add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Kevin Francis Sullivan (born October 26, 1949), is an American professional wrestler and booker. He is perhaps best known for his feuds with the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and Mike Graham in the NWA's Championship Wrestling from Florida, and against Hulk Hogan and the Four Horsemen (specifically Chris Benoit) in World Championship Wrestling.
[edit] Career[edit] Early CareerSullivan started out as a popular midcard face in the then WWWF, hailing from "Lexington Massechusetts". Had a few (rare for the time) face versus face battles with Pete Sanchez. Sullivan also wrestled as a face for Roy Shire for the National Wrestling Alliance in their San Francisco territory. Sullivan then worked in NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling as a face until the early 1980's. His first heel run was in Memphis where alongside Wayne Ferris (The Honky Tonk Man) and manager Jimmy Hart he battled the local faces including Jerry Lawler. He left Memphis for Georgia but once again turned heel while in the Georgia territory before he moved on to Florida to work for Eddie Graham. [edit] Championship Wrestling From FloridaKnown as the heel "Boston Battler", Sullivan's "devil worshiping" gimmick started during this time. In CWFL he became associated with "Maniac" Mark Lewis (Purple Haze), Bob Roop, The Lock and Luna Vachon Chrissy Roy amongst others. [edit] 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. He came to Japan in 1992, and participated in FMW. And, he fought against Atsushi Onita with Ed Farhat. [edit] Smokey Mountain Wrestling (1992–1994)Sullivan was in a feud with "Primetime" Brian Lee where after Lee's matches there would like a miniature tombstone brought to ringside. During this feud he was known as The Taskmaster and enlisted the help of The Nightstalker and another wrestler to soften up Lee. After Lee beat Nightstalker and the other wrestler in two separate matches over two weeks he finally came face to face with The Taskmaster who was revealed to be Sullivan after he delivered a fireball to the face of Lee and was joined by Nightstalker and the other wrestler in busting open Lee on live television. Lee would return and finally get the upper hand on Sullivan after beating Nightstalker and the other wrestler to get a spike in the box match with Sullivan which Lee won after busting open Sullivan with the spike. Sullivan left SMW shortly after losing a match to Ronnie Garvin by DQ in March of 1994. [edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)In early 1993, Sullivan and Nancy, now known as Woman, went to Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he teamed with Tasmaniac. The two won the Tag Team Title and feuded with The Public Enemy. Sullivan also had a bloody feud with Abdullah the Butcher. Sullivan left Woman behind and headed to World Championship Wrestling in spring 1994. [edit] 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 Title.[2] Dave was injured and out of action for a while and Sullivan split with Cactus after losing the titles. Sullivan defeated Cactus in a Loser Leaves WCW match at Fall Brawl on September 18, 1994 in Roanoke Virginia.[3] 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 and Big Bubba Rogers. Managed by Sullivan's new gimmick, The Taskmaster, four Dungeon of Doom members lost 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.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 on-screen 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 demotion of Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo (and subsequent departure of the latter), 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. Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Saturn would quit the night after, immediately signing with the WWF. Sullivan was fired before WCW's sale in 2001. [edit] Recent yearsIn 2003, Sullivan made one surprise appearance in Total Nonstop Action wrestling, as the officiator in the first Clockwork Orange House of Fun match. In late 2003/2004, he worked for the All World Wrestling League/Big Time Wrestling. While in the AWWL, Sullivan started a faction called the "XWA" (Extreme Wrestling Alliance). [edit] Personal lifeIn an example of kayfabe (the storylines in wrestling) becoming real, Sullivan's wife Nancy Daus, left him in favor of his rival, Chris Benoit. In the late 90's Sullivan conceived an angle where Woman (Nancy Daus Sullivan, Sullivan's wife both on-screen and off), would leave his character for Chris Benoit's. Sullivan insisted that the two should travel together to preserve kayfabe for the general public and to make the affair look real, (hold hands in public, share hotel rooms, etc).[4]. Nancy ultimately married Benoit in 2000 and they remained married until their deaths in 2007. Because of the real life imitating kayfabe, Sullivan and Benoit had a contentious backstage relationship at best and Benoit defeated Sullivan in a Retirement match at Bash at the Beach. Benoit did, however, admit having a certain amount of respect for Sullivan, saying on the DVD Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story that Sullivan never took undue liberties in the ring during their feud, even though he blamed Benoit for breaking up his marriage. Sullivan owns a gym in the Florida Keys called Froggy's Fitness. [edit] In wrestling
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
1Although Sullivan and The Tazmaniac won the title twice, only their first reign is recognized officially by World Wrestling Entertainment. The reign also occurred prior to ECW's withdrawal from the NWA and prior to ECW declaring their tag title a "World" title. [edit] Notes
[edit] References
[edit] External links | |||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
