Spike Dudley

Spike Dudley

Spike Dudley in 2006
Birth name Matthew Jonathan Hyson
Born (1970-08-13) August 13, 1970
Providence, Rhode Island, United States[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Brother Runt
Matt Hyson
Spike Dudley
Jack(USW)
Billed height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Billed weight 145 lb (66 kg)
Billed from Dudleyville
New York City
Trained by Ric Thompson
Tazz
Debut 1994[1]
Retired 2013

Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970)[1] is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.

In ECW, he was a two-time Tag Team Champion. In WWE, he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion, a one-time Tag Team Champion with Tazz, a one-time European Champion and an eight-time Hardcore Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Prior to his wrestling career, Hyson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and was a third grade English teacher.[2] During the documentary Beyond the Mat, a heavily bleeding Hyson delivers the line "I shall, I do" (Henry IV of England's response to a request by Sir John Falstaff in the Shakespearean play Henry IV, Part 1) when questioned regarding his favourite quote from Shakespeare.

In May 1993, Hyson entered All Pro Wrestling's "Boot Camp" in Hayward, California to train as a referee and manager. He quickly began training to be a wrestler as well, and spent the next three years wrestling on the California independent promotions.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996–2001)

Hyson debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling in August 1996, and gained fame as "Little" Spike Dudley, as a part of the Dudley family.[2] His in-ring persona was that of the "runt" of the family.[2] His initials (LSD) and finishing move (a corner-running three-quarters facelock bulldog named the "Acid Drop") were both drug references and, at times, he would stare at his hands waving in front of him as if he were on a trip. He quickly gained the nickname "The Giant Killer". A storyline with Bam Bam Bigelow saw him on the end of two pay-per-views defeats, however, at Hardcore Heaven and As Good as it Gets.[2] In one memorable moment in not only Spike's career but in ECW history in general, Bam Bam Bigelow threw Spike from the ring, over the top rope, and into the crowd. The fans caught him and proceeded to body surf him around the ECW Arena.[3] This incident was incorporated into the ECW TV introduction for years.

After his storyline brothers, D-Von and Bubba Ray turned on him, he was involved in a scripted rivalry with them for several months.[2] Teaming with multiple people, including Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, New Jack, and Nova, he defeated them to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship with his partner Balls Mahoney on two occasions in 1999.[2][4] He was also in the main event on some occasions, such as the 2000 Guilty as Charged pay-per-view, where he faced Mike Awesome for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, in a losing effort.[5] During the match, however, he injured his knee, and after aggravating the injury in subsequent matches with Awesome and Lance Storm was forced to take several months off to recuperate.[2] He returned in June 2000[2] as the ECW Commissioner and returned to in-ring action at the November to Remember event of that year, relinquishing his role as commissioner. Hyson stayed with ECW until it folded in 2001.[3]

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2005)

Hyson debuted on the March 19, 2001 episode of Raw is War, helping his half-brothers, Bubba Ray and D-Von, defeat Edge and Christian for the WWF Tag Team Championship. He then began accompanying them to ringside for their matches. However, it was during this time that Hyson began an on-screen courtship with Molly Holly, during a feud between the Dudley Boyz and The Holly Cousins, leading to the rivalry being exacerbated.[2] The Dudleys eventually put Molly through a table and turned on Spike. Hyson teamed with Kane to challenge the Dudley Boyz at the King of the Ring for their World Tag Team Championship in a losing effort after receiving a 3D. During The Invasion, Hyson remained loyal to WWF, failing to join The Alliance despite his ECW alumnus status. It was during The Invasion that his relationship with Molly came to an end when she turned on him, aligning herself with The Hurricane.

Dudley during a match in Australia

Hyson wrestled mainly as a face during his time in WWE. His feuds and alliances with his two older brothers, Ray and D-Von often took center stage, but he formed short-lived tag teams with the Big Show, Bubba Ray, and Tazz, the last of which he became a tag team champion with by defeating his brothers in 2002.[6] In that same year, he won the European Championship once and the Hardcore Championship on eight separate occasions. Dudley also mended fences with his brother, Bubba, and the pair teamed up to take on The Un-Americans in late 2002.[2]

Dudley was injured after a missed spot during a 10-man tag match on Raw in September 2003. La Résistance threw Dudley to the outside but Dudley missed the table that he was supposed to crash through. After some time away from the ring, Spike returned and defeated René Duprée to get revenge for the injury.[2]

