The Z Man passed away recently at the relatively young age of 59. Here is Meltzer's brief Zenk obituary...

www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/tom-zenk-passes-away-59-years-old-248116

I rag on Zenk a lot but he was a perfectly cromulent 80s style babyface with a good look who happened to be his own worst enemy. My favorite Zenk match is Z Man & Pillman vs. Midnight Express at some 1990 NWA pay per view. Also thought Can Am Connection vs. Orton & Muraco was the perfect choice to kick off Wrestlemania III. And I'll always remember him for being Larry Legend's last obstacle in the AWA battle royal where Zbyszko claimed his first world title.

Zenk was solid, and a perfect #2 in a tag team. If he came up ten years later, he probably would have had a better career in a post Malenko-Guerrero Classic world. The Z Man was also way ahead of his time in seeing the power of the internet, having one of the more entertaining websites in the late 90's, where he shot hard on his peers, and whatever was going on at the time, just before shoot interviews gave everybody a platform to do such a thing. Z Man built an online community of people who weren't even necessarily fans of his wrestling, just liked his takes on things. I remember coming to the realization that, that should have been the Z Man character, a heel know it all, burying the world.

I never knew any of that about the online greatness of Tom. I know his name was fairly conttoversial, though, with his old partner Tom Brandi having plenty to say about him. From a fans perspective I always loved him as a youngster, and appreciated that he still go as my tastes became more refined. His matches against and alongside Pillman were obviously his biggest highlights, but I used to dig his matches against Eaton all the same. Highflyers have always been my thing so Zenks flashy style was always gonna hook me in back then.

Belated, RIP.

Jan 3, 2018 6:26:47 GMT kashdinero said:

I never knew any of that about the online greatness of Tom. I know his name was fairly conttoversial, though, with his old partner Tom Brandi having plenty to say about him. From a fans perspective I always loved him as a youngster, and appreciated that he still go as my tastes became more refined. His matches against and alongside Pillman were obviously his biggest highlights, but I used to dig his matches against Eaton all the same. Highflyers have always been my thing so Zenks flashy style was always gonna hook me in back then.

Belated, RIP.

Zenk and Dynamite Kid had the best personal message boards back in those days. They didn't give a fuck.