Sid Eudy

Sid Eudy
Birth name Sidney Raymond Eudy[1]
Born (1960-12-16) December 16, 1960[2]
West Memphis, Arkansas, United States[2]
Spouse(s) Sabrina Paige (m. 1983)
Children 2, including Frank
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Lord Humongous[2]
Sid[3]
Sid Justice[2]
Sid Steele[2]
Sid Vicious[2]
Sycho Sid[2]
Vicious Warrior[2]
Billed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[3]
Billed weight 317 lb (144 kg)[3]
Billed from Marion, Arkansas
West Memphis, Arkansas[3]
"Wherever he damn well pleases!"
Trained by Tojo Yamamoto[2]
Debut 1987[2]

Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy (born December 16, 1960) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under the ring names Sid Vicious, Sid Justice, Sycho Sid, or simply Sid, and for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Between those promotions, Eudy has enjoyed major championship success and performed to an international television audience in four decades from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

Eudy is a four-time world champion, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice. In addition to world title success, Eudy is a former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. During his tenures with the WWF and WCW, Eudy headlined many major pay-per-views for both organizations, main eventing WrestleManias VIII and 13 in 1992 and 1997 respectively, as well as Starrcade, WCW's counterpart to that event, in 2000.

In speaking of Eudy's impact, WWE wrote, "One of the most brutal Superstars to ever terrorize WWE, the sadistic Sid brought an intensity that few could ever hope to contain. Just ask the litany of ring legends who have incurred his wrath — a hit list that includes Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Bret "Hit Man" Hart and many more."[3]

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1987–1989)

Eudy entered the wrestling industry after an encounter with Randy Savage and his brother Lanny Poffo. After being trained by Tojo Yamamoto, Eudy made his debut as he teamed with Austin Idol and wrestled the team of Nick Bockwinkel and Jerry Lawler. He then adopted the masked wrestler persona known as Lord Humongous.[3]

Eudy began his career in Continental Championship Wrestling in 1987, under a mask and the name Lord Humungous. He also competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he challenged Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship under the name Vicious Warrior, but was unable to win the title. Eudy then made a very brief stint in World Class Championship Wrestling, where he adopted one of his most notable ring names: Sid Vicious, which he took from the punk rock musician of the same name who played bass for the Sex Pistols.[3]

World Championship Wrestling (1989–1991)

In 1989, Eudy signed with World Championship Wrestling and retained his Sid Vicious ring name.[3] He made his debut on June 16, 1989 at a WCW Pro taping in Cleveland, Ohio where he defeated DeWayne Bruce.[4] Originally slated as a singles wrestler, Eudy was eventually paired with Danny Spivey to form The Skyscrapers.[3] Managed by Teddy Long, The Skyscrapers feuded with The Steiner Brothers and The Road Warriors. During this time, he incorporated the Powerbomb as his finishing move. However, the team was short-lived; Eudy was replaced by "Mean" Mark Callous after suffering a broken rib and a punctured lung during a match with The Steiner Brothers at the November 1989 Clash of the Champions.

Following his recovery, Eudy was introduced on the May 11, 1990 edition of NWA Power Hour as the newest member of Ric Flair's Four Horsemen,[3] and he was billed by the ring announcers as being from "wherever he damn well pleases". Sid was the "muscle" of the group and initially brought in to counter-act the strength of RoboCop at Capital Combat. His first televised match back was a 26-second loss to Lex Luger on Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush in which the referee performed a fast three count. As one of the Horsemen, Eudy feuded with Paul Orndorff and the Junkyard Dog. He attacked NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting following the champion's title match of Clash of the Champions XII: Mountain Madness/Fall Brawl '90, setting up his first feud as a singles wrestler. At Halloween Havoc, a fake Sting (Barry Windham), in collusion with Sid, let Sid pin him after switching places with the real Sting in order for Sid to win the belt. However, they were thwarted when the real Sting came out and beat Sid to retain the title.

