Biggest Fan: Barry M. Reardon
Maybe you could say that Tatanka was largely derivative of earlier Native American wrestling gimmicks. You would be right. Chris Chavis brought nothing unique to the table as far as his wrestling persona was concerned. Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel had both been very successful in warpaint and headdresses in the past. Perhaps, though, in 1992 there was a void that needed to be filled. Perhaps America needed a wrestler to dress up like an Indian.
In late 1991, WWF fans will recall seeing a seemingly endless stream of Chris Chavis vignettes. They hadn't even settled on his ring name yet, but started playing up his heritage, size and athleticism anyway. This lasted for quite some time, but it wasn't until February of the following year that Tatanka made his long-awaited debut. And Tatanka did not disappoint. With a hilarious war cry that hit the speakers just before his entrance theme, fans were always excited to see Tatanka dash to the ring to defeat his latest opponent. He would go on a tremendous undefeated streak to begin his WWF career; he wasn't pinned by an opponent until losing a match to Ludvig Borga some twenty months after arriving in the federation. Along the way, Tatanka had a noteworthy feud with The Model Rick Martel, culminating in a match at WrestleMania VIII, and defeated Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels the following year, at WrestleMania IX (although, HBK retained the title). After his loss to Borga and the subsequent beat-down he received at the hands of Yokozuna, Tatanka vanished for a few months.
No longer riding a winning streak, Tatanka needed to become involved in some kind of interesting storyline, and after a brief feud with Irwin R. Schyster over unpaid taxes, he was thrust into the middle of a very memorable feud. The Million Dollar Corporation was a force to be reckoned with in the WWF at this time. They seemed to be recruiting financially-challenged wrestlers left and right. In the weeks leading up to SummerSlam '94, rumors were circulating that Lex Luger was Ted Dibiase's latest recruit. Tatanka, being a proud American like Luger was, denounced Luger for being a traitor. "You sold out! You sold out!" he would chant, getting the capacity crowds to join in. Ultimately, though, at SummerSlam, Tatanka attacked Luger and accepted a bagful of money from Dibiase himself. It was Tatanka who was the newest member of the Million Dollar Corporation! For the next couple of years, Tatanka was a villainous sell-out who served as one of Ted Dibiase's many underlings. In 1996, though, Tatanka retired from wrestling due to "spiritual issues".
He never held a major title, but his memorable feuds and impressive undefeated run to start his career made Tatanka an unforgettable superstar in a long line of proud Native American wrestlers.
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