Lawrence Michael Rotunda (born March 30, 1958) is a retired American Professional Wrestler from Syracuse, NY best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s as Mike Rotunda and as Irwin R. Schyster. He debuted in 1981 in Florida teaming with brother-in-law Barry Windham. They went up to WWE in 1984 as the U.S. Express. They had two runs with the WWE World Tag Team Titles
before they went back to Florida. After National Wrestling Alliance promoter Jim Crockett shut down Florida in 1987, Rotunda was brought up to the Carolinas. He turned heel and joined Kevin Sullivan's Jerk Jock Power Stable The Varsity Club. After that ran its course, he was briefly known as "Captain" Mike Rotunda, a sailor gimmick. At Clash of the Champions XIII, he announced that he had inherited a large amount of money and that his new name was Michael Wallstreet. He introduced his new manager Alexandra York (Terri Runnels), launching the York Foundation gimmick.
He left WCW in 1991 to go back to WWE to become Irwin R. Schyster. He and "The Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase would team up as Money Inc. and have three runs with the WWE World Tag Team Titles. Rotunda eventually sank into the midcard before going back to WCW in September 1995. He was first renamed V.K. Wallstreet (see Take That! below) before going back to the Michael Wallstreet name. He joined the nWo during a big brawl at the end of the December 16, 1996 WCW Monday Nitro. Due to some issue with his nWo contract, he was shipped off to New Japan Pro-Wrestling until Starrcade in December 1999, when the Varsity Club (Sullivan, Rotunda and Rick Steiner) were reunited to team with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan in a losing effort against the Revolution (Shane Douglas, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn and Asya). After that run ended in early 2000, Rotunda went to All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he finished out his career, retiring in 2004. He then worked for WWE as a backstage official until 2020. Mike's sons Windham and Taylor once wrestled for the WWE under the names Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas respectively, though Windham tragically passed away at the young age of 36 on August 24, 2023. Mike was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024 as part of the U.S. Express.
"Read these tropes, you tax cheats!":
- All-American Face: During his original run in the WWF along with Barry Windham as the U.S Express.
- Arch-Enemy: The Road Warriors/The Legion of Doom, the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott), as he feuded with them in both WWE AND NWA/WCW.
- Badass Family/Wrestling Family: His father-in-law is Blackjack Mulligan, his brothers-in-law are Barry and Kendall Windham, and his sons are Windham "Husky Harris"/"Bray Wyatt" Rotunda and Taylor "Bo Dallas" Rotunda.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: As Michael Wallstreet and as IRS.
- Bash Brothers: with Barry Windham, Kevin Sullivan, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, and Ted DiBiase.
- The Bus Came Back: For the "Raw 15th Anniversary Battle Royal" on the December 12, 2007 Raw. IRS had originally won the match, but DiBiase walked down to the ring with a briefcase full of money. He handed it to IRS, who accepted it and eliminated himself, giving DiBiase the win.
- The Dragon: In the Varsity Club and in the York Foundation.
- Embarrassing First Name: As IRS, he was embarrassed by his first name Irwin, and the audience definitely let him hear it.
- Finishing Move: (As Rotunda): The Airplane Spin; (as IRS): The Write-Off, the Penalty; (as Michael Wallstreet) Stock Market Crash.
- Foreign Wrestling Heel: As a member of nWo Japan.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wore glasses as IRS, though he didn't wear them in-ring.
- Fun with Acronyms: Wow, if you take the three initials in his name, it spells IRS.
- Lampshaded in his ring introduction: "Irwin R. Schyster, otherwise known as IRS"
- I Have Many Names: He also used the name Mike Drond in Japan.
- I Know Collegiate Wrestling: He lettered in wrestling at Syracuse University, and was the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association 215lb champion in 1981.
- Improbable Weapon User: A briefcase as IRS. An infamous example is him using it on Brutus Beefcake's face, after the latter returned to action after recovering from his near fatal parasailing accident.
- Inspector Javert: He believed that every Face in the WWF was a tax cheat, and by God he was going to wrestle them until they paid their fair share!
- Intimidating Revenue Service: His whole damn gimmick.
- Jerk Jock: As a member of the Varsity Club.
- Legacy Character: Arguably, the Florida indy team the Market Crashers (NA$DAQ and Dow Jones) were one for his Michael Wallstreet persona.
- Leotard of Power: Wore a singlet in his Varsity Club run.
- Light Is Not Good: Wore white shirts as Wallstreet and IRS despite being a heel.
- Meaningful Name: As IRS.
- Mook/Jobber: In the nWo.
- Mysterious Middle Initial: The "R" in "IRS."
- Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: As a heel, he'd regularly grab the ropes out of the view of the referee.
- Power Stable:
- (in Florida): Dusty Rhodes' Family
- (in NWA/WCW): The Varsity Club
- The Captain's Crew, with Abdullah the Butcher and Norman the Lunatic/Trucker Norm
- The York Foundation
- The nWo
- (in WWE): Ted DiBiase's The Million Dollar Corporation
- (in New Japan): Team 2000
- (in All Japan): Black-Ship
- Punny Name
- Red Baron: 'Captain' as his sailor gimmick and in the Varsity Club.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: His turn as IRS saw him taking the sleeves off his dress shirts when it came time to wrestle.
- Spell My Name With An S: For some odd reason, before the IRS gimmick he went by Mike Rotundo instead of Mike Rotunda, his real last name.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: As IRS.
- Tag Team:
- The U.S. Express
- The American Express, with Dan Spivey
- Money Inc.
- The U.S. Express
- Take That!: As V.K. Wallstreet as in "Vincent Kennedy" McMahon. Interestingly, he debuted this name in 1995, four years before WWE's IPO.
- Villain Has a Point: IRS was consistently booked as s Heel, but in many of his vignettes the offences he cited people for were legitimate, albeit petty, examples of tax fraud, for example, a man claiming his daughter’s birthday party as a business expense. Similarly, some of his “Top Ten Tax Tips” were pretty good advice, like reporting cash tips and getting a signed receipt for donations to a church.
- Washington, D.C.: Billed from there as IRS.
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: A wrestling sailor as Captain Mike Rotunda and a Gordon Gekko-style stock market analyst as Wallstreet, but easily his most famous was Irwin R. Shyster, a wrestling tax accountant. Turns out that a crooked accountant getting punched in the face really resonates with people.
- Wrestling Family: Among others, father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