Sid's association with the Horsemen became tenuous following this episode, and he began a quasi-face run in November 1990 when he faced The Nightstalker at Clash of the Champions XIII: Thanksgiving Thunder. Eudy won but was attacked post-match by the debuting Big Cat. In response Sid recruited former partner Spivey for a short-lived reunion of the Skyscrapers at Starrcade 1990, where the two defeated The Big Cat and The Motor City Madman. Following this match Eudy made an abrupt return to heel status, ending Trucker Norm's WCW run in January 1991 and squashing Joey Maggs at Clash of the Champions XIV: Dixie Dynamite later that month. He returned to full-fledged Horsemen activity and participated in the WarGames match at WrestleWar. The Horsemen amicably split in April 1991, during which time he entered negotiations with the WWF. Despite a huge contract offer and a promise of a world championship run, Eudy announced his intentions to leave WCW. Before departing he had a short feud with El Gigante that ended with his loss to the giant at SuperBrawl I.

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1992)

At a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping on May 28, 1991 in Tuscson, AZ, Eudy would make his WWF debut in an untelevised segment that saw him clear the ring of The Mountie following the rulebreaker's challenge for anyone to come out an fight him. A night later at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Tempe, AZ, Earthquake made a similar challenge, asking for anyone to come out and bodyslam him. Sid answered and bodyslammed him. On June 8, the first mention of Eudy was made on television, as the WWF began airing clips of him glaring or smiling at the camera. On June 22 on Prime Time Wrestling, he was formally mentioned as "Sid Justice" by host Vince McMahon following another segment. Sid would make his wrestling debut on July 8, defeating Ted DiBiase in a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Calgary, Alberta Canada.[5]

On the July 20, 1991 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Eudy made his televised World Wrestling Federation debut as a babyface under the name Sid Justice. He was announced as the special guest referee for the main event of that year's SummerSlam, where The Ultimate Warrior and then WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan teamed up against The Triangle of Terror (Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa, and Gen. Adnan) in a 3-on-2 handicap match. Later that night, Sid saved "The Macho Man" Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth from an attack at the hands of The Undertaker and Jake "The Snake" Roberts at the newly wed couple's reception. Sid dominated a short feud against The Undertaker before he took on Roberts. In a match with Roberts, Sid injured his biceps and was forced to miss the Survivor Series pay-per-view. According to Roberts, Sid was originally supposed to be the victim of the King Cobra biting his arm, but due to the biceps injury, the snake bite was given to Randy Savage instead.

Sid returned to active duty at the Royal Rumble, emanating from Albany, New York that year. This particular edition had a special stipulation: the winner would win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Title, which had been stripped from Hulk Hogan after two controversial title switches in a row between Hulk and The Undertaker. Sid entered at #29, and was among the final four wrestlers, along with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Ric Flair, before he eliminated both Savage and then Hogan, leaving himself and Flair in the ring. During the initial live pay-per-view broadcast, this action was loudly cheered by the audience in attendance even though, as per storyline plans, Sid "sneaked up from behind" to throw Hogan out. The reaction is in retrospect widely believed to be due to a combination of fans tiring of Hogan's All-American superhero persona after eight years, and also responding positively to Sid's charisma. Nevertheless, this reaction was edited out of future television replays as well as the Coliseum home video release of the event; play-by-play announcer Gorilla Monsoon even re-recorded his voice-over commentary, now condemning Sid for his actions when he previously said that Justice's elimination of Hogan was fair as the Rumble's motto was "Every man for himself". Hogan, who was still at ringside after being eliminated, grabbed Sid's arm and tried to pull him over the top rope, giving Flair the chance to grab Sid's legs and throw him out to win the match and become the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Sid and Hogan got into an argument in the ring and had to be separated by approximately 10 WWF officials and security. This incident, despite the vast majority of those in the Knickerbocker Arena cheering him and booing Hogan, began Sid's turn into a heel.

