Michael Kirchner
| Corporal Kirchner | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Penzel |
| Born |
September 7, 1957 Chicago, Illinois |
| Residence | North Carolina |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Axe Colonel Kirchner Corporal Kirchner Freddie Krueger Leatherface RT Reynolds Super Leather Super Leather Face |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 263 lb (119 kg) |
| Billed from |
Fort Bragg, North Carolina (as Corporal Kirchner) Texas (as Leatherface / Super Leather) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne |
| Debut | 1980 |
Michael "Mike" Kirchner (born Michael Penzel on September 7, 1957) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former United States Army paratrooper. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Corporal Kirchner in the mid-1980s. He is also known for his appearances in Japan under the ring name Leatherface.
Kirchner enlisted in the United States Army as a teenager, becoming a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He left the Army when in his early twenties.
While working as a mechanic and bouncer in Minnesota, Kirchner met professional wrestler Hulk Hogan in a gym. Hogan introduced Kirchner to American Wrestling Association promoter Verne Gagne and helped him enroll in a professional wrestling school operated by Gagne.
After working as a preliminary wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation under the name "RT Reynolds", Kirchner was eventually given the character of a military hero after WWF owner/promoter Vince McMahon discovered that he had been in the 82nd Airborne. Kirchner then adopted the ring name Corporal Kirchner and used a militaristic character with several vignettes airing showing him in typical army survival training exercises to help build his character as a patriotic American. He is known for his brief feud with Nikolai Volkoff in the World Wrestling Federation in 1986, which included a victory over Volkoff at WrestleMania 2 in a Flag Match; they would trade victories, though Kirschner would beat Volkoff fair, and Volkoff would always cheat to win. During a pre-Wrestlemania 2 interview with Jesse "The Body" Ventura in Ventura's "Body Shop" segment, he talked about his time in the U.S. Army, and even made a reference to Ventura's time as a Navy SEAL, causing Ventura to momentarily break character and agree with him.
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