Former World Wrestling Federation star Michael Penzel, better known as Corporal Kirchner, passed away this week at the age of 64. Making his debut in 1980 while training under the AWA’s Vergne Gagne, Penzel first found national success by joining the WWF in 1984 under the name RT Reynolds and later as Corporal Kirchner. Kirchner had legitimate military ties, serving in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
While he never won a championship during his time with the company, he did have a rivalry with Nikolai Volkoff that landed him a spot on the WrestleMania 2 card in 1986.
Following his run in WWE, Kirchner would travel the globe competing for Stampede, NJPW, the UWF, W*ING and other promotions. Kirchner would later appear inside the squared circle as Leatherface and capped off his career in 2007.
We here at Bodyslam.net send out our condolences to the family of Corporal Kirchner.
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