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Sullivan is among those blamed for the 2000 departure of [[Chris Benoit]], [[Dean Simon|Dean Malenko]], [[Eddie Guerrero]] and [[Perry Satullo|Perry Saturn]] from WCW, though by no direct action of his own. After the departure of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the resulting chaos led to Sullivan's promotion to head booker. This move infuriated a number of WCW wrestlers, given Sullivan's history of professional rivalries (notably Benoit) and poor decisions. Sullivan booked Benoit to win the WCW title at [[Souled Out 2000]] in a desperate attempt to quell the uprising, but Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Saturn would quit the night after, immediately signing with the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]]. Sullivan would be fired before WCW's sale in 2001. |
Sullivan is among those blamed for the 2000 departure of [[Chris Benoit]], [[Dean Simon|Dean Malenko]], [[Eddie Guerrero]] and [[Perry Satullo|Perry Saturn]] from WCW, though by no direct action of his own. After the departure of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the resulting chaos led to Sullivan's promotion to head booker. This move infuriated a number of WCW wrestlers, given Sullivan's history of professional rivalries (notably Benoit) and poor decisions. Sullivan booked Benoit to win the WCW title at [[Souled Out 2000]] in a desperate attempt to quell the uprising, but Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Saturn would quit the night after, immediately signing with the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]]. Sullivan would be fired before WCW's sale in 2001. |
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Sullivan still makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit, mainly in [[Florida]]. He owns a gym in the Florida Keys |
Sullivan still makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit, mainly in [[Florida]]. He owns a gym in the Florida Keys called '''Froggy's Fitness'''. |
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==Wrestling facts== |
==Wrestling facts== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*{{cite book | author = Mick Foley | title = Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks | publisher = HarperCollins | date = 2000 | pages = 511 | isbn = 0061031011}} |
*{{cite book | author = Mick Foley | title = Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks | publisher = HarperCollins | date = 2000 | pages = 511 | isbn = 0061031011}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://www.froggysfitness.com FroggysFitness.com] |
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* [http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wherearetheynow/kevinsullivan Kevin Sullivan at WWE.com] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Kevin}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Kevin}} |
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Revision as of 22:43, 29 June 2007
| Kevin Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 26, 1949 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Johnny West Kevin Caldwell Kevin Sullivan Masked Lucifer Merlin the Wizard |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | [undue weight? ] |
| Debut | October 1970 |
Kevin Francis Sullivan (born October 26, 1949) is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feuds with the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and Mike Graham in the NWA's Florida Championship Wrestling, and against Chris Benoit and the Four Horsemen in World Championship Wrestling.
Professional wrestling career
Championship Wrestling From Florida (1972-1987)
Sullivan started wrestling in October 1970 in Georgia. Since 1972 he was a face and teamed with Mike Graham in Championship Wrestling from Florida.
In 1976, he wrestled briefly for the World Wrestling Federation.
In 1981, he turned on Graham and started a feud. For the next few years, he was known as a Satan-worshipping heel in Florida Championship Wrestling & Southwest Championship Wrestling.
He had a stable of wrestlers and valets to help him with his nefarious doings. The Fallen Angel was his female sidekick who was evil but had model-quality looks. The "Fallen Angel" later became "Woman". Some of his male sidekicks were "Maniac" Mark Lewin,(AKA The Purple Haze), "Maniac" Mike Davis (who was put under a "spell" to act like Dusty Rhodes), Jake Roberts, Superstar Billy Graham, Buzz Sawyer (whom he led to the ring on a chain), Maha Singh, Karma, Winona Littleheart and Luna Vachon. Oliver Humperdink managed them. They feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Bugsy McGraw, Blackjack Mulligan, Barry Windham and Mike Graham.
This group broke up by 1986, and he feuded with Bad News Allen and Mike Rotunda. Sullivan spent from September to December in 1986 feuding with Brad and Steve Armstrong in Alabama's NWA Southeastern Championship Wrestling.
He was back in Florida in 1987 and feuding with Lex Luger and Scott Hall. After a brief face run in which he feuded with Dory Funk Jr. and Sir Oliver Humperdink, he left NWA Florida for the main NWA circuit in December 1987.
Jim Crockett Promotions (1987-1992)
Sullivan formed The Varsity Club upon arrival in the NWA with Mike Rotunda and Rick Steiner. They immediately started feuding with Jimmy Garvin because Sullivan wanted his wife Precious for himself. This feud lasted a while with Sullivan "breaking" Garvin's leg at one point.
Steiner left the group and was replaced by "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Dan Spivey. They feuded with Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors, Rick Steiner and Eddie Gilbert. Sullivan even attacked Gilbert's wife Missy Hyatt. By late 1989, the Varsity Club was gone, and Sullivan formed Slaughterhouse with Cactus Jack and Buzz Sawyer to feud with Rotunda.[1]
Sullivan took time off in late 1990 and returned in early 1991 as the manager of One Man Gang, Black Blood, and the Angel of Death. They cut El Gigante's hair and had a brief feud. Sullivan also was the masked Merlin the Wizard briefly to manage Oz.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992)
In 1992, Sullivan went to Smoky Mountain Wrestling and reunited with Fallen Angel, now called Devil Angel. He feuded with Brian Lee and managed the Nightstalker.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993-1994)
He went to Extreme Championship Wrestling in early 1993 and teamed with Tasmaniac with Devil Angel, now called Woman. They won the Tag Team Titles and feuded with "Public Enemy" Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock. Sullivan also had a bloody feud with Abdullah The Butcher. Sullivan left Woman behind and headed to World Championship Wrestling in spring 1994.
