Wrestler
Boris Zhukov

Boris first entered professional wrestling in 1978, training and working for regional promotions. He first rose to fame in 1982 under the name of Pvt. Jim Nelson as part of Sgt. Slaughter’s “Cobra Corps” in the National Wrestling Alliance, then the largest and most important promotion in the country. He spent his time in the NWA embroiled in various feuds, and along the way captured their Mid-Atlantic Tag Team championship on two occasions with frequent partner Don Kernodle. Other titles held in the NWA included the Alabama Heavyweight Championship and two stints as the Canadian Television Champion.

In 1985, he moved to the American Wrestling Association, where he was reinvented as Boris Zhukov. Boris soon feuded with both world champion Rick Martel and AWA Americas Champion (and his old mentor) Sgt. Slaughter. He subsequently formed a tag team with Solidat Ustinov and again found gold, this time in the form of the AWA World Tag Team title.

He was never defeated for this AWA title, instead leaving for the World Wrestling Federation while still a titleholder. Once in the WWF he teamed with Nikolai Volkoff as “The Bolsheviks.” While there he appeared in many major television and pay-per-view matches, including the biggest of them all, Wrestlemania. In 1987 he won a WWF Slammy Award.

Boris is a rare competitor who has entertained fans in every major federation of the era, including NWA, AWA, WWF, WCCW and many others. Though now officially retired from in-ring competition, he continues to make occasional appearances as both Jim Nelson and Boris Zhukov, and can currently be seen working as the commissioner for Virginia’s ACW Wrestling.