Less than a week later, on the January 25 episode of Superstars, WWF President Jack Tunney held a press conference to announce who among Sid, Savage, Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and The Undertaker would face Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania VIII. Before Tunney even announced who the number one contender would be, Sid stood up as if Tunney called his name. Yet to Sid's annoyance, Tunney chose Hogan. After the press conference, Sid referred to it as "the most bogus act Jack Tunney has ever pulled off" claiming that as the last wrestler eliminated from the Rumble he should have been chosen to face Flair. Sid later issued an apology to Hogan, which Hogan accepted. Sid and Hogan then teamed up to face The Undertaker and Flair on the February 8 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. During the match, after he double clotheslined Undertaker and Flair, Hogan reached to Sid for a tag. However, Sid refused to tag in and walked out of the match, completing his heel turn. Despite this, Hogan won the match by disqualification.

On February 23 on an episode of Wrestling Challenge, Sid appeared as a guest on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's "The Barber Shop". Knowing that Hulk Hogan (Beefcake's long-time real life friend) was not in the arena, Sid threatened Beefcake and chased him off the set before destroying the Barber Shop with a chair. Later that night, it was announced that Hogan would battle Sid (and not WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair) at the main event of WrestleMania VIII, resulting in Flair facing Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Title instead. A week later, Sid hired Harvey Whippleman as his manager. Sid also began a post-match gimmick where he would further "injure" his defeated opponents with one or more powerbombs (his finishing move), and sometimes — after the defeated wrestler placed on a stretcher — following this up by grabbing the stretcher and running it into a fixture, such as a ringpost or guardrail.

During this time, Sid was involved in a squash match with Hercules at Madison Square Garden. Sid won the match in under 30 seconds following a powerbomb. However a disgusted Hercules, who was wrestling his last ever match for the WWF as he had been given his release by the company, no-sold the move after being pinned and simply got up and walked back to the locker room as if nothing had happened.

At WrestleMania VIII, Sid lost his match to Hogan by disqualification when Papa Shango interfered on Sid's behalf, allowing the two to double-team Hogan until the returning Ultimate Warrior stormed the ring and saved Hogan. Nearing the end of the match, Sid kicked out of Hogan's trademark running leg drop; according to popular belief, Charles Wright (who portrayed a Voodoo practitioner named Papa Shango) missed his cue to break up the pin attempt and give Hogan the win by disqualification. As a result of Shango being late in, Sid had to improvise by kicking out of Hogan's finisher (something no other wrestler had done since Hogan's WWF face run had started in late 1983) and referee Dave Hebner had to improvise a DQ which came when Whippleman quickly jumped into the ring to get involved. During the match, Monsoon referred to Sid as Sycho Sid, a name that Eudy would use during his later-1990s run in the WWF.

On a November 22, 2011 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer confirmed a story where Sid failed a drug test prior to his WrestleMania match with Hulk Hogan. He was allowed to do the match and then went on their European tour. After the tour, he was told he was going to serve his suspension, resulting in Eudy quitting instead and pursuing a career in softball.[6] At the time of his departure from the WWF Sid was about to embark on a feud with The Ultimate Warrior who had returned at Wrestlemania VIII (he had been suspended, then resigned following SummerSlam) to save Hulk Hogan from the beat down from Sid and Papa Shango, the story being that Sid was angry the Warrior had stuck his nose in his business (the pair even cut promos before Sid left). Justice competed on the WWF's European tour in April 1992, then began his feud with Warrior in the US. They wrestled on two house shows, with Warrior winning twice by disqualification. After wrestling Warrior in Boston, MA on April 26, Eudy then left the company.[7] The WWF replaced Sid with Papa Shango in the feud with Warrior.

Return to WCW (1993)

Eudy, under his Sid Vicious ring name, returned to WCW in May 1993 as a mystery competitor of Col. Robert Parker against Van Hammer at Slamboree. Sid defeated Hammer in a stretcher match. That summer he teamed with Big Van Vader and reignited his feud with Sting. At Fall Brawl, Sting's team (Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, and The Shockmaster) defeated Sid's team (Sid, Vader, and Harlem Heat) in a WarGames match. At Halloween Havoc, Sid faced Sting in a rematch of the same pay-per-view three years previous, but was beaten via a roll-up. The following week on television Sid turned on Rob Parker and became a babyface.

