was managed by Gary Hart. He soon turned against America and formed a tag team with Ivan Koloff and won the NWA World Tag Team Title. When Koloff's "nephew" Nikita Koloff arrived in late 1984, Kernodle helped to train him. Also in 1984, the Koloffs turned on Kernodle after he and Ivan lost the NWA World Tag Titles to Dusty Rhodes and Manny "The Raging Bull" Fernandez and started a feud. Kernodle teamed with his brother Rocky to feud with the Koloffs and helped the Rock 'n' Roll Express to win the Tag Team Title from them at Starrcade '85: The Gathering. In 1986, Kernodle left the NWA and wrestled in various independent promotions in the Carolinas. He later became a Sergeant for Immigration Customs Enforcement for Alamance County. Since 2002, Kernodle and his brother wrestled several times per year with CWF Mid-Atlantic near their home in Burlington, NC. He was a deputy sheriff with the Alamance County sheriffs office. Other media He appeared in the 1978 Sylvester Stallone movie Paradise Alley. Death Kernodle died on May 17, 2021, at the age of 71. Kernodle had been suffering from several health issues prior to his death. It was later revealed that Kernodle died after committing suicide by gunshot after visiting the doctor. Championships and accomplishments George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Maple Leaf Wrestling NWA Canadian Television Championship (1 time) Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Pvt. Jim Nelson (2) NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ivan & Nikita Koloff NWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Sgt. Slaughter (1), Bob Orton, Jr. (1), and Ivan Koloff (1) Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him # 463 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 PWI ranked # 29 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Sgt. Slaughter World Wrestling Council WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWC Television Championship (2 times) Footnotes External links Profile at Online World of Wrestling Article at The Times News 1950 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides American male professional wrestlers Elon University alumni People from Burlington, North Carolina Professional wrestlers from North Carolina Suicides by firearm in North Carolina 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions WWC Television Champions NWA Canadian Television Champions WCW World Tag