Oleg Prudius

**Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius** (Russian: Олег Александрович Прудиус; Ukrainian: Олег Олександрович Прудіус, *Oleh Oleksandrovych Prudius*; born April 27, 1969) better known by his ring name **Vladimir Kozlov**, is a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler currently signed to TNA Wrestling under his real name. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he won the WWE Tag Team Championship once with Santino Marella. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, rugby, football, sambo, kickboxing, judo, jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts.

Prudius signed a development contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2006 and was assigned to WWE’s developmental system, Deep South Wrestling. He would later be reassigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship. He made his debut on SmackDown as Vladimir Kozlov on April 4, 2008. He was given a big push during his first few months on SmackDown, including a clean victory over The Undertaker. At Survivor Series 2008, Kozlov faced Triple H and Edge for the WWE Championship in a losing effort. At the end of 2008, he received the Slammy Award from WWE as the Breakout Star of the year. However, in the awards voting for the independent Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kozlov was voted as the Most Overrated Wrestler of the year, and his match at Survivor Series match was voted as the Worst Match of the Year. In 2009, Kozlov was assigned to WWE's third brand, ECW, where he teamed with William Regal and Ezekiel Jackson. After the ECW brand was dissolved, he was assigned to Raw and started a tag team with Santino Marella, winning the WWE Tag Team Championships. Prudius left WWE in 2011.

Prudius has also worked as a stage and screen actor, notably having a small role in Spike Lee's *25th Hour* and a walk-on role in the second season of the HBO series *The Wire*. Prudius also had a role in *Grindhouse*, appearing in the *Werewolf Women of the SS* trailer; in addition to his credit under his real name and his WWE persona for the appearance as well as being a former Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) Heavyweight Champion, Prudius was the first Ukrainian to ever wrestle for the WWE.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ **As Alexander Kozlov**
		- *Kozlock* (Crossface)
	+ **As Vladimir Kozlov**
		- *Iron Curtain* (Kneeling leg trap chokeslam)
		- *Russian Rack* / *Kremlin Krunch* (Backbreaker rack drop)
		- Scoop lift dropped into an inverted DDT
* **Signature moves**
	+ Big boot
	+ Cannonball
	+ Chokelift into spinebuster
	+ Fallaway slam
	+ Front kick
	+ Overhead / side belly-to-belly suplex
	+ *Russian Hammer* (Suplex poweslam)
	+ Scoop powerslam
	+ Trapping headbutts to an opponent's chest
* **Nicknames**
	+ "The Moscow Mauler"
	+ "The Soviet Cyborg"
	+ "The Soviet War Machine"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ **World Wrestling Entertainment**
		- "All for the Motherland" by Jim Johnston
		- "Pain" by Jim Johnston
		- "La Vittoria è Mia (Victory Is Mine)" by Jim Johnston (used while teaming with Santino Marella)
	+ **Inoki Genome Federation**
		- The Red Spectacles" by Kenji Kawai
	+ **IMPACT Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling**
		- **"I've Got a Van"** by George Cordell

## Championships and accomplishments

### Martial arts

* **Sambo**
	+ USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion (2005)
* **Kickboxing**
	+ United States Kick-Boxing Association International Heavyweight Grappling Champion

### Professional wrestling

* **Ohio Valley Wrestling**
	+ OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ Ranked **#53** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the *PWI 500* in 2009
* **World Wrestling Entertainment**
	+ WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Santino Marella
	+ Slammy Awards
		- Breakout Star of the Year (2008)
* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ Most Overrated (2008)
	+ Worst Worked Match of the Year (2008) – vs. Triple H and Edge (Survivor Series)