During their United Kingdom tour in Blackburn, Lancashire on October 27, Eudy was involved in a hotel room scuffle with Arn Anderson that resulted in both wrestlers stabbing each other with scissors. Both were rushed to the hospital, as Anderson suffered scissor stab wounds to the chest and stomach. Vicious stabbed Anderson twenty times, while being stabbed four times himself.[2] Sid was released from WCW after several wrestlers threatened to walk out because of him. It had been planned to have Sid challenge then WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader at that year's Starrcade, but Sid's departure removed him from this match and Ric Flair was elevated to be the challenger against Vader. Based on Worldwide tapings that took place prior to his departure, Sid would have defeated Vader and become the new champion. In one event never aired on television at these tapings, Sid placed the massive Vader in a torture rack.

United States Wrestling Association (1994–1995)

Following his departure from WCW, Eudy returned to United States Wrestling Association in Memphis, where he began feuding with old rival Jerry Lawler. On July 16, he won the promotion's Unified World Heavyweight Championship by forfeit when Lawler, who had been attacked and injured by Eudy earlier in the card, could not appear for the scheduled match. While Lawler was able to defeat Eudy in non-title matches, Eudy was able to retain his title in several championship defenses through screwjobs initiated by The Spellbinder, his ally at the time. Sid also participated in the UWF Blackjack Brawl in September 1994, challenging "Dr. Death" Steve Williams for the UWF World Heavyweight Championship. On February 6, 1995, Lawler won the Unified World Heavyweight Title back from Sid.

Return to the WWF (1995–1997)

Alliance with Shawn Michaels and The Million Dollar Corporation

Sycho Sid in 1995.

On the February 20, 1995 episode of Raw, Eudy returned to the WWF under the ring name Sycho Sid, where he became the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels. Along with Jenny McCarthy, Sid accompanied Michaels to ringside for Michaels' WWF World Heavyweight Championship match against then champion and Michaels' former bodyguard, Diesel, at WrestleMania XI. Michaels had the match won after hitting his signature Sweet Chin Music, but Sid stood on the ring apron and distracted referee Earl Hebner, allowing Diesel time to recover and pin Michaels after a Jackknife Powerbomb to win the match and retain his title. The next night on Raw, Michaels expressed dissatisfaction with Sid's interference and gave him the night off for his rematch against Diesel at the first-ever In Your House pay-per-view. In response, Sid replied to Shawn, "You don't give me the night off!", and attacked Michaels from behind before powerbombing him three times, turning Michaels into a face again. Diesel came to Michaels' aid and clotheslined Sid over the top rope. Michaels claimed to have sustained a legitimate back injury as a result of the attack and was sidelined for six weeks, thus taking him out of the title bout.

Two weeks later on the April 17 episode of Raw, Ted DiBiase announced Sid as the newest member of the Million Dollar Corporation after Bam Bam Bigelow left the Corporation. After joining, Sid challenged Diesel to a match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at In Your House, which Diesel accepted. Diesel won the match via disqualification, and thus retained his title, when Tatanka interfered. After the match, Sid and Tatanka continued to double-team Diesel until Bam Bam Bigelow came out to save him. At the King of the Ring, Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Sid and Tatanka. Sid faced Diesel once again at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks for the WWF World Heavyweight Title in a lumberjack match, which Diesel won to end the feud. Following this, Sid moved on to a feud with Shawn Michaels and was scheduled to face him at SummerSlam, but was replaced by Razor Ramon at the request of WWF President Gorilla Monsoon, with Ramon challenging for Michaels' Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match as Sid was seen watching on the backstage television monitors. On the September 5 episode of Raw, Sid faced Michaels for the title but lost after being hit with Sweet Chin Music three times. Sid then started a brief feud with Henry Godwinn, culminating in a victory over Godwinn at In Your House 3: Triple Header.

