Tom Zenk passes away

[Crappler El 0 M]

www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=114246
m.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/233177/?fullname=thomas-erwin-zenk
www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/tom-zenk-passes-away-59-years-old-248116?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Former AWA, WWF, and WCW wrestler Tom Zenk has passed away. Reportedly, he passed away on December 9, but the news had not gotten out until today. He had been living outside of the spotlight for over a decade. Few in the business had any information about his whereabouts for years.

Zenk went to Robbinsdale High School where he was classmates with future pro wrestlers Rick Rude, John Nord, Nikita Koloff, Barry Darsow, Curt Hennig, and Brady Boone. Zenk was voted Rookie of the Year in 1984 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter readers (tied with the future Jushin Thunder Liger). After a successful run in AWA, he wrestled in WWE, teaming with Rick Martel as the Can-Am Connection. His most high-profile WWE match was the opening match at WrestleMania III. In WCW, he teamed with Brian Pillman to win the United States Tag Team Championship. He also had one reign as the Television Champion and a run with the WCW Six-Man Titles with Dustin Rhodes and Big Josh.

[héad.casé]

No way! The Z-Man? He was one of my favourite jobber to the stars in WCW. He and Pillman made a great little face team on the occasions they did.

[Deleted]

ZMan was one of my favorites in early 90s WCW. Wonder what the cause was?

[Crappler El 0 M]

[Mozenrath]

Much of his career was before my time. From what I remember, he was a guy whose shoot opinions often overshadowed his in-ring career.

Unfortunate that he died. I can't imagine he was terribly old.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

59 years old... haven't heard anything about a cause of death yet?

I really did like seeing him wrestle but for some reason he never caught on.

Rest in peace, sir.

[SmashTV]

Oh, that's very sad. I know he often got some flack on here for some of his career choices and possible ego, but it's never nice to lose someone relatively young. Sleep well, Tom.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Back 15 or so years ago Zenk had a great website. Full of him ranting about Vince and WWF. Then one day it disappeared and haven't heard anything about Zenk since then.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Here's a sad excerpt from Dave Meltzer's short career bio:

Zenk was a Mr. Minnesota winner in bodybuilding who grew up and went to Robbinsdale High School with Curt Hennig, Brady Boone, and Rick Rude in his graduating class and knew Hennig's wife from first grade. He was shaken up years ago realizing the four of them grew up and went to school together, and by the time he was in his early 40s, he was the only one still alive.

www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/tom-zenk-passes-away-59-years-old-248116

[Slingshot Suplay]

That sucks. He was one of my favorites since I saw him in the wwf from his Can Am connection days.

[thirteen3]

About 2005 I used to watch WWE classics on Sky Sports and they would show episodes of WCW worldwide from 1992, I always enjoyed the team with him and Flyin' Brian.

May he RIP.

[msc]

No age at all. The CanAm Connection looked like it was going to be massive at the time, before Zenk left. RIP.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

He was also before my time, I just knew him as a buddy of the road warriors and Rick Rude, also that he was part of the steroid case.

I swore off from listening Tony Schiavone's podcast but he would give the ZMan a great tribute.

[The 1Watcher Experience]

I was a fan of the Can-Am Connection. I remember him popping up in the AWA for the battle royal for the vacant world title. I was hoping he’d win it like his old tag team partner Rick Martel did. He lasted until the end with Larry Zbyszko and I was hoping he’d get a title match afterwards, but it never happened. I was also a big fan of his singles run in WCW that lead to him winning the television title and his run with Brian Pillman with the US tag team titles. He had a brief team up with Johnny Gunn and then just disappeared. I always wondered why and then I started reading all the stories once I got on the internet. He had a great look. He could hang with almost anyone in the ring. He had such a simple but memorable name too. RIP Tom Zenk.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

He was fading out right around the time I was getting old enough to understand what I was watching in wrestling, so I won't pretend to have been a huge fan, but it's always a shame when a guy goes out before his time.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

RIP. He was in some major places while wrestling was hot!

[The Thread Barbi]

Rip Z man. Really sad, but even sadder is that 59 is a high innings for someone from Robinsdale.

[Surfer Sandman]

Dec 17, 2017 14:08:18 GMT -5 héad.casé said:

No way! The Z-Man? He was one of my favourite jobber to the stars in WCW. He and Pillman made a great little face team on the occasions they did.

That was my favorite WCW tag team from that era. Z-Man and Flyin' Brian. The fans loved them.

[A Platypus Rave]

Don't really remember ever seeing him wrestle... but RIP to the Z-man.

59 is still really young...

[mystermystery]

I remember as a kid seeing a show where either the US or TV champion was going to draw his next opponent from a fish bowl, bragging about the caliber of talent at his fingers for him to beat. Tom Zenk came down and demanded to know if he was in there. No. So Zenk provided a notebook page of paper that read Z-MAN and shoved it in the bowl.

It felt like the coolest move available.

He lost the match but I always paid attention to The Z-Man from there on.

RIP.