Orndorff played college football at the University of Tampa,[7] where he was a fullback for his first three seasons before he was moved to tight end mid-season in his senior year by coach Earle Bruce.

[10] After attending training camp with the Chicago Bears in 1974,[11] Orndorff joined the Jacksonville Express of the World Football League in 1975, but he was injured.

[15] Frustrated with his inability to beat Orndorff for the National title, Larry Zbyszko paid Killer Tim Brooks $25,000 to do his dirty work.

He wrestled Kengo Kimura, Riki Choshu, and Akira Maeda, as well as teaming up with Ed Leslie against Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi.

[20] Hogan disposed of the challenger and moved on while Orndorff fought a variety of opponents including the Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana.

[19] One of the first men to try to claim the new, higher bonus was Piper himself, but their matches got so out of hand that Bruno Sammartino was appointed as a special referee in the hopes of keeping the peace.

Orndorff (along with Bundy, who had been off TV since WrestleMania III as well) returned to team with Hercules and King Harley Race in a victory against Mario Mancini, Don Driggers, Paul Roma, and Jim Powers.

The only difference was that his right arm was noticeably smaller due to a neck injury that caused nerve damage and eventually the atrophy of his right biceps.

[citation needed] In 1990 Orndorff returned to the squared circle, wrestling a series of matches against Kerry Von Erich on the independent circuit.

[19] On the May 26 episode of World Championship Wrestling it was announced that Paul Orndorff would face Arn Anderson at Clash of the Champions XI.

Orndorff made his in-ring debut on June 9 in Beckley, West Virginia, defeating "Nasty" Ned Brady on Main Event.

Orndorff quickly became affiliated with a group called the "Dudes with Attitudes" consisting of himself, Sting, Lex Luger, Junkyard Dog, and The Steiner Brothers.

His final WCW match came on August 26 in Chicago when he teamed with The Junkyard Dog in a losing effort against the tag-team champions Doom.

In January 1993 he took on Cactus Jack, with the winner being manager Harley Race's chosen replacement for an injured Rick Rude at Clash of the Champions XXII.

Orndorff signed up for a 16-man tournament beating 2 Cold Scorpio, Cactus Jack, Johnny B. Badd, and then Erik Watts in the finals to win his first title in WCW.

[41] During this time Orndorff also turned back the challenges of Ron Simmons and Marcus Alexander Bagwell, amongst others, holding on to his Television title by any means necessary.

Orndorff's TV title reign also included a successful defence against future ECW champion Shane Douglas and a disqualification loss to Johnny B Badd, after Maxx Payne violently interfered.

[citation needed] Under the tutelage of manager Masked Assassin, the team quickly began to work well together in a feud with Marcus Alexander Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio.

[citation needed] Going into Bash at the Beach,[46] Pretty Wonderful had the advantage as both champions were suffering from injuries inflicted by the challengers on previous occasions (kayfabe).

Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan were unable to hold off Roma and Orndorff, as Pretty Wonderful left the ring with the gold.

[49] At Clash of the Champions XXIX Stars and Stripes were granted a final shot at the tag team title, but the challengers also had to put up the Patriot's mask on the line.

After a controversial double pin finish, Stars and Stripes were declared the winners and thus the champions,[50] putting the end to Pretty Wonderful's second and final run with the gold.

[15] Orndorff returned to singles competition with his most notable match at the time being an unsuccessful shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when he faced champion the Great Muta at Slamboree.

In actuality, Orndorff was forced to retire due to his previous injuries in the WWF, with the entire right side of his body beginning to atrophy (eventually causing his arm and leg muscles to shrink).

At the 2000 Fall Brawl, in a match between The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers, Orndorff suffered a neck injury after delivering a piledriver.

After Orndorff retired for a final time, he began to run the WCW Power Plant, where he trained several wrestlers including The Natural Born Thrillers.

[55] He had a brief onscreen role during this time in the Old Age Outlaws with Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, and Larry Zbyszko to feud with the last WCW version of the nWo.

[citation needed] On May 3, 2017, aged 67, Orndorff had his final match, and first since 2000, winning a six-man tag at a Canadian Wrestling's Elite (CWE) show in Brandon, Manitoba.

[58][14] On January 5, 2011, Orndorff told the Busted Open Sirius Satellite Radio show that he had recently been diagnosed with throat cancer.

[61] In September 2018, US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the case, ruling that some of its claims were frivolous and some had been filed after the statute of limitations had expired.