On the November 13 episode of Raw, Sid faced the Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon in a non-title match, with Ramon's friend The 1–2–3 Kid as the special guest referee. Razor was about deliver the Razor's Edge on Sid, but The 1–2–3 Kid helped Sid avoid it, allowing Sid to pin Ramon after a powerbomb, with the Kid making a fast count. After the match, the Kid turned heel and joined the Million Dollar Corporation. In the first elimination match at Survivor Series, Sid and Corporation leader Ted DiBiase helped The 1–2–3 Kid pin Marty Jannetty to win and become the sole survivor for his team. Later in the event, Sid was randomly teamed up with his rival Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and The British Bulldog to face Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, and Dean Douglas in a "Wild Card" Survivor Series Match. Sid was eliminated by Razor Ramon after Michaels hit Sid with Sweet Chin Music. After his elimination, Sid powerbombed Michaels. At In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings, Razor Ramon and Marty Jannetty defeated Sid and The 1–2–3 Kid. Sid and The 1–2–3 Kid teamed up the next night to participate in the first-ever Raw Bowl, which The Smoking Gunns won. Shortly after, Sid suffered a serious neck injury and retired.[8]

Return from injury, WWF Champion, and second departure

Eudy would not be seen again until the July 8 episode of Raw, when he was announced as the replacement for The Ultimate Warrior (who had left the WWF) for the six-man tag team match, teaming with former rival Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson against Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog at the main event of In Your House 9: International Incident, effectively making him a face. However, Sid's team lost the match.

Sid earned himself into contention for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and left the company very soon after losing it to The Undertaker.

The next night on Raw, Sid started a feud with The British Bulldog. Sid faced the Bulldog at SummerSlam on August 18 and pinned Bulldog with the powerbomb. At In Your House 10: Mind Games on September 22, Shawn Michaels hit Mankind with Sweet Chin Music and went for the pin to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, but Vader came out, broke up the count, attacked Michaels, and got Mankind disqualified. After the match, Mankind and Vader double-teamed Michaels until Sid came out to make the save. He and Vader fought their way backstage, starting a feud between the two. Sid fought Vader at In Your House 11: Buried Alive on October 20 in a match where the winner would face Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series on November 17. As Sid was about to powerbomb Vader, Vader's manager Jim Cornette got on the ring apron to distract him. Michaels responded and pulled Cornette off the apron before hitting him with Sweet Chin Music. Sid then pinned Vader with a chokeslam to win the match and to become the number one contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Sid celebrated his victory with Michaels.

At the 1996 edition of the Survivor Series, history repeated itself. Sid grabbed a camera from the camera operator and prepared to hit Michaels with it. Michaels' manager, Jose Lothario, got on the ring apron and told Sid to put the camera down, but Sid refused and hit Lothario in the chest with the camera instead. Although this was the act of a heel, the audience cheered wildly for him and booed Michaels, just as they had done, in Sid's favor, four and a half years earlier against Hogan at the Royal Rumble. Sid dropped the camera, and as soon as he turned around, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music; however, Michaels went outside the ring to check on his manager instead of going for the pin. Sid hit Michaels in the back with the camera, then threw him back in the ring before hitting him with the powerbomb to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

At In Your House 12: It's Time on December 15, Sid defended the title against Bret Hart in a match where the winner would defend the title against Shawn Michaels at the 1997 Royal Rumble on January 19. Hart made Sid tap out to the Sharpshooter, but the referee was knocked out and unable to witness the submission. As Shawn Michaels was commentating at ringside, Sid and Hart left the ring and started fighting right beside him. After Sid had pushed Michaels then climbed into the ring with Hart, Michaels went to hit Sid but Sid threw Hart into him. Sid then pinned Hart with the powerbomb to retain the title.

