Students trained in the school include Konnor,][ ]Luna Vachon
Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon ( ; January 12, 1962 – August 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon.Lisa S. Davis,Ex-wrestler Luna Vachon, 48, found dead", ''Tampa Bay Online'' (August 31, 2010). Over ...
,[ ]MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
,[ Gangrel,][ Angel Rose,][ and ]Norman Smiley
Norman Anthony Smiley (born February 28, 1965) is an English-American retired professional wrestler and vocalist specializing in Gregorian Chants. He is best known for his appearances with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre fro ...
.[
He also worked as the Commissioner of L.I.V.E. Pro Wrestling. He was also the former Director of Authority for Independent Championship Wrestling and has also managed a few of his students in the now defunct Division 1 Pro Wrestling (D1PW).
]
Personal life
Koski was born in Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
, but later moved to Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.[ He attended ]Miramar High School
Miramar High School is a public high school located in Miramar, Florida. The school opened in 1970 and serves students residing in southwest Broward County; however, magnet students may hail from elsewhere in the county.
Miramar High School serve ...
,[ and he was a football player for ]North Texas State
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...
. He is the father of Jeff "J-Dawg" Brooks, who wrestles on the independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
in Florida.
Death
Brooks died on February 11, 2021, aged 63, four days after his birthday. He underwent amputation on several toes in January, a few weeks prior to his death.
Championships and accomplishments
*Championship Wrestling Entertainment
**Hall of Honors (2014)
*Florida Wrestling Alliance
**FWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
*Future of Wrestling
Future of Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in southern Florida starting during the late 1990s. Founded by Bobby Rogers, the promotion was a predecessor of Full Impact Pro, Independent Pro Wrestling and NWA Florida a ...
** FOW Tag Team Championship - with Bobby Brooks (1 time)
**FOW Hardcore Championship
The FOW Hardcore Championship was a professional wrestling title in American independent promotion Future of Wrestling. The title was created when "Mr. Extreme" Pat McGuire won the title in Oakland Park, Florida on October 8, 1998. It was defended ...
( 1 time)
**FOW Heavyweight Championship
The FOW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title in American independent promotion Future of Wrestling. The title was created when "Ram Man" Johnny Evans won the title in Miami, Florida on May 1, 1998. It was defended throughout ...
( 1 time)
*Global Championship Wrestling
**GCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Jumbo Baretta
*Independent Pro Wrestling Association
**IPWA Southern Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
**IPWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
**IPWA Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with David Heath (2), Bobby Brooks (2), and Soulman Alex G
Alex Gibson (April 21, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known as "Soulman" Alex G. He is one of the two trainers who trained former WWE United States champion Montel Vontavious Porter and former NXT Tag Team champion Konnor.
A ...
*Other titles
**WWA Atlantic Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**DSWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*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 # 391 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1993
See also
*List of professional wrestling promoters
This is a list of professional wrestling promoters in the United States.
Pioneer-era (1900s–1940s)
This section lists notable professional wrestling promoters, especially those of the "Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch and "Gold Dust Trio"-eras, act ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Rusty
1958 births
2021 deaths
American male professional wrestlers
People from Miramar, Florida
Professional wrestling promoters
Professional wrestling trainers
Sportspeople from Denton, Texas
Professional wrestlers from Texas