During the height of the Hulkamania era, the World Wrestling Federation was filled with larger-than-life superstars, colorful gimmicks, and patriotic heroes. One of the more overlooked names from that period was Corporal Kirchner (Michael Penzel), the camouflage-wearing US Army paratrooper who had served in the 82nd Airborne Division and marched to the ring waving the American flag. While Penzel started in the WWF as a jobber in 1984, he really got his opportunity to shine as a pro wrestler when he took on the gimmick of Corporal Kirchner.
While he was never pushed as a main-event attraction, for approximately two years from August 1985 to July 1987, Corporal Kirchner became a familiar face to WWF fans through his appearances on syndicated wrestling programs, his LJN action figures, his energetic squash matches, and his interview segments with the legendary Mean Gene Okerlund.
TNT
August 1985
All American Wrestling
September 1985
WWF Wrestling Challenge
September 1985
Bonus Match:
Corporal Kirchner vs. John K-9
WWF PRIME TIME WRESTLING
February 1987
Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
For longtime wrestling fans, revisiting performers like Corporal Kirchner is part of the fun of exploring wrestling history. Not every wrestler from the Hulkamania era became a global superstar, but many played important supporting roles that helped shape the atmosphere and identity of WWF television during the 1980s.
Perhaps the most surprising part of Kirchner’s pro wrestling story came later, when few could have predicted that the flag-waving Corporal Kirchner of the WWF would later reinvent himself as the horrifying Leatherface in Japan’s hardcore wrestling scene.
