He was a rival of Hulk Hogan and a defining figure in recent wrestling history. Now Kevin Sullivan has died as a result of a “devastating accident.”
Mourning for a legend with a formative influence on recent wrestling history: Kevin Sullivan is dead.
The former arch-rival of showdown icons Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan had been fighting for his life for some time: last month, his family revealed that Sullivan had a “devastating accident” last May and was in intensive care.
Emergency surgery would have saved Sullivan from an impending leg amputation, but there were severe complications, including brain inflammation and sepsis, a life-threatening overreaction of the body’s defenses.
Sullivan’s tragedy has been on the scene for some time, with a fundraising campaign to help the family cope with treatment costs, including WWE Champion Cody Rhodes (son of Sullivan’s companion Dusty) and AEW boss Tony Khan.
Kevin Sullivan showed the Undertaker the way
Boston-born Sullivan had been active in the ring since the seventies and achieved greater fame in the eighties when he formed the “Army of Darkness” in Florida: Sullivan staged himself as a dark Satanist who was allegedly in league with otherworldly powers
The National Wrestling Alliance sends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Kevin Sullivan. A true legend in the world of professional wrestling, Kevin’s impact on the industry will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come. pic.twitter.com/L09H4PfKIU
– NWA (@nwa) August 9, 2024
Sullivan’s character had a major feud with Dusty Rhodes and was also an antagonist for several other popular crowd favorites. The fusion of wrestling and mystery and horror elements paved the way for later supernatural characters such as the Undertaker and Bray Wyatt.
The “Prince of Darkness” also drove the development as a “booker”, the creative mind behind the scenes.
Trashy opponent of Hulk Hogan in the nineties
From the end of the 1980s, Sullivan was active for many years in front of and behind the camera at the then WWE rival WCW: fans of the 1990s remember him above all as the leader of the Dungeon of Doom, which was staged from 1994 as the great opponent of Hulk Hogan, who was signed by WWE.
The Dungeon of Doom – which also introduced the later WWE legend Big Show to WCW as “The Giant” – was more comic trash than truly terrifying, but also achieved a certain cult factor.
Sullivan also had an influence on wrestling history through his role as booker: his match with Brian Pillman, who died tragically young, became famous for blurring the boundaries between truth and fiction, breaking off the fight with the words “I respect you, bookerman” and thus cementing his myth as the incalculable “Loose Cannon”.
At the end of the nineties, Sullivan’s wife Nancy – known on camera as Woman – left him in real life for his colleague and then rival Chris Benoit. The spicy private affair contributed to Benoit’s move to WWE in 2000, dealing a serious blow to the struggling WCW.
The tragic end to the story is known to every wrestling fan: Benoit – mentally and physically damaged, especially from the consequences of severe head injuries – murdered Nancy and their son Daniel in 2007 and then committed suicide.
Triple H: “He pushed creative boundaries “
Current WWE leader “Triple H” Paul Levesque paid tribute to Sullivan as a groundbreaking figure after his death.
“Kevin Sullivan was one of the most unique minds in the history of our business, pushing creative boundaries and creating some of the most exciting characters to ever enter the ring. He had an unwavering passion for what we do.”
Sullivan was still in the ring in minor leagues at an advanced age until shortly before the coronavirus pandemic began. He was 74 years old
