Ken Patera

Ken Patera

Born: November 6, 1942
in Portland, Oregon, USA
Kenneth Wayne Patera is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and strongman competitor from the United States. Ken Patera, from a Czech-American family, was strong and extraordinarily athletic, with many people in his family also successful in athletics. His brother, Jack Patera, played football for the Baltimore Colts and was the head coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 until 1982. His brother, Dennis Patera, played for the San Francisco 49ers. Ken played football at Cleveland High School in Portland, Oregon, and wrestled at 193 pounds. Track and field was his first love, however, and he competed in the high hurdles and high jump, but a serious ankle injury forced him to switch to the shot put and discus in high school. Ken grew to become one of the nation's premier track and field weight throwers, competing at Brigham Young University. After his disappointing 6th-place finish in the shot-put at the 1968 Olympic trials, he turned his full and complete attention towards Olympic weightlifting. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Patera was a highly decorated Olympic weightlifter. He won several medals at the 1971 Pan-American Games (including gold in the weightlifting total), and finished second in the 1971 World Weightlifting Championships just behind Vasily Alekseyev. On his native soil, Patera won four consecutive U.S. Weightlifting Championships in the super heavyweight class from 1969 to 1972. He was the first American to clean and jerk over 500 lbs (227 kg), which he accomplished at the 1972 Senior Nationals in Detroit. He is also the only American to clean and press 500 lbs (227 kg), and was the last American super heavyweight for years to excel at weightlifting at an international level.[6] At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Patera was expected to be a serious competitor to Vasily Alekseyev, but he failed to total and was not among the medal recipients. Vasily Alekseyev even stated to the media that Patera was even stronger than him, illustrated by a 550-pound overhead push press (off the racks) that Patera had allegedly done in practice. Nevertheless, when it came to competing, Alekseyev was always the winner. After the clean and press (a lift in which Patera was disproportionately talented) was eliminated from competition, Patera retired from weightlifting.

Movies for Ken Patera...

Andre the Giant
Title: Andre the Giant
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: April 10, 2018
Type: Movie
An ambitious and wide-ranging documentary exploring Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated career in WWE, and his forays in the entertainment world.
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Title: WWE Rivalries
Character: Self
Released: October 28, 2014
Type: TV
A show documenting rivalries in wrestling.
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WWE: Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden
Title: WWE: Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden
Character: Himself
Released: August 13, 2013
Type: Movie
The greatest moments from WWE's long and storied history with Madison Square Garden.
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WWE: The History Of The Intercontinental Championship
Title: WWE: The History Of The Intercontinental Championship
Character: Himself
Released: November 25, 2008
Type: Movie
It's a WWE Championship with a rich and storied history and the biggest names in sports entertainment have worn its gold on the road to immortality. The Intercontinental Championship traced its history back to the 1970's, and has been held by current and future Hall of Fame superstars, including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Mr. Perfect, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and so many more. Throughout the summer, fans will vote for their favorite Intercontinental Championship matches from each decade, with the top vote-getters being collected in this 3-DVD set.
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AWA War in The Windy City
Title: AWA War in The Windy City
Character: Himself
Released: June 23, 1989
Type: Movie
The American Wrestling Association invades Chicago with some of the most incredible pro wrestlers on the planet.
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AWA Rage in Rochester
Title: AWA Rage in Rochester
Character: Himself
Released: May 6, 1989
Type: Movie
The Major League of Professional Wrestling, The AWA presents another all-star card from Rochester, Minnesota!
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AWA Battle Royale '89
Title: AWA Battle Royale '89
Character: Himself
Released: February 18, 1989
Type: Movie
The American Wrestling Association holds an 18-man over-the-top-rope Battle Royale to determine a new AWA World Heavyweight Champion in St. Paul Minnesota!