In 2004, Hyson was drafted to the SmackDown! brand, where he at one point held the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[7] During this time, Dudley's biggest exposure came when he turned into a villain by attacking popular face wrestler Rey Mysterio; he then began to wrestle as the "boss" of the Dudley Boyz.[2] Besides starting a feud with Mysterio, he also started feuds with then-babyface, Billy Kidman, Paul London and John Cena. He eventually lost the Cruiserweight Championship to Funaki at Armageddon.[8] He made his last appearance with WWE at ECW One Night Stand on June 12, 2005, helping the Dudleys win their tag team match.[9] At the event, Spike was dressed like his old ECW character (tie-dyed shirt and overalls) but still portrayed his WWE "Boss" character. Hyson was released from his WWE contract on July 5, 2005 along with seven other wrestlers in what was thought to have been a cost-cutting measure by the company.[10]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2007; 2009; 2010; 2013)

Upon leaving WWE, Hyson renamed himself Matt "LSD" Hyson. Hyson went on to wrestle at Shane Douglas' Hardcore Homecoming and competed regularly for both the New York Wrestling Connection, Top Rope Promotions, and 2CW Squared Circle Wrestling.

Hyson debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the April 13, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!, preventing Eric Young from driving Brother Devon through a table and attacking each member of Team Canada.[11] Hyson then celebrated with Brother Devon and Brother Ray, with him identifying him as "Brother Spike" and then "Brother Runt".[2] Brother Runt continued to be a part of Team 3D during feuds with Abyss and the James Gang.

At UFW's "Hardcore War" show, Spike stated that he had been sent a contract to compete at WWE's One Night Stand. Spike took out the contract and tore it into pieces in front of the live crowd stating that he was remaining loyal to TNA.

Through the rest of the year, Brother Runt continued to feud with Abyss and several other heavyweight wrestlers while having a short-lived alliance with Raven (Raven saved Brother Runt from being smashed through two stacked tables covered in thumbtack-covered boards from Abyss, before throwing Abyss in himself), before he turned on Raven on September 15, 2006.[12] In September and October 2006 Hyson had formed a new look, very similar to Travis Bickle in the hit 1976 movie Taxi Driver complete with Bickle's trademark green army jacket and mohawk. At No Surrender (2006), Brother Runt competed in a No Disqualification 3-Way Dance which was won by Abyss, At Bound for Glory (2006), Brother Runt competed in a fatal four way Monster's Ball match which was won by Samoa Joe. On the December 21 episode of Impact! Brother Runt made his first TNA appearance in a while dressed up as Santa Claus, and was subsequently beaten down by The Latin American Xchange (LAX) until being saved by Eric Young, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Petey Williams.[13]

At TNA's Final Resolution on January 21, 2007, a drunk Brother Runt cost his Team 3D teammates their NWA World Tag Team Championship match against LAX (Latin American Exchange) by jumping onto Homicide.[14] Runt soon returned to the April 12 episode of Impact! after being attacked by LAX backstage. He was mocked by Konnan who fired a taser gun at him causing Brother Runt to roll around in pain.[15] On August 15, 2007, Runt was released from TNA Wrestling after several months of inactivity.

On April 16, 2009, Brother Runt and Balls Mahoney appeared on TNA Impact! in a taxi interrupting Mike Tenay and Don West to wish Team 3D luck in their match at Lockdown. They later were attacked by Beer Money, Inc..

Hyson made a special appearance to TNA Wrestling's March 15, 2010 episode of Impact! in a six-man tag team match, where he and Team 3D were defeated by The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart. This was said to be a one time deal.[16] On August 4, 2010, it was confirmed that Hyson would be taking part in TNA's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice, on August 8.[17] At the event Hyson, once again using the ring name Brother Runt, was defeated by Rhino in a three-way match, which also included Al Snow.[18]

On January 17, 2013 Hyson made an appearance on TNA Impact Wrestling as one of Bully Ray's groomsmen during his wedding to Brooke Hogan. He was assaulted by Aces & Eights after they crashed the ceremony.[19] On March 19, 2013, Runt appeared at TNA Hardcore Justice 2, teaming with Jeff Hardy to defeat Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) in a tag team tables match, which aired on July 5, 2013.[20]

Independent circuit and other appearances (2007–present)

Hyson, as Spike Dudley posing on the turnbuckle at a Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) live event in Watertown, New York on July 13, 2014.

