Athletes - David Lauer

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	Athletes - David Lauer

David Lauer, better known by his ring name Harvey Wippleman, is a pro-wrestling manager, referee and sometimes competitor who is probably most recognized from his long running stint as a manager in the 1980s WWF and later as the only male to ever win the WWF Women’s title. He still performs as Downtown Bruno occasionally in Memphis Wrestling.

Career

Lauer has worked in the professional wrestling industry for much of his adult life, at various times taking on the role of wrestler, manager, referee, and executive in multiple federations.

He began his carrer competing in various Southern territories performing under the names Downtown Bruno and Uptown Bruno as well as his current moniker.

For his first appearance in the (then) WWF he was known as Harvey Wippleman, the heel manager of Big Bully Busick, who had a brief and uneventful stint in the promotion.

When Busick left the WWF, Wippleman stayed and became the manager of Kamala along with Kim Chee. At this time, Wippleman began feuding with WWF ring announcer Howard Finkel, whom he felt had been introducing him in a condescending manner for all of his appearances. Their feud resulted in a number of Tuxedo Matches but eventually went nowhere.

At the same time, Kamala feuded with the Undertaker, who defeated him in the WWF’s first Casket match. As revenge for putting his client out of action, Wippleman brought a new wrestler to the WWF: the nearly eight-foot-tall Giant Gonzales, who debuted during the 1993 Royal Rumble by eliminating Undertaker despite not being a participant in the match.

At the 1993 SummerSlam pay-per-view, the feud came to an end when Undertaker defeated Gonzales. Wippleman berated Gonzales for the loss and received a chokeslam as a result. Making another attempt to take revenge on Undertaker, Wippleman recovered from the attack and brought in another new wrestler, Mr Hughes, who successfully dominated the Undertaker for a brief period. Wippleman then got himself more new clients such as Adam Bomb and Kwang the Ninja, but they eventually left him.

He was also the manager of the late Bertha Faye, including a gimmick where he fell in love with her despite her abuses of him, much to the confusion of announcers and fans alike.

In 1996, Wippleman took on a new role. He would show up at ringside during matches to observe the referees, seeking to report their inefficiency to (onscreen) WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. Monsoon, pleased with the report, made Wippleman an official WWF referee. It turned out to be a position that Wippleman took seriously, as he made the three count for some high profile matches before he was temporarily removed from onscreen roles when the Attitude Era came.

During the Attitude Era, he began a new gimmick which included him winning the WWF Women’s Championship from The Kat while he was in (bad) disguise and using the name “Harvina.” The whole thing was played for comedy, as his disguise was terrible and the announcers made frequent references to his real identity. He lost the title just three days later to Jacqueline.

Championships and accomplishments

World Wrestling Federation

1-time WWF Women’s Champion

Title lineage

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for David Lauer ]

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