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WWE Survivor Series 1988
Title: WWE Survivor Series 1988
Character: Himself
Released: November 24, 1988
Type: Movie
Survivor Series (1988) was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on November 24, 1988 (Thanksgiving night in the United States) and was held at the Richfield Coliseum, in Richfield, Ohio. The main event was a ten-man Survivor Series match between a team captained by The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage) and a team captained by The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man). Hogan and Savage were the sole "survivors" of the match. The undercard featured three Survivor Series matches between mid-card wrestlers.
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The Best of the WWF: volume 17
Title: The Best of the WWF: volume 17
Character: Ken Patera
Released: November 10, 1988
Type: Movie
All the best and brightest rising stars of WWE - plus the biggest and baddest superstars!
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WWE SummerSlam 1988
Title: WWE SummerSlam 1988
Character: Ken Patera
Released: August 29, 1988
Type: Movie
WWE SummerSlam was the first annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, located in New York, New York. The PPV was created to help the company compete against rival promotion World Championship Wrestling. It was one of the first four annual pay-per-view events produced by the WWF. The main match of the preliminary bouts was the WWF Intercontinental Championship match between The Ultimate Warrior and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man. The Ultimate Warrior won the match in approximately thirty seconds to end the longest Intercontinental Championship reign. The main event was a match pitting The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) against their long-time rivals, The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant). Hogan and Savage won the match after Miss Elizabeth distracted the special guest referee by removing her skirt to reveal a bikini bottom.
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WWE WrestleFest
Title: WWE WrestleFest
Character: Himself
Released: July 31, 1988
Type: Movie
Much like 'The Big Event' held in August of 1986, Wrestlefest '88 was a supercard meant for the live audience only, but ticket sales were large enough to justify recording it for Coliseum Video, with commentary added in afterwards. Taped from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the latter part of July 1988, with the wonderful combination of Sean Mooney, Lord Alred Hayes, and Superstar Billy Graham on the call. The main event was Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant in a steel cage match. The British Bulldogs challenged Tag Team Champions Demolition while WWF Champion Randy 'Macho Man' Savage defended against challenger Ted DiBiase. There were 15 matches total.
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WWE WrestleMania IV
Title: WWE WrestleMania IV
Character: Himself
Released: March 27, 1988
Type: Movie
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The main event was the finals of a fourteen-man tournament for the undisputed WWF Championship, where Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase to win the vacant title. The main matches on the undercard were a twenty-man battle royal won by Bad News Brown, Demolition (Ax and Smash) versus Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) for the WWF Tag Team Championship, Brutus Beefcake versus The Honky Tonk Man for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and a 14-man tournament for the vacated WWF Championship.
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WWE Survivor Series 1987
Title: WWE Survivor Series 1987
Character: Ken Patera
Released: November 26, 1987
Type: Movie
A team led by "The Macho Man" Randy Savage and Jake "The Snake" Roberts battles a team featuring The Honky Tonk Man & "The King of Wrestling" Harley Race. A Women’s Survivor Series Match includes World Wrestling Federation divas!
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The Best of the WWF: volume 9
Title: The Best of the WWF: volume 9
Character: Ken Patera
Released: October 15, 1986
Type: Movie
The best of the WWE superstars in and out of the ring brought to you by Coliseum Home Video!
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Title: WWF Wrestling Challenge
Character: Ken Patera
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
WWF Wrestling Challenge was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match interviews, and occasionally, summarized weekly events in WWF programming. Matches primarily saw top tier and mid-level talent versus jobbers. At times, there was a "feature" match between main WWF talent. As with other syndicated WWF programming, the show promoted WWF event dates and house shows in local media markets.
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Title: WWF Wrestling Challenge
Character: Ken Patera (archive footage)
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
WWF Wrestling Challenge was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match interviews, and occasionally, summarized weekly events in WWF programming. Matches primarily saw top tier and mid-level talent versus jobbers. At times, there was a "feature" match between main WWF talent. As with other syndicated WWF programming, the show promoted WWF event dates and house shows in local media markets.
