Harvey Wippleman

Harvey Wippleman
Harvey Wippleman in March 2002.
Birth name	Bruno Lauer
Born	(1965-10-27) October 27, 1965 (age 51) Pennsylvania, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Bruno Dr. Lennerd Spazzinsky Downtown Bruno Harvey Wippleman Handsome Harvey Hervina Uptown Bruno
Billed from	Walls, Mississippi
Trained by	Geeto Mongol
Debut	1979

Bruno Lauer (born October 27, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, and occasional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Harvey Wippleman and Downtown Bruno.

Wippleman began his career working in professional wrestling promotions in the Southern United States, especially Memphis. In the 1990s, he debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he managed wrestlers such as Sid Justice, Kamala, Giant Gonzalez and Bertha Faye. In 2000, he became the first and only man to win the WWF Women's Championship. Wippleman works backstage in WWE (formerly the WWF) and occasionally manages in the Memphis area as Downtown Bruno.

In 1979, Lauer attended an independent wrestling show at a circus in Pennsylvania. In exchange for helping to tear down the ring after the show, he was given free admission. He later joined the company and toured Ohio. During this time, The Royal Kangaroos' Jonathan Boyd became his mentor. Back in Pennsylvania, Geeto Mongol trained Lauer and gave him the ring name Dr. Lennerd Spazzinsky.

He then moved to Memphis, where he performed under the name Downtown Bruno. In 1986, he became the most prominent villainous manager in Memphis. In addition, wrestlers like Jerry Lawler and Sid Eudy helped his career. He continued to work in the Southern promotions for the rest of the late 1980s. In September 1989, he won the Continental Wrestling Federation's Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship and held it until the promotion closed in November. It was in Continental in 1987 that he first teamed with Eudy, while Eudy was under a mask as an incarnation of Lord Humongous.