Dan Spivey

Real Name - Daniel Eugene Spivey

Birthdate - 10/14/52

6’7” 310 lbs. - Tampa, FL

Athletic Background - Football (University of Georgia)

Teacher(s) - Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, Rick Martel

Professional Background - NWA/JCP(`84-`85), Kansas City(`85), WWF(`85-`88), All Japan(`88-`95), WCW(`89-`90), Florida(`89-`92), UWF(`90-`95), WCW(`91), WWF(`95)

Aliases - Danny Spivey, Starship Eagle, Waylon Mercy

Groups - The Skyscrapers

Peak Years - `89-`92

Finisher(s) - 

- Powerbomb

- Spivey Spike (DDT)

- Sleeper

- Spike Slam

- Bulldog

Favorites -

- Sidewalk Slam

- Catching Backbreaker

- Lariat

- Gutwrench Suplex

- Big Boot

Place in History - There has always been a curious dichotomy of American pro-wrestlers who focused their careers in Japan.  Although some like Steve Williams, Vader and Abdullah the Butcher had great success on both sides of the Pacific, others like Scott Norton, The Patriot and the Can-Am Express were never quite able to reach the level of success in the US that they enjoyed in Japan.  Dan Spivey is a similar case.  An accomplished football player whose career never panned out, Spivey sort of fell into pro-wrestling.  He was given several decent pushes in his early years teaming with a green Scott Hall in the NWA and Mike Rotundo in the WWF.  As the “Golden Boy” in the WWF, Spivey seemed to have potential as a tall and well built blond babyface.  However, the story goes he was too similar to Hulk Hogan, so he had to go.  He found a spot in All Japan and would remain a regular for close to a decade.  Spivey had a reputation as a legit tough guy and with his size and look, everything came together for him.  Giant Baba’s company was at its peak and had some of the best talent in world.  Spivey became a regular partner of Stan Hansen and later Johnny Ace as he often worked with younger talent coming in.  Although he would never be considered a legendary foreigner, Spivey was an All Japan regular for years when the company was red hot.  In the United States, Spivey had two distinct opportunities.  First, was as half of the Skyscrapers with Sid Vicious and later Mark Callous.  Both versions benefited from the intensity and physical style that Spivey brought.  They were rivals to the Road Warriors, but never quite reached the level they could have.  Spivey later came into the WWF after his All Japan run working as Waylon Mercy, a gimmick heavily influenced by Cape Fear’s Max Cady.  Although the persona never really took off, it was undoubtedly memorable as a broken down Danny Spivey was able to display some of the aggressiveness that made him a key supporting player in Japan for all those years.  Unfortunately, Spivey was in his forties and his injuries and substance abuse problems curtailed that run.  After retiring, Spivey developed serious abuse issues before cleaning himself up and dedicating himself to help others with their demons.