Athletes - Chris Chavis

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	Athletes - Chris Chavis

Christopher Chavis, best known by his stage name Tatanka (born June 8, 1961 in Pembroke, North Carolina), is a Native American professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment's Smackdown! brand. He is descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe.

Career before wrestling

Chavis didn't start his professional wresting career until 1989 at the age of 28. After first 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 for personal reasons.

From 1985 to 1990 he worked for Bally's Health and Tennis Corporation. He was quite successful, becoming a Divisional Manager.

In 1987 he received many tryouts for the National Football League, from teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and the Los Angeles Raiders. He decided to pursue a career with the Dolphins. Chavis was one of 20 hopefuls offered a deal out of approximately 2,000 tryouts. The Dolphins offered him a free agent contract with the availability to increase after the first year. However, he declined, since his income at Bally's exceeded the value of the contract.

Pro wrestling career

In 1989, Chavis left Bally's to pursue a wrestling career. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was his contact into the sport. They met in Florida at a video store while Chavis was looking for wrestling tapes. Rogers had Chavis call Larry Sharpe, who ran a wrestling school in southern New Jersey called "The Monster Factory." Sharpe had previously trained such wrestlers as Bam Bam Bigelow and The Godfather. Tatanka's first match came against Joe Thunderstorm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1990. After coming back to Buddy Rogers, he took Chavis to George Scott, the booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 80's Hulk Hogan era.

Scott was starting his own promotion called the North American Wrestling Association, later known as South Atlantic Pro Wrestling. Chavis wrestled under the name "The War Eagle" Chris Chavis, and he was voted runner up for Rookie Of The Year in Pro Wrestling Illustrated for 1990. Also in 1990, he became The South Atlantic Heavyweight Champion by beating Ken Shamrock. Not long after, he was signed to a WWF contract.

Chavis made his debut into the WWF in 1991 under his given name. He took on the name Tatanka soon afterwards. During his WWF run, Tatanka was best known for accumulating a significant undefeated streak of over two years, defeating many major names such as Rick Martel and Shawn Michaels. Tatanka was also known for his war dance, the Lumbee tribal war cry that preceded his entrance to the ring, and a red stripe dyed in the middle of his hair, which he said was to honor the blood and bravery of all Native Americans (he later stopped dyeing his hair, as the product he used was causing premature hair loss).

In September 28, 1993 he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Finnish heel Ludvig Borga. After the match, he was attacked by then-WWF Champion Yokozuna, and was subsequently out of action for three months. When he returned, he received his only WWF Championship match, losing to Yokozuna. After years as a face, he turned heel against Lex Luger at SummerSlam 1994, joining Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation.

In 1996, Tatanka left the WWF, citing family and religious issues. Since the WWF workload at the time topped 300 shows a year, Chavis had little time for his family. At the time, the WWF and major rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) were in a major talent war, and then-WCW President Eric Bischoff offered him a lucrative deal, but Chavis declined. He continued to appear for independent promotions, which allowed him to continue to wrestle while maintaining a lighter schedule. With his wife, Michelle, he has 2 daughters, Christiana Mariah and Rhea Aiyana, and a son, Joseph Tatanka.

On August 1, 2005 Chavis returned to RAW, which was intended to be a special one-time appearance to face Eugene in the "Eugene Invitational", a 3-minute match with Kurt Angle's Olympic gold medal on the line. Tatanka lost the match when Angle attacked Eugene with 27 seconds remaining, causing a disqualification. He mentioned on his website afterward that he loved being back in a WWE ring and hoped someday to return.

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