While taking a break at work yesterday morning, I was thumbing through X and started seeing a headline crawl across my screen…”Kevin Sullivan Has Died”. I kept thumbing through and continued to see the headline over and over. I turned my morning from a happy one to a bit of a somber one.
I never knew Kevin Sullivan personally, so I’m not even going to pretend that his death affects me in some profound way. But what I will say is that as more and more of my childhood “idols” continue to pass away, it makes me think more and more about my own mortality, and how I truly am getting older.
I first discovered pro wrestling back in 1985 when I was 7 years old. I was instantly hooked and immediately began to soak up everything I could about wrestling. I watched every wrestling TV show I had access to, bought every wrestling magazine I could afford, and the one I couldn’t afford I flipped through at the grocery store magazine rack while Mom did her shopping. Being that deep into anything leads you to learn a lot about everything and everyone connected to it.
My first exposure to Kevin Sullivan came via wrestling magazines. He was such a popular/hated character and unique individual that he seemed to get coverage in the mags every month. So I was familiar with the name, and his antics when I first saw him on television. He came into Continental Wrestling in 1986 and I got my first week-to-week experience with him, getting to follow along with his storylines and see him wrestle.
And when he hit the “big time” when he landed in NWA/WCW in 1988, I was already familiar with him, and had a backstory to know who he was, and could now follow his latest exploits in a promotion that I had a lot more access to.
To begin with, I followed along intently through his feud with “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin that involved Garvin’s wife Precious. It was an angle that was more “intense” than what they usually presented, and I was into it. Moving on from there he would engage in a short feud with Dusty Rhodes, and then would move on to form the Varsity Club. The Varsity Club was a lengthy angle with a lot of twists and turns and made for fun television every week for quite a long time.
Sullivan would continue to float along in WCW for several more years, but he would eventually land in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1992/1993. This is where some of my fondest memories of following his career would come from.
Playing off of his past history in wrestling where he was cast as a maniacal character who often skirted the line of being considered a devil worshiper, or cult-like leader, Sullivan came into Smoky Mountain Wrestling as deranged. His feud with Commissioner Bob Armstrong made for compelling TV as Sullivan managed The Nightstalker and he himself engaged in battles with Brian Lee over the Smoky Mountain title and would square off with The Mongolian Stomper in several classic brawls that went all over the building every time they met. Sullivan was also responsible at this time for one of the goriest things I had ever seen in wrestling when he “butchered” a Japanese opponent WING Kanemura on television. There was so much blood that it was censored on television. You can watch it on YouTube if you want to, but viewer discretion is advised.
After this era though, he returned to WCW, and while he was still portrayed as somewhat of a cult-like leader, it was more toned-down, and more presentable for the major television networks carrying WCW. He would go on to form and lead the Dungeon of Doom, a fearsome group of “monsters” on a mission to end Hulkamania. While sen as corny at the time, looking back on it now I’m kind of nostalgic for the era.
After the Dungeon had mostly ran it’s course, he would face off in a feud with Chris Benoit that produced some of my favorite matches of all-time. Especially their battle at Great American Bash 1996 where they fought all over the building, including in the men’s bathroom at the Baltimore Arena. It was a sight to behold.
After that, I’m not sure where Sullivan spent most of his time. He dropped out of vision as far as what wrestling I was watching. I know he went on to work with a lot of younger talent, helping them to become the stars they are today.
The wrestling world has lost one of its greatest minds, and from what I hear, one of its most liked and well-regarded members. For me, his death signifies another of my childhood heroes leaving this world and leaves me wondering when the next will go. Rest in Peace Kevin Sullivan, and thank you for the memories.