Jeep Swenson

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Biography

Robert Alexander "Jeep" Swenson Jr. (January 5, 1957 – August 18, 1997) was an American professional wrestler, stuntman and actor. Swenson was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Patricia Maxine (née Wells) and Robert Alexander Swenson Sr. He was married to Erin Hillsman. The couple had a daughter named Kayleigh. Swenson wrestled for World Class Championship Wrestling in 1987 and 1988 for manager Gary Hart. He debuted on March 7, 1987, defeating Perry Jackson in a 2 minute challenge match. His main feud was with Bruiser Brody, who was wrestling as the masked "Red River Jack". According to Swenson, he had the largest biceps in the world at that time. He was billed as being from South Africa, although he was clearly an American. Swenson returned to wrestling for a match at World Championship Wrestling's Uncensored pay-per-view on March 24, 1996. He performed as a member of the "Alliance to End Hulkamania". He was originally named The Final Solution, but following complaints from Jewish organizations to the Turner corporate offices, his character was renamed The Ultimate Solution. WCW claimed they were unaware that The Final Solution was the name Adolf Hitler gave to his plan to destroy the Jews. The Alliance consisted of the Dungeon of Doom, the Four Horsemen, The Ultimate Solution and Z-Gangsta, all working to end Hulk Hogan's career. Swenson boxed as an amateur middleweight and later had a short career as a professional boxer. He won his first two bouts by knockouts, but his third fight was stopped in round one after he was knocked down twice by Frankie Garcia in his pro debut. The 6' 4", 405 lb. Swenson appeared as pit fighter "Lugwrench" Perkins in the 1989 Hulk Hogan film No Holds Barred. He also played James Caan's bodyguard Bledsoe in the Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler film Bulletproof, before playing possibly his best known character Bane in the 1997 film Batman & Robin. On August 18, 1997, Swenson died of heart failure at the UCLA Medical Center. He was 40 years old. Hulk Hogan, Davey Boy Smith, and James Caan gave eulogies at his funeral.[2]

Movies

WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Production ceased shortly after WCW was purchased by the WWF. The debut of Nitro began the Monday Night Wars, a ratings battle between the WWF and WCW that lasted for almost six years and saw each company resort to cutthroat tactics to try to compete with the competition. In mid-1996, Nitro began to draw better ratings than Raw based on the strength of the nWo storyline, an anarchist wrestling stable that wanted to take over WCW. Nitro continued to beat Raw for 84 consecutive weeks, forcing WWE owner Vince McMahon to change the way he did business. As the nWo storyline grew stagnant, fan interest in the storyline waned, and Raw began to edge out Nitro in the ratings. The turning point for the organizations came during the January 4, 1999 broadcast of Nitro, during which lead commentator Tony Schiavone gave away the results of matches for that night's Raw broadcast. As Raw was taped and Nitro was live, Bischoff believed that knowing the outcome would dissuade viewers from watching the program. Excited by the prospect of seeing perennial WWF underdog Mick Foley win the WWF Championship, a large number of Nitro viewers changed channels to watch Raw, switching back to Nitro after Foley won the title. From that week forward, Raw beat Nitro in the ratings by a significant amount, and WCW was never able to regain the success it once had.

More info
WCW Monday Nitro
1995