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Ken Jugan (born October 16, 1957), better known by the ring name Lord Zoltan, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, manager, promoter, referee, and trainer. Jugan has been a mainstay in the Greater Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania and its surrounding states of Ohio and West Virginia, holding several junior heavyweight championships in the region since his debut in 1975. Jugan was one of the first wrestlers to start wearing facepaint in the late-1970s and, according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated, has one of the most unusual "gimmicks" in professional wrestling. He was the owner of Three Rivers Wrestling from 1977 to 1979, co-owner of Ohio Championship Wrestling from 1982 to 1983, and competed in Dick the Bruiser's World Wrestling Association. Jugan also worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation as a preliminary wrestler and referee during the early-to-mid 1980s. Jugan was one of the biggest "indy" stars in Pennsylvania during the 1990s. He founded Deaf Wrestlefest, a long-running benefit show for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, which ran from 1994 to 2002, and again from 2009 to 2012, and raised over $100,000. In Pittsburgh's Steel City Wrestling, he held the promotion's junior heavyweight championship for over three years before his defeat by Reckless Youth in 1998. While in SCW, Jugan was the leader of The Dope Show, a "heel" stable, with Shirley Doe and Big Neal the Real Deal. He also had a long-running feud with Dominic DeNucci, Doink the Clown, and T.C. Reynolds on the independent circuit. Jugan dedicated much of his later wrestling career to helping raise money for cancer research, civic organizations, and other charitable causes though independent wrestling shows. On March 20, 2012, Jugan was recognized by the city of Pittsburgh, which declared it "Ken Jugan Day". A year later, Jugan received the Jason Sanderson Humanitarian Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club for both Deaf Wrestlefest and other charity work. Described as "local legend" by Pittsburgh Magazine in 2013, Jugan is considered one of the most important independent wrestlers to come out of Western Pennsylvania. Early life and education Jugan was born in Glassport, Pennsylvania, on October 16, 1957. He became interested in professional wrestling as a child after attending a live event at the McKeesport Palisades. Jugan later became a regular studio audience member on the famed Saturday night television program Studio Wrestling. Although the show was restricted to people over 18, Jugan was often sneaked in through the back door of the WIIC-TV studio by Bruno Sammartino's manager and sat in the back row of the bleachers. Jugan studied photography in schoole and began taking pictures at the matches, eventually becoming an official ringside photographer during the final years of Studio Wrestling, during which he was a photographer and writer for various wrestling magazines and newsletters. He was also president of a fanclub for Luis Martinez. Professional wrestling career Early career (1975–1977) As a ringside photographer, Jugan became acquainted with a number of promoters and wrestlers in Greater Pittsburgh, including Newt Tattrie. At age 18, the 165 lbs. Jugan unexpectedly wrestled his first match in November 1975 when a wrestler failed to appear for an event he was covering in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Jugan decided to continue wrestling after being laid off from his regular job at Union Railroad in Duquesne. His first match as Lord Zoltan was at Ponderosa Park in Salem, Ohio. B In 1976, he was wrestling as "Zoltan the Great" in Ohio and West Virginia, and was among the first wrestlers to start wearing facepaint in the late-1970s. The "Zoltan" ringname was an homage to Pittsburgh promoter Zoltan "Ace" Freeman and the other half inspired by Alexander the Great. He also made two appearances as "King Kabooki" for The Original Sheik in Detroit. Jugan started refereeing matches as well. Jugan won one of his first championship titles, the NACW Junior Heavyweight Championship, in West Virginia's North American Championship Wrestling. Jugan eventually emerged as a prominent wrestler in Greater Pittsburgh and surrounding states during the late-1970s and early 1980s. Pro Wrestling Illustrated described Zoltan's in-ring persona as "one of wrestling's crazier characters", alternating between "ominous"-looking facepaint and a wrestling mask, who had "perfected the art of distracting referees while he uses foreign objects and illegal tactics against his opponents". Three Rivers Wrestling Association (1977–1979) Jugan started his own "outlaw" promotion, Three Rivers Wrestling Association (TRWA), in 1977. The promotion was covered in a number of wrestling publications, such as The Ring's Wrestling, The Wrestling News, and Wrestling Monthly, and many of its stars regularly performed as preliminary wrestlers for the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Bobby Fulton spent much of his early career in the TRWA where he trained with Jugan, Fred and Bull Curry, and Charlie Fulton. The promotion merged with the Knoxville, Tennessee-based All-Star Wrestling in September 1979 shortly after its split from Southeastern Championship Wrestling earlier that year. World Wrestling Association (1982) Jugan was one of several West Virginia promoters who began working with Dick the Bruiser's World Wrestling Association in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the early-1980s. Jugan soon began wrestling for the WWA as "Zoltan the Great" in mid-1982. One of his first matches in the promotion was against Mike Dupree at the Market Square Arena on July 5, which he won. Jugan made several more appearances at the venue wrestling El Bracero, Rufus R. Jones, and J.R. Hogg during the next several weeks. Ohio Championship Wrestling (1982–1983) In the fall of 1982, Jugan began working for Traitor Tim Hampton's Ohio Championship Wrestling in Cleveland. He was a founding member of the "outlaw promotion" along with Ed Bonzo and J.W. Hawk. With their connections to the WWA, they were able to start broadcasting televised matches on cable channels 24 and 27 in the Cleveland area. The promotion held its first event, a three-day November supercard, where it crowned Bobo Brazil as its first champion. On the second night in Maple Heights, Ohio, Jugan won a battle royal to earn a title shot against Brazil on the third show in Parma. Jugan was part of a heel stable managed by Beefy LaPorque that included Ed Bonzo and J.W. Hawk until the end of the promotion's run in the spring of 1983. Jugan and Hawk were also managed by Greg "Punk Rock" Mason for a time. Jugan would later form a tag team with LaPorque, wrestling as The Incredible Bulk, called The Funkadelix. World Wrestling Association (1983) Jugan returned to the WWA after the close of Ohio Championship Wrestling. On March 12, 1983, Jugan wrestled two matches in one night at Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis. He and El Bracero fought to a draw in the .... Discover the Bob Bryla Robert G Freeman popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bob Bryla Robert G Freeman books.