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Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino
Title: Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino
Released: June 6, 1986
Type: Movie
Truly in a class by himeself! Once Bruno on the mat - watch out! Relive some of Bruno Sammartino's greatest moments, including encounters with Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, and much more.
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The Best of the WWF: volume 7
Title: The Best of the WWF: volume 7
Character: Ken Patera
Released: June 6, 1986
Type: Movie
The Best of WWE brought to you on home video!
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Andre the Giant
Title: Andre the Giant
Character: Ken Patera (archive footage)
Released: December 2, 1985
Type: Movie
Some of this wrestler's best fights.
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Title: WWE Pay Per View
Character: Ken Patera
Released: March 31, 1985
Type: TV
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has been broadcasting pay-per-view (PPV) events since the 1980s, when its classic "Big Four" events (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) were first established—the company's very first PPV was WrestleMania in 1985. The company's PPV lineup expanded to a monthly basis in the mid-1990s following the introduction of the In Your House series of pay-per views before expanding even further in the mid-2000s during the first WWE brand extension. Following WWE's original brand extension in 2002, the company promoted two touring rosters, Raw and SmackDown, representing its television programs, Raw and SmackDown. The traditional "Big Four" continued to showcase the entire roster, while the remaining PPV events alternated between Raw and SmackDown cards. In March 2007, WWE announced that all subsequent PPV events would feature performers from all brands. In 2008, all WWE PPV events began broadcasting in high-definition.
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Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
Title: Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
Character: Ken Patera (archive footage)
Released: March 1, 1985
Type: Movie
Here is the legendary Bob Uecker hamming it up, commentating on sports bloopers and other sports-related skits for 30 straight minutes!
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WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest
Title: WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest
Character: Ken Patera
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: Movie
Some of the most astonishing stars the WWF has to offer.
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AWA Christmas Show 1983
Title: AWA Christmas Show 1983
Character: Ken Patera
Released: December 25, 1983
Type: Movie
All your favorite AWA stars compete on Christmas Night
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AWA Christmas Night 1983
Title: AWA Christmas Night 1983
Released: December 25, 1983
Type: Movie
The American Wrestling Association is live from the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, featuring a main event between AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel and Mad Dog Vachon.
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AWA Super Sunday
Title: AWA Super Sunday
Character: Ken Patera
Released: April 24, 1983
Type: Movie
American Wrestling Association supercard on April 24th, 1983.
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NWA Sam Muchnick Retirement Show
Title: NWA Sam Muchnick Retirement Show
Character: Ken Patera
Released: January 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Beloved promoter Sam Muchnick says farewell to the sport of kings in St. Louis with an All-Star card!
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WWE Showdown at Shea '80
Title: WWE Showdown at Shea '80
Character: Ken Patera
Released: August 9, 1980
Type: Movie
WWF stadium show in the summer of 1980 from Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, New York.
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The Super Bowl of Wrestling
Title: The Super Bowl of Wrestling
Character: Himself
Released: January 25, 1978
Type: Movie
The biggest match in the history pits WWWF World Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham against NWA World's hampion Harley Race in a epic confrontation in Miami's Orange Bowl!
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Title: The World's Strongest Man
Character: Competitor
Released: December 24, 1977
Type: TV
Athletes compete for a place in the World Finals.
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The Wrestler
Title: The Wrestler
Character: Ken Patera
Released: April 28, 1974
Type: Movie
Frank Bass (Ed Asner) is an honest guy trying to make a living in the cut throat world of professional wrestling, and he's gonna make it work - even if he dies trying! But first - he'll have to strong-arm his way through all the mobsters, gamblers, promoters and fight fixers and help his past-his-prime wrestler once again win a championship belt. Features appearances from real-life legendary wrestlers and AWA superstars Verne Gagne, Rick Flair, Superstar Billy Graham, Dusty Rhodes, Dick the Bruiser, Ray Stevens, Dory Funk Jr., Ken Patera, Billy Robinson, Dan Gable, Eddie Graham, Dick Murdoch, Vincent J. McMahon, and more.