Wrestling Character Profile: 'Native American' Tatanka

Name: Tatanka


Chris Chavis started his WWF career in late 1991 under his given name. Soon after, he took on the ring name Tatanka. After wrestling in tryout matches at house show, Tatanka made his television debut as a fan favorite on February 1, 1992 episode of Superstars, defeating Pat Tanaka in his debut match. As Tatanka, Chavis performed a war dance on the Lumbee tribal war cry that preceded his entrance to the ring, and had a red stripe dyed in the middle of his hair.

Tatanka was pushed as undefeated on WWF television as he had not suffered any defeat by pinfall or submission. Although, he did lose several matches at house shows. Tatanka's earliest rivalry on television was against Rick Martel that culminated in Tatanka's pay-per-view debut at WrestleMania VIII, with Tatanka winning the match. On May 18, 1992, Tatanka reached the peak of success by winning the 40-man Bashed in the USA battle royal. He would go on to renew his feud with Rick Martel, defeating him again at Survivor Series.

At WrestleMania IX, Tatanka received his first televised title shot in WWF against Shawn Michaels for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Tatanka won the match by count-out. Since a title could not change hands on a count-out, Michaels retained the title. On October 30, 1993 edition of Superstars, Tatanka suffered his first televised defeat in the WWF, losing to Ludvig Borga (Borga had hit Tatanka in the back with a steel chair while Mr. Fuji distracted the referee). After the match, he was attacked by WWF Champion Yokozuna and was subsequently out of action for three months. Tatanka returned to WWF in the fall of 1993.