1. Dan Spivey retired from wrestling in 1995 due to injuries and now works in alcoholism counselling in his native Florida.
45 Facts About Dan Spivey
1. 2.
Dan Spivey started his career teaming with Starship Coyote, collectively known as "American Starship".
3.
Dan Spivey's last wrestling persona, Waylon Mercy, was inspired by Robert De Niro's portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear.
4.
Dan Spivey attended the University of Georgia, where he played football for the Georgia Bulldogs for three seasons as a defensive end and was named an All-American football player in his sophomore year.
5.
Dan Spivey aimed to play football professionally and was drafted by the New York Jets but did not sign with the Jets, instead deciding to sign with the Jacksonville Express of the World Football League in June 1975.
6.
Dan Spivey was released by the Express in late July 1975, before the start of the regular season.
7.
Dan Spivey spent several years working in a number of jobs in Tampa before meeting professional wrestler Dusty Rhodes, who offered to train him to wrestle.
8.
Dan Spivey was trained as a wrestler by Dusty Rhodes, the then-booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and made his debut in 1983.
9.
Dan Spivey adopted the ring name "Eagle" and Hall the ring name "Coyote".
10.
Dan Spivey's stay in the Central States territory was short-lived, according to Scott Hall Dan Spivey did not like Kansas City.
11.
Dan Spivey returned to the Carolinas where he worked as "American Starship" Eagle.
12.
Dan Spivey was brought into team with Mike Rotunda as The US Express after Barry Windham left the federation.
13.
Dan Spivey was eliminated by The Iron Sheik without much fanfare.
14.
Not long before Rotundo left the WWF, Spivey began to be billed as "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey which continued for his singles run after Rotundo left.
15.
Dan Spivey's in-ring appearance at the time led to many fans labelling him a Hulk Hogan clone.
16.
Dan Spivey took part in the 1986 King of the Ring tournament, losing to Nikolai Volkoff in the first round.
17.
In March 1987 Dan Spivey teamed with Tito Santana to unsuccessfully challenge the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles.
18.
Dan Spivey stayed with the WWF until the spring of 1988, becoming a heel and competing mainly against such low carders as Lanny Poffo and Outback Jack.
19.
In 1991, Dan Spivey testified that Dr George Zaharian had illegally supplied him with anabolic steroids in the late 1980s.
20.
Dan Spivey teamed with Johnny Ace, a man he would team with many times during his Japanese tours.
21.
In early 1989, Dan Spivey returned to the NWA and Jim Crockett.
22.
Dan Spivey was made a member of The Varsity Club as a replacement for Rick Steiner, who left the group.
23.
Dan Spivey would go on to hold the title until July 1992, when he lost it to Lou Perez.
24.
However, in the days before the scheduled Chicago Street Fight at WrestleWar 1990, Dan Spivey suddenly left WCW, leaving the bookers to scramble for a replacement.
25.
Dan Spivey stated in a shoot interview that he left the company over money issues, as well as his dislike of the Road Warriors themselves for taking what he perceived as liberties with his tag-team partner "Mean" Mark Callous.
26.
Dan Spivey kept on touring with AJPW while working for the NWA, mainly teaming with Stan Hansen.
27.
Dan Spivey did not win the title, although he continued to receive opportunities during house shows in March 1991.
28.
Dan Spivey refused since the duo were the World Tag Team Champions.
29.
Dan Spivey managed to mend fences with WCW and was brought in by new WCW Executive Vice President Bill Watts at the start of the summer of 1992.
30.
Dan Spivey was given a renewed push and was undefeated in the summer against lower-level opposition.
31.
Dan Spivey found himself frequently teaming with fellow new signing, The Barbarian.
32.
Dan Spivey was originally booked to team with The Barbarian at the Clash of the Champions XX in a match against Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes, but was replaced by the newly arrived Butch Reed.
33.
Dan Spivey returned in December and suffered his first singles loss of his comeback on December 12,1992, in Columbus, OH when he was defeated by WCW World Champion Ron Simmons.
34.
Dan Spivey was eliminated from the main event battle royal by eventual winner The Great Muta.
35.
Dan Spivey's last televised match aired on the January 2,1993 edition of WCW Worldwide where he lost to Dustin Rhodes.
36.
In 1990, Dan Spivey made regular American appearances for Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation.
37.
Dan Spivey rejoined the WWF in June 1995, adopting the name "Waylon Mercy" in a character based on Robert De Niro's portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear.
38.
The character was introduced through a series of vignettes that always had Dan Spivey speaking in a calm yet sinister manner.
39.
Dan Spivey portrayed a heel despite his character acting as a peaceful southern gentleman outside the ring.
40.
Dan Spivey went on to work for Spivey Underground Utility Construction Company, a construction company owned by his family.
41.
In 2014, Windham Rotunda revealed that his character of Bray Wyatt was given to him by Dan Spivey who was attending the WWE Performance Center at the time and shares a number of similarities with the Waylon Mercy character.
42.
Dan Spivey voiced Mercy the Buzzard in Bray Wyatt's Firefly Funhouse segments in 2019, as the puppet was based on Waylon Mercy.
43.
Dan Spivey was arrested on July 14,2007, for driving under the influence in Odessa, Florida.
44.
Dan Spivey now owns his own company, Spivey's Sober Companions, in Odessa and Stamford, Connecticut.
45.
Dan Spivey is the Ambassador for the breakfast restaurant chain, The Breakfast Station in Florida.