World Championship Wrestling (1994-2001)
He formed a tag team with his "brother" Dave Sullivan, a dyslexic character who referred to himself as "Evad" who was being picked on by The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs). He enlisted Cactus Jack's help and beat them for the Tag Team Titles. Dave was injured and out of action for awhile and Sullivan split with Cactus after losing the titles and he defeated Cactus in a Loser Leaves WCW Match at Fall Brawl on September 18, 1994.
Dave came back and dressed like his idol, Hulk Hogan. This infuriated Sullivan, who hated Hogan, and they started feuding. Sullivan brought in Hogan's best friend, Ed Leslie, as The Butcher to feud with him. He also brought in Avalanche and called the trio the 3 Faces of Fear. They feuded with Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting.
In early 1995, after not being able to end Hogan's career, Avalanche left the group and Sullivan turned on Butcher. Sullivan immediately started putting together a new group with the help of his mentor, The Master. They called it the Dungeon of Doom, which included Kamala, The Barbarian, Meng, Manager Jimmy Hart, Shark (formerly Avalanche), Zodiac (formerly Butcher, formerly Brutus Beefcake), Yeti, Hugh Morrus, One Man Gang and for a very short time, Vader.
Managed by Sullivan's new gimmick, The Taskmaster, four Dungeon of Doom members would lose to The Hulkamaniacs in a WarGames match at September's Fall Brawl. As a result of Hogan's win over Zodiac, he got to spend five minutes alone with The Taskmaster. The Dungeon then feuded with the Four Horsemen, and Sullivan acquired a certain disliking for Brian Pillman (this was during the infamous worked shoot angle—see Pillman's article for details).
Once Sullivan sent Pillman packing, the Dungeon and the Horsemen rejoined forces to get rid of Hulk Hogan and his friends. They brought in The Giant, Maxx Muscle and Big Bubba Rogers to help. They even formed the Alliance To End Hulkamania with the Horsemen in a failed attempt to do so. When they couldn't get the job done, Sullivan and Chris Benoit of the Horsemen picked up where Pillman left off and started a feud. This was a brutal feud and lasted over a year, with Benoit "stealing" Woman from Sullivan in the course of the feud. Sullivan brought in Jacquelyn to help him and also added Konnan to the Dungeon.
Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit at Bash at the Beach on July 13, 1997. He was already the booker so it gave him more time to do that job. Sullivan stayed on as the booker or a member of the WCW booking committee and made a brief onscreen appearance with the reformed Varsity Club of Rotunda and Rick Steiner with their cheerleader, Leia Meow. After a couple of months, he was back off TV.
Sullivan is among those blamed for the 2000 departure of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn from WCW, though by no direct action of his own. After the departure of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the resulting chaos led to Sullivan's promotion to head booker. This move infuriated a number of WCW wrestlers, given Sullivan's history of professional rivalries (notably Benoit) and poor decisions. Sullivan booked Benoit to win the WCW title at Souled Out 2000 in a desperate attempt to quell the uprising, but Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Saturn would quit the night after, immediately signing with the WWF. Sullivan would be fired before WCW's sale in 2001.
Sullivan still makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit, mainly in Florida. He owns a gym in the Florida Keys called Froggy's Fitness.
Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- Managers
- Quotes
- "That's the beauty of it!"
- Wrestlers managed
Championships and accomplishments
- Central States Wrestling
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) - with Ken Lucas
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Len Rossi
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (2 times) - with Robert Fuller (1) and Mike Graham (1)
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 1981.
- PWI ranked him # 106 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Southern Championship Wrestling
Other Titles
- AWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- MWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Personal life
In 1985, Sullivan married Nancy Daus (née Toffoloni), his valet. In the mid-1990s, Sullivan, the then World Championship Wrestling booker, scripted a storyline in which Daus would leave him in favor of his on-screen rival, Chris Benoit. During the execution of the storyline, Daus legitimately left Sullivan in favour of Benoit, divorcing Sullivan in 1997 and marrying Benoit in 2000. [2]
Between June 22 and June 25, 2007, Benoit murdered Daus and their son, Daniel, before committing suicide. Following the incident, Sullivan expressed shock at Benoit's actions, stating "I'm in the dark...I wrestled with him a lot. I thought he was a great performer...it was shocking, just shocking." [2] [3] On June 28, 2007, FOX News noted in an article on the incident that Sullivan had links to both Benoit and Sherri Martel, who had died earlier that month. [4]
Notes
- ^ Foley, M. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.167)
- ^ a b Schramm, C. (June 25, 2007). "Looking back on the career of "Woman"". Canadian Online Explorer.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Goodman, B. (June 27, 2007). "Wrestler Killed Wife and Son, Then Himself". New York Times.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Bachelor, B. (June 28, 2007). "Web Time Stamps Indicate Nancy Benoit's Death Reported on Web at Least 13 Hours Before Police Found Bodies in Her Home". FOXNews.com.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
References
- Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 511. ISBN 0061031011.
- The Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster - Kevin Sullivan