Paul Orndorff

Paul Orndorff
Orndorff in 1981
Born	Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (1949-10-29)October 29, 1949[1] Winchester, Virginia, U.S.[2]
Died	July 12, 2021(2021-07-12) (aged 71) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Tampa
Spouse	Ronda Maxwell ​ (m. 1971)​
Children	2
Family	Terry Orndorff (brother)[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff[3]
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3]
Billed weight	252 lb (114 kg)[3]
Billed from	Brandon, Florida, U.S.[3]
Trained by	Bob Backlund[1] Jack Brisco[1] Eddie Graham[1] Hiro Matsuda[1]
Debut	1976[1]
Retired	2000
American football player American football career
Career information
High school:	Brandon High (FL)[4][5][6]
College:	Tampa
Position:	Tight end, fullback
NFL draft:	1973 / Round: 12 / Pick: 289
Career history
New Orleans Saints (1973)* Chicago Bears (1974)* Jacksonville Express (1975)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
University of Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame (1986)

Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

After seven years working around the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Orndorff became a star in the 1980s WWF wrestling boom, and featured with manager Bobby Heenan and champion Hulk Hogan extensively, including in the main events of the first WrestleMania and Survivor Series. He left the WWF for WCW in early 1990, where he won the WCW World Television Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Paul Roma (as a team called Pretty Wonderful).

Arm atrophy from a nagging injury led him to retire in 2000. After retiring, he trained aspiring wrestlers. Orndorff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame in 2009.