Recently, word spread that “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff was in ill-health following the release of an upsetting video shared by his son. In the video, the WWE Hall of Famer was unrecognizable and appeared to be confused. Travis Orndorff intended to make fans aware of his father’s dementia. Still, he received a lot of backlash from those in the wrestling business and fans, saying his father wouldn’t want to be seen in that condition.
Sadly, Travis has confirmed on his Instagram that his father has passed away on Monday 12th July, aged 71. He had been staying at his son’s home in Fayetteville, Georgia was and being cared for by family. A GoFundMe to cover his funeral expenses has been sent up with $1,000 of a $25,000 total reached so far from 38 donors.
Orndorff was a significant part of Vince McMahon’s national expansion as an opponent for Hulk Hogan. The pair would face off dozens of times in the mid-80s, and Orndorff, along with Roddy Piper, would wrestle Hogan and Mr.T in the main event of the first WrestleMania. Unfortunately, nerve damage to his arm and neck that was left untreated resulted in the atrophy of his right bicep, causing him to retire in 1988.
He would return in 1989 and worked for WCW and Herb Abrams’ UWF but never recaptured his former main event stats and stepped away from a full-time schedule in 1995. Following this, he’d then work as both a trainer and a road agent for WCW, and apart from occasional appearances such as his Hall of Fame induction, he remained out of the spotlight
Health and injury issues troubled Orndorff for much of his career. Initially, he failed to pass the medical for the NFL with both the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs in the 70s. Then, in addition to the nerve damage to his arm and neck mentioned above, he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 but later confirmed he had beaten it.
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