History Wrestling / DeanMalenko

** Sometimes they hit back. Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} and Wrestling/{{Ivory}} defeated him in a non-title handicap match on the July 6 (taped July 4), 2000 ''[=SmackDown!=]'' after Crash Holly interfered and held down Malenko's foot during the cover.

* AscendedExtra: Not immediately, but, he ''was'' the referee for the Wrestling/RandySavage vs. [[Wrestling/GeorgeSteele George "The Animal" Steele]] match and the Corporal Kirchner vs. Nikolai Volkoff match on the January 4, 1986 (taped December 19, 1985) episode of ''WWF Saturday Night's Main Event,'' which was held at the [[http://www.sundomearena.com USF Sun Dome]] in Tampa, FL. His first actual match on WWE TV would happen ''14 years'' later.

** Sometimes they hit back. Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} and [[Characters/WWEDivas Ivory]] defeated him in a non-title handicap match on the July 6 (taped July 4), 2000 ''[=SmackDown!=]'' after Crash Holly interfered and held down Malenko's foot during the cover.

** Sometimes they hit back. [[Characters/WWEDivas Jacqueline and Ivory]] defeated him in a non-title handicap match on the July 6 (taped July 4), 2000 ''[=SmackDown!=]'' after Crash Holly interfered and held down Malenko's foot during the cover.

'''Shelly Dean Simon''' (b. 1960 in Irvington, UsefulNotes/NewJersey) is a retired American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]], trainer and official best known for his work for Wrestling/{{ECW}}, Wrestling/{{WCW}} and Wrestling/{{WWE}} as '''Dean Malenko.''' He started his career in 1979 in UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} allied with his father Boris and brother Joe. They had actually broken away from the established Championship Wrestling from Florida to form their own outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established territory in opposition) promotion called Sun Belt Wrestling, which did not last very long. He and Joe competed around the Florida independent scene as well as in Japan and in WCW before Joe retired. Malenko became a regular in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's rising Junior Heavyweight scene, often facing and/or teaming with Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, who was usually known as either Wild Pegasus or the Pegasus Kid, or Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, often known as Black Tiger #2. Malenko went to ECW in 1994, where he would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-tv.html ECW World Television Title]] twice and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html ECW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. Malenko continued his feud with Guerrero after he arrived in early 1995. All three went to WCW in the fall of 1995, with ECW announcer Wrestling/JoeyStyles explaining it as being due to something in their contracts with New Japan, which had a working relationship with WCW. In WCW, Malenko would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Title]] once, the WCW World Cruiserweight Title four times and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. He made his [=PPV=] debut successfully defending the WCW World Cruiserweight Title against fellow second-generation wrestler Brad Armstrong at ''WCW [=Slamboree=] 96''. All three along with Perry Saturn jumped to WWE at the start of 2000. Malenko would have two runs with the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mexico/uwa/wwf-lh.html WWF World Light Heavyweight Title]] and would retire from full-time competition in 2001.

* AscendedExtra: Not immediately, but, he ''was'' the referee for the Wrestling/RandySavage vs. George "The Animal" Steele match and the Corporal Kirchner vs. Nikolai Volkoff match on the January 4, 1986 (taped December 19, 1985) episode of ''WWF Saturday Night's Main Event,'' which was held at the [[http://www.sundomearena.com USF Sun Dome]] in Tampa, FL.

* ImpersonationGambit: After failing to defeat Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title at ''WCW Uncensored 98'', March 15, 1998, he told interviewer "Mean" Gene Okerlund that he was going "home." This led to Jericho cutting hilarious promos mocking Malenko for ''months,'' including the "1004 Holds" one. At ''Slamboree'', May 17, there was a Cruiserweight Battle Royal[[note]]Which featured Jericho's [[http://www.cagematch.net/?id=93&nr=98 classic sarcastic intros]][[/note]]. It came down to Juventud Guerrera, who was a former Champion, and "Ciclope."[[note]]While the actual Ciclope was successful in Mexico, he was a lower-tier luchador at the time in WCW.[[/note]] Juvy eliminated ''himself'', giving "Ciclope" the win, and "Ciclope" unmasked to reveal Malenko. Malenko then proceeded to beat the heck out of Jericho as revenge for everything Jericho had said about him and his family (including bringing out a guy named "Bore-Us Malenko") and ultimately won the title. In the post-match interview, Malenko dedicated the win to his father.
* [[ItRunsInTheFamily It Runs]] InTheBlood

* [[WildCard [=Tweener=]]]: This was very much his orientation until he returned for the Jericho feud, when he became a full-blown {{Face}}.

* ItRunsInTheFamily

* WouldHitAGirl: Put Lita in the Texas Cloverleaf.

