Tatanka

Bodybuilding and football careers Chavis started competing in powerlifting. He competed in his first bodybuilding contest, Mr. Virginia Beach, placing second. He won many competitions during his time in bodybuilding, but decided against competing on the national level and possibly turning pro. From 1985 to 1990 he worked for Bally's Health and Tennis Corporation, becoming a divisional manager.

Chavis went to the open try outs during the 1987 NFL player strike for the Miami Dolphins and made the cut, but he turned it down due to the lucrative money he was already making selling memberships at Bally's. In 1989, Chavis left Bally's to pursue an accounting career.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1989–1990) In 1989, Chavis met "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in Florida at a video store while looking for wrestling tapes. Rogers had Chavis call Larry Sharpe, who ran Monster Factory in South Jersey. He had his first match, as "Tatanka", against Joe Thunder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 13, 1990.

Rogers introduced Chavis to George Scott, the booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s. Scott was starting his own promotion called the North American Wrestling Association. Chavis wrestled under the name "War Eagle" Chris Chavis and was voted third runner up for PWI Rookie of the Year in Pro Wrestling Illustrated for 1990. Also in 1990, he became the South Atlantic Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion by beating Vince Torelli. Not long after, he was signed to a WWF contract.

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1996) Undefeated streak (1991–1994) Chavis received his first try-out match with the WWF on January 8, 1991, as War Eagle against Dale Wolfe at a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He received a second try-out on February 18, 1991, against the Brooklyn Brawler at a WWF Superstars taping in Orlando, Florida. Wrestling as the War Eagle, Chavis was victorious. He followed it up with another win against Dale Wolfe the next day at a Wrestling Challenge taping. On October 21 he received what was likely another tryout match at a Superstars taping, this time defeating Skinner. In November Chavis began wrestling on house shows under his given name. Soon after, he took on the ring name "Tatanka". After wrestling in try-out matches at house shows, Tatanka made his television debut as a fan favorite on the February 1, 1992, episode of WWF Superstars, defeating Pat Tanaka in his debut match. Tatanka's earliest rivalry on television was against Martel; it culminated in Tatanka's pay-per-view debut at WrestleMania VIII with Tatanka winning the match.

Following this hiatus at the end of August 1995, Tatanka returned to the WWF to compete in the Royal Rumble event, where he was eliminated by Diesel. Tatanka stated on his official website that he requested to be released and mentioned he was not done with WWE as he would like to return someday.

Second return to the independent circuit (2007–2022) In 2008 Tatanka toured Ireland and France with the American Wrestling Rampage tour. He also wrestled for All Star Promotions in the United Kingdom. He competed in All Star and American Wrestling between August 29 to October 31, 2008, in the Tower Circus area of Blackpool Tower.

Tatanka made an appearance in Danish Pro Wrestling (DPW) and lost to Chaos after he was hit by a DDT. He was given a standing ovation after the match.

Tatanka appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the December 17, 2009, episode of Impact where he defeated Jay Lethal in a Black Machismo Invitational Match with an End of the Trail.

Tatanka also made headlines in Scotland while appearing for Scottish Wrestling Entertainment, renewing his partnership with the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase in Dundee. Tatanka was due to return to Scotland to wrestle for the SWE at the Dewars Centre in Perth on August 25, 2012.

On August 8, 2012, Chikara announced that Tatanka would be making his debut for the promotion in the following month's 2012 King of Trios tournament, where he will team with the 1-2-3 Kid and Aldo Montoya as "Team WWF". In their first round match on September 14, Team WWF was defeated by The Extreme Trio (Jerry Lynn, Tommy Dreamer and Too Cold Scorpio). The following day, Tatanka defeated Sugar Dunkerton in a singles match.

Tatanka made another appearance in Danish Pro Wrestling (DPW) and defeated Chaos after hitting Wykea after a long and enduring match. He was given a standing ovation once again.

He also wrestled in Germany in June 2013 for ACW (Athletik Club Wrestling) and GHW (German Hurricane Wrestling).

On May 2, 2014, Tatanka won the DPW Tag Team Championship along with Rick "The Prick" Dominick. They lost the titles on October 18, 2014, to Ravn and Demolition Davies.

Second return to WWE (2010–present)

Sporadic appearances (2010−present) Tatanka made an appearance on the Old School Raw on November 15, 2010, backstage along with Ron Simmons, Dusty Rhodes, IRS, and The "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.

On November 3, 2015, WWE announced that they signed Tatanka to a Legends contract. On April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, Tatanka competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as a face and was among the last to be eliminated.

On January 4, 2021, Tatanka, in full ring gear made an appearance for a special episode of Raw called "Raw Legends Night". On May 24, 2025 he was shown in the crowd during Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX.

Personal life

Chavis and his wife, Michelle, have four children.

Video games Tatanka is a playable character in WWF Royal Rumble and WWF Rage in the Cage. He is in the WWE 2K17 video game as DLC. He also appears in WWE 2K18 and WWE 2K19 as a playable character.

Championships and accomplishments

All-Star Wrestling ASW Legends Championship (1 time) Athletik Club Wrestling ACW German Championship (1 time) Classic Wrestling Entertainment CWE Rhein-Neckar-Wrestling Championship (1 time) Covey Promotions Covey Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Dansk Pro Wrestling DPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rick Dominick Deutsche Wrestling Allianz DWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) German Hurricane Wrestling GHW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling i-Generation Australasian Heavyweight Championship (2 times) Italian Wrestling Superstar IWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Maximum Force Wrestling MFW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Primal Warpath North American Wrestling Association Mercedes Benz 400 SL Tournament (1990) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 279 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 40 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994 South Atlantic Pro Wrestling SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) United States Wrestling Association USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation Slammy Award (1 time) Greediest (1994) Other titles IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)