Post by sungod2020 on Apr 15, 2022 15:06:06 GMT -5
Dan "The Beast" Severn is perhaps one of the legit toughest guys to ever step foot in a pro wrestling ring. A mixed martial artist with a 101-19-7 record, it's safe to say it's best to be on his good side(which the WWF locker room did when they called him "Mr. Severn.") Prior to MMA, he was also a two-time All American at Arizona State University as well as a coach there and Michigan State.
In 1994, he decided to take up pro wrestling as a side hustle being trained by Attitude Era alumnus Al Snow. Despite wrestling in the same promotion during that era, the two never crossed paths on TV. While he certainly did have success in other wrestling promotions winning numerous championships, it didn't cross over into the World Wrestling Federation.
Despite his legit accolades, he never connected with the WWF audience. Maybe it could've been the lack of them trying, but I think it's moreso the fact that Mr. Severn was never a WWF-style guy, especially in that era where being colorful and charismatic was crucial.
His highlights during that run(if you want to call them that) were tearing D'lo Brown's rib cage via the bow and arrow submission hold, causing him to wear a chest protector for the next few months, and being injured himself by Owen Hart's piledriver, causing Owen Hart to feel guilty and go into retirement(or so it would seem as it was around the same time The Blue Blazer started to appear). Both injuries(to D'lo and himself) were both kayfabe.
His last match was the Raw after the 1999 Royal Rumble where he lost to Steve Blackman via disqualification.
According to Severn, shortly before the 1999 Royal Rumble WWF asked to him to tattoo "666" on his forehead ("the mark of the beast") and become an Undertaker disciple, presumably as part of his Ministry of Darkness stable forming during that time. Severn refused to do this, telling the company that he was uncomfortable with the nature of the storyline. When the company responded by telling Severn that they would bury his character if he declined to do as they asked, Severn countered by threatening to use his legitimate wrestling and fighting skills to shoot on his coworkers and make them “look silly” in the process.[34] This caused the WWF to back off on the idea, but Severn still asked for and received a release not too long after.
To be fair though, even without the idea of him becoming a Ministry lackey, I don't see him lasting much longer anyway since there wasn't much for him to work with.
That being said, what are ways you can think of that would make his WWF run work, either during his actual time there(June 1998 to January 1999) or later if you want to repackage him?
I'll come up with my idea after I see a few responses.
In 1994, he decided to take up pro wrestling as a side hustle being trained by Attitude Era alumnus Al Snow. Despite wrestling in the same promotion during that era, the two never crossed paths on TV. While he certainly did have success in other wrestling promotions winning numerous championships, it didn't cross over into the World Wrestling Federation.
Despite his legit accolades, he never connected with the WWF audience. Maybe it could've been the lack of them trying, but I think it's moreso the fact that Mr. Severn was never a WWF-style guy, especially in that era where being colorful and charismatic was crucial.
His highlights during that run(if you want to call them that) were tearing D'lo Brown's rib cage via the bow and arrow submission hold, causing him to wear a chest protector for the next few months, and being injured himself by Owen Hart's piledriver, causing Owen Hart to feel guilty and go into retirement(or so it would seem as it was around the same time The Blue Blazer started to appear). Both injuries(to D'lo and himself) were both kayfabe.
His last match was the Raw after the 1999 Royal Rumble where he lost to Steve Blackman via disqualification.
According to Severn, shortly before the 1999 Royal Rumble WWF asked to him to tattoo "666" on his forehead ("the mark of the beast") and become an Undertaker disciple, presumably as part of his Ministry of Darkness stable forming during that time. Severn refused to do this, telling the company that he was uncomfortable with the nature of the storyline. When the company responded by telling Severn that they would bury his character if he declined to do as they asked, Severn countered by threatening to use his legitimate wrestling and fighting skills to shoot on his coworkers and make them “look silly” in the process.[34] This caused the WWF to back off on the idea, but Severn still asked for and received a release not too long after.
To be fair though, even without the idea of him becoming a Ministry lackey, I don't see him lasting much longer anyway since there wasn't much for him to work with.
That being said, what are ways you can think of that would make his WWF run work, either during his actual time there(June 1998 to January 1999) or later if you want to repackage him?
I'll come up with my idea after I see a few responses.