'''Shelly Dean Simon''' (b. 1960 in Irvington, UsefulNotes/NewJersey) is a retired American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]], trainer and official best known for his work for Wrestling/{{ECW}}, Wrestling/{{WCW}} and Wrestling/{{WWE}} as '''Dean Malenko.''' He started his career in 1979 in UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} allied with his father Boris and brother Joe. They had actually broken away from the established Championship Wrestling from Florida to form their own outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established territory in opposition) promotion called Sun Belt Wrestling, which did not last very long. He and Joe competed around the Florida independent scene as well as in Japan and in WCW before Joe retired. Malenko became a regular in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's rising Junior Heavyweight scene, often facing and/or teaming with Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, who was usually known as either Wild Pegasus or the Pegasus Kid, or Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, often known as Black Tiger #2. Malenko went to ECW in 1994, where he would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-tv.html ECW World Television Title]] twice and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html ECW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. Malenko continued his feud with Guerrero after he arrived in early 1995. All three went to WCW in the fall of 1995, with ECW announcer Wrestling/JoeyStyles explaining it as being due to something in their contracts with New Japan, which had a working relationship with WCW. In WCW, Malenko would go on to hold the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Title]] once, the WCW World Cruiserweight Title four times and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Titles]] once with Benoit. All three along with Perry Saturn jumped to WWE at the start of 2000. Malenko would have two runs with the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mexico/uwa/wwf-lh.html WWF World Light Heavyweight Title]] and would retire from full-time competition in 2001.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: For their match against Wrestling/RickySteamboat and Nikita Koloff in the First Round of the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-t.html NWA World Tag Team Title]] Tournament at ''WCW Clash of the Champions XIX'', the Malenkos were billed as representing "UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}." Not any specific ''place'' in Europe, just "Europe."

** One of the very few wrestlers in the 90's, along with ChrisBenoit and a few others, to achieve considerable success in the ring, including a number of championship runs, while being given almost ''zero'' interview time. The absence was almost never noticed; being a prototype for the technically savvy wrestlers that continued to gain popularity in promotions like RingOfHonor throughout the 2000's after he left active competition, he always let his ring work do the talking for him. After joining WWE in 2000 and being given time on the mic, the change was very jarring.

* CasanovaWannabe[=/=]CaptainErsatz: In his "Franchise/JamesBond" "Ladies' Man" gimmick in WWE in 2001.

** One of the very few wrestlers in the 90's, along with ChrisBenoit and a few others, to achieve considerable success in the ring, including a number of championship runs, while being given almost ''zero'' interview time. The absence was almost never noticed; being a prototype for the technically savvy wrestlers that continued to gain popularity in promotions like RingOfHonor throughout the 2000's after he left active competition, he always let his ring work do the talking for him. After joining [[Wrestling/WWE WWE]] in 2000 and being given time on the mic, the change was very jarring.

* ImpersonationGambit: After failing to defeat Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title at ''WCW Uncensored 98'', March 15, 1998, he told interviewer "Mean" Gene Okerlund that he was going "home." This led to Jericho cutting hilarious promos mocking Malenko for ''months,'' including the "1004 Holds" one. At ''Slamboree'', May 17, there was a Cruiserweight Battle Royal[[note]]Which featured Jericho's [[http://www.cagematch.net/?id=93&nr=98 classic sarcastic intros]][[/note]]. It came down to Juventud Guerrera, who was a former Champion, and "Ciclope." Juvy eliminated ''himself'', giving "Ciclope" the win, and "Ciclope" unmasked to reveal Malenko. Malenko then proceeded to beat the heck out of Jericho as revenge for everything Jericho had said about him and his family (including bringing out a guy named "Bore-Us Malenko") and ultimately won the title. In the post-match interview, Malenko dedicated the win to his father.

* AscendedExtra: Not immediately, but, he ''was'' the referee for the Wrestling/RandySavage vs. George "The Animal" Steele match and the Corporal Kirchner vs. Nikolai Volkoff match on the January 4, 1986 (taped December 19, 1985) episode of ''WWF Saturday Night's Main Event,'' which was held at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL.

** BewareTheQuietOnes

* BadassFamily[=/=]WrestlingFamily
* BadassIsraeli: One of the more recognizable Jews in wrestling over the past 30 years.
* BadassTeacher: His trainees include Wrestling/MollyHolly (at his wrestling school in Florida), [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar (both in OVW).

* TheVoiceless: Never spoke in ECW until after his and Eddie's last match, and he tended to not say a lot if he could get away with it.

As usual, you can find the basics at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Malenko The Other Wiki]].

'''Shelly Dean Simon''' is a retired American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]], trainer and official best known for his work for Wrestling/{{ECW}], Wrestling/{{WCW}} and Wrestling/{{WWE}} as '''Dean Malenko.'''