Christopher Chavis is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (later known as World Wrestling Entertainment) as Tatanka from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007. His ring name is a Lakota word that literally means "bull buffalo." He is descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe. is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007. His ring name, Tatanka, is a Lakota word that literally means "bull buffalo". He is descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe. Chavis started 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, 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. He declined, however, since his income at Bally's exceeded the value of the contract. In 1989, Chavis left Bally's to pursue an accounting career. He met "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in Florida at a video store while looking for wrestling tapes. Rogers had Chavis call Larry Sharpe, who ran a wrestling school in southern New Jersey called "The Monster Factory." He had his first match, as Tatanka, against Joe Thunderstorm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1990. Rogers then introduced Chavis to George Scott, the booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s. 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 was voted 3rd 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. On May 2, 2014, Tatanka won the DPW Tag Team Championship along with Rick "The Prick" Dominick. They lost the titles on October 18, 2014 to Ravn and Demolition Davies. On November 3, 2015, WWE announced that they signed Tatanka to a Legends contract. On April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, Tatanka competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as a face, and was among the last to be eliminated.
Movie | WWE WrestleMania 32 | Tatanka | 2016-04-03 |
Movie | The Old Boys | Tatanka | 2015-06-20 |
Movie | Shawn Michaels: Mr Wrestlemania | Tatanka | 2014-02-11 |
Movie | PWG: Kurt Russellreunion 2 - The Reunioning | Tatanka | 2011-01-29 |
Movie | The True Story of WrestleMania | Tatanka (archive footage) | 2011-03-13 |
Movie | WWE Royal Rumble 2006 | Tatanka | 2006-01-29 |
Movie | WWE No Way Out 2006 | Tatanka | 2006-02-19 |
Movie | Rodman Downunder | Tatanka | 2006-06-01 |
Movie | WWE vs. ECW: Head to Head | Tatanka | 2006-06-07 |
Movie | WWE Royal Rumble 1996 | Tatanka | 1996-01-21 |
Movie | WWF Off the Top Rope | 1995-03-22 | |
Movie | WWE Wham, Bam, Bodyslam! | Tatanka | 1995-03-08 |
Movie | WWE Royal Rumble 1995 | Tatanka | 1995-01-22 |
Movie | WWE March to WrestleMania XI | Tatanka | 1995-03-26 |
Movie | WWF Mega Matches '95 | Tatanka | 1995-12-01 |
Movie | WWE In Your House | Tatanka (Appearance) | 1995-05-13 |
Movie | WWE King of the Ring 1995 | Tatanka | 1995-06-25 |
Movie | WWE SuperSlams | Tatanka | 1995-10-03 |
Movie | WWE Brawl in the Family | Tatanka | 1995-05-23 |
Movie | WWE King of the Ring 1994 | Tatanka | 1994-06-19 |
Movie | WWE Royal Rumble 1994 | Tatanka | 1994-01-22 |
Movie | WWF March to WrestleMania X | Tatanka | 1994-03-13 |
Movie | Inside the WWF | Tatanka | 1994-05-04 |
Movie | WWE Bloopers Bleeps and Bodyslams | Tatanka | 1994-06-29 |
Movie | WWE Survivor Series 1994 | Tatanka | 1994-11-23 |
Movie | German Fan Favorites 2 | Tatanka | 1994-10-24 |
Movie | WWE SummerSlam 1994 | Tatanka | 1994-08-29 |
Movie | WWE WrestleMania IX | Tatanka | 1993-04-04 |
Movie | WWE Wrestling Grudge Matches | Tatanka | 1993-03-01 |
Series | WWE Raw | Tatanka ( | 1993-01-11 |
Movie | WWE King of the Ring 1993 | Tatanka | 1993-06-13 |
Movie | WWE Royal Rumble 1993 | Tatanka | 1993-01-24 |
Movie | WWE March to WrestleMania IX | Tatanka | 1993-03-28 |
Movie | WWE Grudges, Gripes & Grunts | Tatanka | 1993-10-16 |
Movie | WWF Bashed in the USA | Tatanka | 1993-06-23 |
Movie | WWE SummerSlam Spectacular 1993 | Tatanka | 1993-08-22 |
Movie | WWE SummerSlam 1993 | Tatanka | 1993-08-30 |
Movie | WWE Invasion of the Bodyslammers | Tatanka | 1993-06-24 |
Movie | WWE U.K. Fan Favourites | Tatanka | 1993-08-09 |
Movie | WWE U.K. Rampage 1992 | Tatanka | 1992-04-19 |
Movie | 3rd Annual Battle of the WWE Superstars | Tatanka | 1992-06-25 |
Movie | WWE WrestleMania VIII | Tatanka | 1992-04-05 |
Movie | WWE SummerSlam Spectacular 1992 | Tatanka | 1992-08-23 |
Movie | WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992 | Tatanka | 1992-11-22 |
Movie | WWE SummerSlam 1992 | Tatanka | 1992-08-29 |
Movie | WWE Survivor Series 1992 | Tatanka | 1992-11-25 |
Movie | WWE Rampage '92 | Tatanka | 1992-10-22 |
Series | WWF Wrestling Challenge | 1986-09-07 | |
Series | Saturday Night's Main Event | 1985-05-11 |