At the Royal Rumble, Sid defended the title against Michaels. During the match, Sid hit the chokeslam on Michaels and repeatedly powerbombed him outside the ring. Later on in the match, Jose Lothario got on the ring apron, and Sid approached him, but before he could do anything to Lothario, Michaels hit Sid in the back and the face with the camera, knocking him out in the process. Michaels went for the pin, but Sid managed to kick out. Michaels then hit Sid with Sweet Chin Music to become the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for the second time. Michaels soon forfeited the title due to being unable to wrestle, a claim still widely disputed by many during that time, especially Bret Hart, who believed Michaels didn't want to drop the title to him at WrestleMania 13. At In Your House 13: Final Four in Chattanooga, a four-way title match was held for the vacant belt between Bret Hart, the Undertaker, Vader, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Hart won, and was scheduled to face Sid the following night, on the February 17, 1997, episode of Raw. During that match, Hart had Sid trapped in the Sharpshooter submission when Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom Hart was feuding with, came to the outside of the ring and hit Hart with a steel chair, allowing Sid to hit Hart with the powerbomb to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship for the second time.

At WrestleMania 13 on March 23, Sid defended the title against The Undertaker. Hart interfered during the match, allowing The Undertaker to hit the Tombstone Piledriver and pin Sid to become the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for the second time. The next night on Raw, Sid made one more appearance after Bret Hart attacked an injured Shawn Michaels in the ring after a face to face promo about Bret Hart turning on the fans. Following this, Sid was kept off of television until the May 12 episode of Raw, where he returned as a face. He competed against Owen Hart and defeated him to become the partner of The Legion Of Doom in their feud with The Hart Foundation. At King of the Ring on June 8, Sid and The Legion of Doom faced The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart) in a six-man tag team match, which The Hart Foundation won when Owen pinned Sid with a roll-up. On June 9, Sid defeated Owen on Raw before disappearing from television for over a month. He returned on the July 14 episode of Raw, making a brief final appearance before leaving the WWF once again to recover from a neck injury that would require surgery.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999)

After some time on the Tennessee independent circuit, Eudy debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling in January 1999, where he feuded with The Dudley Boyz, John Kronus, Skull Von Krush and Justin Credible. He left ECW in May due to the monetary problems plaguing the promotion.

Second return to WCW (1999–2001)

At the behest of his real life friends Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, Eudy returned to WCW in mid-1999, joining Randy Savage's heel stable Team Madness. Upon his return, he took the nickname of "The Millennium Man" shortly after Chris Jericho's "Millennium Man" gimmick debuted in the WWF. WCW even released a home video highlighting Sid's return to WCW called Sid Vicious: Millennium Man. Additionally, Sid was dubbed as undefeated, having a winning streak much like Goldberg had previously; although, the majority of this streak was due to Sid coming to the ring and attacking wrestlers already in a match or immediately following their match and thus "defeating" them. On September 12, 1999, Sid won his first and only United States Heavyweight Championship from Chris Benoit at Fall Brawl. He then began a feud with Goldberg who challenged him for the United States Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc. Earlier that night, however, their backstage fighting led Sid to require stitches, though he refused to be treated, which led to Sid bleeding openly the entire night. After brawling with Goldberg, a weary Sid lost the bout due to excessive bleeding, awarding Goldberg the United States Heavyweight Championship against his opponent's will. Sid lost again to Goldberg in an "I Quit" match at Mayhem, effectively ending their feud and Sid's "streak."

After the "Millennium Man" gimmick ran dry, Sid became a face and started to contend for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He was placed in a match at Souled Out in January to fill the suddenly vacant title after Bret Hart was forced to relinquish it due to a concussion. Sid would lose the match to Chris Benoit, but the title was again vacated as Benoit left for the WWF the next day. The onscreen explanation was that Sid's foot was under the rope during his submission loss. The next week, Sid was presented with a challenge by Nash, who had become commissioner of WCW. If he could beat Don and Ron Harris in a match on Monday Nitro that night, he would face Nash for the championship that night. Sid managed to defeat the Harris Brothers and eventually Nash himself to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Two nights later on Thunder, Nash stripped Sid of the championship due to him not beating the legal Harris brother in the match on Nitro. A rematch between Sid and Nash was set up, but Sid again defeated Nash on Nitro to win the title for a second time. He later successfully defended the title at SuperBrawl 2000 in a three-way match against Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett.