After he parted ways with TNA, Hyson worked for different independent promotions such as Top Rope Promotions (where he was a trainer), Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW), and Big Time Wrestling (BTW).[1] Since returning to the indies, he reverted to his ECW and WWE name Spike Dudley.

Hyson held the BTW (Massachusetts) heavyweight title from January 2010 – August 14, 2010 when he lost the title to Shane Douglas in Webster, Massachusetts after Douglas hit Hyson with a chain. Hyson wrestled a match on September 11, 2010, losing to Shane Williams at Real Action Wrestling's September 2 Remember in St, Albans, Vermont. He decided that he would take time off after this bout. Hyson returned to the indie scene in 2012 for 2CW.[21]

Hyson appeared as a guest on the "Straight Outta Dudleyville" DVD set in 2016.

Personal life

Hyson was a former third grade teacher in his home state of Rhode Island before getting into the wrestling business.[22] In mid-2006, Hyson trained professional wrestlers at Toprope Promotions in Fall River, Massachusetts[23] until 2010. As of July 2012, Hyson works as a financial planner with MassMutual.[3] He and his wife, Vikki, have a daughter together.[3]

In wrestling

Hyson executing a diving double foot stomp on Rodney Mack in 2003

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Spike Dudley Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Milner, John M.; Powell, John. "Spike Dudley". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Melok, Bobby (July 25, 2012). "Where Are They Now?: Spike Dudley". WWE. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "History of the ECW Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ Powell, John (January 10, 2000). "Overbooking convicts Guilty As Charged". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  6. 1 2 "History Of The World Tag Team Championship – Tazz & Spike Dudley". WWE. January 7, 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "History Of The Cruiserweight Championship – Spike Dudley". WWE. July 24, 2004. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  8. ↑ Plummer, Dale; tylwalk, Nick (December 13, 2004). "WWE survives its own Armageddon". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  9. ↑ "One Night Stand Results". WWE. June 12, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  10. ↑ "WWE releases several Superstars". WWE. July 8, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  11. ↑ Sokol, Chris (April 14, 2006). "Impact: A thoroughly thrilling Thursday". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  12. ↑ Sokol, Chris (September 15, 2006). "Impact: Everyone jobs for Jarrett". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  13. ↑ Sokol, Chris (December 2, 2006). "Impact: Santa, pogo sticks and an ankle lock". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  14. ↑ Sokol, Chris (January 15, 2007). "Cage, Angle on top after Final Resolution". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  15. ↑ Sokol, Chris (April 13, 2007). "Impact: The return of Double J". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  16. ↑ Caldwell, James (March 15, 2010). "Caldwell's TNA Impact Report 3/15: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV show – A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Hardy". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  17. ↑ Nemer, Roy (August 4, 2010). "New names announced for HardCORE Justice PPV". WrestleView. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  18. ↑ Caldwell, James (August 8, 2010). "Caldwell's TNA Hardcore Justice PPV results 8/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of ECW-themed PPV headlined by RVD vs. Sabu". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  19. ↑ Keller, Wade (January 17, 2013). "KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 1/17: The Bully Ray-Brooke Hogan Wedding Episode – What happened? Did Hulk accompany Brooke? Did the wedding end without a hitch?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  20. ↑ Namako, Jason (March 19, 2013). "Spoilers: TNA Hardcore Justice 2 PPV taping". WrestleView. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  21. ↑ https://en-gb.facebook.com/2CWWrestling/posts/10151313510750856
  22. ↑ Williams, Scott E. (2006). Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW. Sports Publishing L.L.C. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-59670-021-5.
  23. ↑ "The Lock Up: School of Professional Wrestling – Contact". The Lock Up School of Professional Wrestling util 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Indy Wrestling News : Big Time Wrestling – 2006-01-27 – Newark, California". Indy Wrestling News. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Chaotic Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  26. ↑ "ECW World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  27. ↑ "New York Wrestling Connection". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  28. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2004". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  29. ↑ "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Willy Wrestlefest. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  30. ↑ "History Of the European Championship – Spike Dudley". WWE. April 8, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  31. ↑ "History Of The Hardcore Championship". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  32. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 22, 2007), "2006 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards", Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA), pp. 1–12, ISSN 1083-9593

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