For this Wrestling Salvage Yard, we’re looking at the late John Kronus and seeing if he could’ve been better utilized or even pushed somewhere else in his career.
The Career of John Kronus
After training with Perry Saturn under Killer Kowalski, the Eliminators was formed. Actually, it was Harvesters of Sorrow but for the early 1990s, that name was a bit mumble-mouthed. Jerry Lawler suggested they change their name to something else but I think Harvesters of Sorrow was a cool name. The Eliminators could work in Memphis, Japan, and elsewhere on the indies before hitting ECW in 1995.
Originally, they were going have some sort of S&M gimmick but became ECW’s Steiner Brothers, basically. They were also the replacement for the Pitbulls. On the road to three World Tag Team titles, they feuded heavily with the Gangstas.
When Saturn was injured earlier in 1997, Kronus was booked as a singles wrestler. Saturn would leave for WCW later in 1997 and Kronus just…floated on the roster. Mustafa of the Gangstas also left ECW that year and Kronus was paired with New Jack as the Gangstanators. The makeshift duo would go on to win the Tag Team titles from the Dudleys.
When their feud with the Dudleys was over, Kronus and New Jack were split to do their own thing in ECW. By 2000, Kronus was in Xtreme Pro Wrestling as one of their major stars. Apparently, he was also in a bondage film. After he left XPW in 2001, John Kronus drifted the indies. Towards the end of his life, he appeared on a few ECW reunion shows.
Salvaging Kronus
First off, the guy was hyper-athletic for his size. Handsprings, cartwheels, he could do that. The guy was 6’3 or 6’4 and around 260lbs and his finisher was 450 Splash. He was a cruiserweight who had gotten his hands on powerful heavyweight’s body and took to the air with it whenever he could.
As he hit his 30s, he put on more weight and wasn’t hitting his top rope stuff as much but still took dives. Kronus was also working more and more in deathmatches.
If he was going to be salvaged, it would’ve been between 1999 and 2001 just as a start. He had a look, was still in shape, and could still do most of his stuff. The man would’ve been a boon for any promotion that could get him if they booked him without the weirdo gimmick.
Honestly, he was like the Mustafa to Saturn’s New Jack only less serious. Actually, he could’ve kept the weirdo, off-beat gimmick just give him a manager.
His gimmick in XPW was more serious, so book him in that direction. Actually, he should’ve just been booked like Saturn and weaned off the drugs. The thing is that, he was always in promotions that weren’t strict about drug use.
So, was Kronus salvageable? Oh, 100-percent! The guy had a superstar look, was athletic in the ring and could do some amazing things, and was great in a tag team. All he needed was someone to handle him regularly. If he started experiencing singles success, was heavily in demand, or was even in a promotion that cared enough to tell him to ditch the somas or cut back, the guy could’ve definitely been a star.
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