Dean Malenko
Malenko in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dean Shelly Simon August 4, 1960 Irvington, New Jersey, U.S. |
Spouse |
Julie Hittinger (m. 1996) |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Boris Malenko (father) Joe Malenko (older brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ciclope Dean Malenko Dean Sarcoff |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Billed weight | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Billed from | Tampa, Florida |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko |
| Debut | February 18, 1985 |
| Retired | December 11, 2001 |
Dean Shelly Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling as a wrestler and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as a wrestler and a road agent and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Although never a world champion, Malenko achieved championship success in ECW, WCW and the WWF, winning 11 total titles across the three organizations. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Malenko the #1 wrestler in the world in 1997, and he was inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame in 2015. He has been described by commentators as one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time. Multiple-time world champion Bryan Danielson said that his "number one guy, growing up, was Dean Malenko". Following his retirement as an in-ring competitor, he worked as a road agent for WWE from 2001 until 2019.