Ion Croitoru
Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruiser Bedlam. He worked in several Canadian wrestling promotions, including Stampede Wrestling, and later wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He wrestled as a jobber in the WWF, but he was booked to win titles in several other promotions.
| Ion Croitoru | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ion William Croitoru |
| Born | December 7, 1963 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 21, 2017 (aged 53) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bruiser Bedlam Johnny K-9 K-9 Dog Of War Taras Bulba Orhan Turgedan, The Terrible Turk The Mysterian |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 300 lb (140 kg) |
| Billed from | Hamilton, Ontario Romania (WWF) |
| Trained by | Nick DeCarlo Vic Rosettani |
| Debut | 1984 |
| Retired | 1998 |
Croitoru was also known for his history of legal problems. He was a member of Satan's Choice, a biker gang. He was convicted of assault, trafficking cocaine, and bombing a police station. In 2005, he was arrested for the murder of lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred. After a lengthy investigation, the charges were dropped in June 2006 because of insufficient evidence. He worked as a security guard in Vancouver, British Columbia, until being arrested in May 2009 for conspiracy to murder the Bacon Brothers. Jonathan Barber was killed when the plan went awry, and Croitoru was charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in July 2013 to conspiracy in exchange for a stay of proceedings on the murder charge. He was the focus for episode 11 of the third season of the Vice TV documentary series Dark Side of the Ring.