On March 19, Sid defended his title against Jeff Jarrett thanks in part to help from a returning Hulk Hogan, which set up a match for the following night's Nitro pitting Sid and Hogan vs. Jarrett and Scott Steiner. During the course of the match, Sid turned heel and attacked Hogan, due to his being incensed that the fans were chanting Hogan's name. He chokeslammed Hogan and forced the referee to count Hogan being pinned, although the official result was a no contest. This apparently might have been to set up a match for the upcoming Spring Stampede pay-per-view in April. However, shortly after this, WCW began its New Blood angle and Sid (along with all the other WCW champions at the time) was stripped of his championship. He did not play a large role in the angle that followed, and was kept off of television for several months. He returned late in the year as a challenger for Scott Steiner's WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but Sid failed to defeat Steiner in their title match at Starrcade.

Injury and retirement

On January 14, 2001 at the Sin pay-per-view in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse (now Banker's Life Fieldhouse), Sid faced Steiner, Jarrett, and Road Warrior Animal in a Four Corners match for the WCW Championship. During the bout; however, he suffered a near career-ending injury.[3]

Members of WCW management allegedly felt that Eudy needed to broaden his arsenal of wrestling moves and suggested that he try an aerial maneuver, despite his "unwillingness." Eudy felt it unnecessary for a wrestler of his size and type to do high spots and didn't feel comfortable doing them. During the match, Eudy suffered a leg fracture following his leap from the second turnbuckle in an attempted big boot on Steiner. This had him awkwardly landing on one foot while kicking with the other, severely fracturing the leg he landed on. Eudy broke his left leg in half, snapping both the tibia and fibula, with at least one of the bones breaking through the skin.[9] The fracture was too graphic for many TV stations to re-air,[9] although it was shown on the following Nitro.

The injury put Sid out of action indefinitely, and he pondered retiring from wrestling for good: "I had about a year left on my contract, and I was thinking back then prior to hurting my leg what was I going to do as far as wrapping up my career. The only thing I really wanted to do was ideally go out in a big pay-per-view, like a WrestleMania or something like that main event, leave like that, and not come back again. It would really be the retirement match".[10]

A 17-inch (43 cm) rod was placed in his leg during the two-hour surgery. For a while, Eudy used a cane to walk. Sid later sued WCW, claiming that he was made to jump off the second rope against his objections.[10] The injury forced a plot change in the 2001 SuperBrawl Revenge event. The main event was supposed to be Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, and Sid against Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, and Road Warrior Animal but was rewritten as Kevin Nash versus Scott Steiner. WCW would then be purchased by the WWF the following month, ceasing any possibility of Sid's return to that company.

In an early 2000s interview when asked about his feud with Sid in the WWF in 1992, Hulk Hogan complimented him by saying that he was "very professional" and "a great person to work with and would do just about anything he was asked to do". He also complimented his quick thinking at the end of their match at Wrestlemania VIII when he was forced to improvise by kicking out of Hogan's leg drop finisher as Papa Shango had missed his cue and was late getting to the ring.

Later career (2002–2012)

During his rehabilitation, Eudy made several appearances as World Wrestling All-Stars's commissioner during its 2002 Australian tour, though at the beginning of WWA's Sydney show, it was announced that Eudy would not be featured due to a broken arm. On June 5, 2004, Eudy returned to active wrestling with the Canadian-based Internet Wrestling Syndicate. Appearing as Pierre Carl Ouellet's mystery partner, Eudy competed in and won a ten team battle royal.

On July 14, 2007, Eudy debuted in Memphis Wrestling and started a feud with old rival Jerry Lawler while serving as "Hollywood" Jimmy Blaylock's enforcer. Sid also appeared at the Juggalo Championship Wrestling event Evansville Invasion, helping Tracy Smothers attack the promotion's Heavyweight Champion Corporal Robinson. Following this, Eudy had a match at the "Jerry Lawler 35th Anniversary Wrestling event" on November 7, 2008 at the Tennessee Fairgrounds. He wrestled in the main event and lost to Lawler. On February 28, 2009, Eudy returned to Memphis Wrestling and won a battle royal before defeating Lawler in a rematch.

On the June 25, 2012 episode of WWE Raw, Eudy made his return to WWE as Sycho Sid in a match against Heath Slater, where he defeated Slater as part of the ongoing celebration building up to WWE's 1000th episode of Raw. It was his first appearance on Raw since the July 14, 1997 episode and his first match on the show since June 9 of that year. Eudy would reappear on the actual 1000th episode on July 23, where he and other WWE Legends helped Lita take down Slater.[11]

Other media

Sid made an appearance in the 2000 film Ready to Rumble alongside David Arquette and Scott Caan. In 2011, Sid starred alongside fellow wrestlers Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash in the horror movie River of Darkness. Sid also starred in the 2011 horror film Death from Above, alongside fellow wrestlers Kurt Angle, James Storm, Matt Morgan, Terry Gerin and Jessica Kresa. On August 2, 2012, Sid appeared on the CBS reality show Big Brother 14 where his son, Frank, was a contestant, speaking about his son, their relationship, and how he is in full support and never misses an episode cheering him on.

Filmograpy
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Ready to Rumble Himself
2011 Death from Above Herzog
River of Darkness Jonah Jacobs

Personal life

Eudy and his wife, Sabrina Paige (née Estes), were married on December 30, 1983, in Shelby County, Tennessee. They have two sons: Frank, a cast member on the CBS reality show Big Brother 14, and Gunnar Eudy.[12]

In wrestling

Sid was managed by Ted DiBiase during his time in the Million Dollar Corporation.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cagematch profile".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "OWOW profile".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Sid's Alumni Profile". WWE. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  4. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw89.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/91.htm
  6. ↑ "Push-To-Nothing – Sid Justice (1991–92)". WrestleHistory.com.
  7. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/92.htm
  8. ↑ Sid Vicious, Shoot Interview Vol. 1, by RF Video.
  9. 1 2 Mike Mooneyham (January 21, 2001). "Third Time Charm For Bischoff?". The Wrestling Gospel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  10. 1 2 Jeff Kohl (May 3, 2001). "Sid Vicious considering retirement". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  11. ↑ "411's Live RAW Coverage 06.25.12".
  12. ↑ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20628542,00.html
  13. ↑ "Thunder report on January 26, 2000".
  14. ↑ "Thunder report on February 2, 2000".
  15. 1 2 3 "Nitro report on January 24, 2000".
  16. ↑ "Nitro report on October 11, 1999".
  17. ↑ "Nitro report on February 7, 2000".
  18. 1 2 "Bash at the Beach report on July 11, 1999".
  19. 1 2 "Nitro report on July 12, 1999".
  20. ↑ "Halloween Havoc report on October 24, 1999".
  21. ↑ "Thunder report on July 22, 1999".
  22. ↑ "Sin report on January 14, 2001".
  23. 1 2 "Road Wild report on August 14, 1999".
  24. 1 2 "Nitro report on August 16, 1999".
  25. ↑ "Starrcade report on December 19, 1999".
  26. ↑ "Souled Out report on January 16, 2000".
  27. ↑ "Nitro report on December 12, 2000".
  28. 1 2 3 "Managers".
  29. ↑ "House of Humperdink". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  30. ↑ "Bruno Lauer's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  31. ↑ "Themes".
  32. ↑ "WWE Anthology track listing".
  33. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  34. ↑ "CWA Heavyweight Championship history".
  35. ↑ "NWA Northeast Heavyweight Championship history".
  36. ↑ "NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship history".
  37. ↑ "CWF Tag Team Championship history".
  38. ↑ "NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship history".
  39. ↑ "USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship history".
  40. ↑ "Sid's first WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign".
  41. ↑ "Sid's second WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign".
  42. ↑ "Sid's first WCW United States Heavyweight Championship reign".
  43. ↑ "Sid's first WWF Championship reign".
  44. ↑ "Sid's second WWF Championship reign".

External links

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