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Spike Dudley

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Matt Hyson
Born (1970-08-13) August 13, 1970 (age 54)[1]
Providence, Rhode Island, United States[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Brother Runt[1]
LSD Matt Hyson
Runt
Spike Dudley[1]
Billed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Billed weight150 lb (68 kg)[1]
Billed from"Dudleyville"
New York City
Trained byRic Thompson
(APW Boot Camp)[1]
Debut1994[1]

Matthew Johnathan "Matt" Hyson (born August 13 1970)[1] is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. He is best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.

Professional wrestling career

Prior to his wrestling career, Hyson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York[2], and was a third grade English teacher. During the documentary Beyond the Mat, a heavily bleeding Hyson delivers the line "I shall, I do" (Henry IV of England's response to a request by Sir John Falstaff in the Shakespearean play Henry IV, Part 1).

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996-1984)

Hyson gained fame as "Little" Spike Dudley, as a part of Extreme Championship Wrestling's Dudley family. His part in the family was an underdog. His initials (LSD) and finishing move (a corner-running three-quarters facelock jawbreaker named the "Acid Drop") were both drug references and, at times, he would stare at his hands waving in front of him as if he were on a trip. He was also originally played off as the very incompetent and mentally handicapped member of the Dudley family, a problem that saw him usually fighting with the other members of the Dudley clan. He was also the last member of the Dudley family to remain in ECW until the company's demise in 2001.

Spike became popular with the fans, teaming with multiple people while feuding with his brothers. He was even able to take the ECW Tag Team Championship from The Dudley Boyz with his partner Balls Mahoney on two occasions. He was also in the main event on some occasions, such as Guilty as Charged 2000, where he faced Mike Awesome for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, in a losing effort. In one memorable moment in not only Spike's career but in ECW history in general, Bam Bam Bigelow threw Spike from the ring, over the top rope, and into the crowd. The fans caught him and proceeded to body surf him around the ECW Arena. This incident was incorporated into the ECW TV introduction for years. Hyson stayed with ECW until it folded in 2001.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2001-2005)

Following the closure of ECW, Hyson signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation. Upon joining the WWF, the drug-related aspects of his character were heavily de-emphasised. He made his televised WWF debut on the March 19, 2001 episode of Raw is War, reuniting with the Dudley Boyz and helping them win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. In late-2001, Hyson had an on-screen courtship with Molly Holly, leading to a feud between the Dudley Boyz and The Holly Cousins. During The Invasion, Hyson remained loyal to the WWF, failing to join The Alliance despite his ECW alumnus status.

Hyson wrestled mainly as a face during his time in WWF / WWE. His feuds and alliances with his two older brothers, Bubba Ray and D-Von often took center stage, but he formed short-lived tag teams with The Big Show, Bubba Ray, and Tazz, the last of which he became a tag team champion with by defeating his brothers in 2002.[3] In that same year, he won the European once and the Hardcore championship on eight separate occasions.

In 2004, Hyson was drafted to the SmackDown! brand, where he at one point held the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[4] During this time, Dudley's biggest exposure came when he turned heel by attacking popular face wrestler Rey Mysterio; he then began to wrestle as the "boss" of the Dudley Boyz. Besides starting a feud with Mysterio, he also started feuds with then-babyface, Billy Kidman, Paul London and John Cena. He made his last appearance with WWE at ECW One Night Stand on June 12 2005, helping the Dudleys win their tag team match.[5] Hyson was released from his WWE contract on July 5 2005 along with seven other wrestlers in what was thought to have been a cost-cutting measure by the company.[6]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006-2007)

Upon leaving WWE, Hyson renamed himself Matt "LSD" Hyson. Hyson went on to wrestle at Shane Douglas' Hardcore Homecoming and competed regularly for both the NYWC, Top Rope Promotions, and 2CW Squared Circle Wrestling.

Hyson debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the April 13 2006 episode of Impact!, preventing Eric Young from driving Devon Hughes through a table and attacking each member of Team Canada. Hyson then celebrated with Hughes and LaMonaco (now known as Brother Devon and Brother Ray), with TNAWrestling.com identifying him as "Brother Runt". Brother Runt continued to be a part of Team 3D during feuds with Abyss and the James Gang.

At TNA's "Hardcore War" show, Spike stated that he had been sent a contract to compete at WWE's One Night Stand. Spike took out the contract and tore it into pieces in front of the live crowd stating that he was remaining loyal to TNA.

Through the rest of the year, Brother Runt continued to feud with Abyss and several other heavyweight wrestlers while having a short-lived alliance with Raven (Raven saved Brother Runt from being smashed through two stacked tables covered in thumbtack-covered boards from Abyss, before throwing Abyss in himself), before he turned on Raven on September 15, 2006. In September/October 2006 Hyson had formed a new look, very similar to Travis Bickle in the hit 1976 movie Taxi Driver complete with Bickle's trademark green army jacket and mohawk. On the December 21 episode of Impact! Brother Runt made his first TNA appearance in a while dressed up as Santa Claus, and was subsequently beaten down by The Latin American Exchange until being saved by Eric Young, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Petey Williams.

At TNA's 'Final Resolution' on January 21 2007, a drunk Brother Runt cost his Team 3D teammates their NWA World Tag Team Championship match against The LAX (Latin American Exchange) by jumping onto Homicide. Runt soon returned to the April 12 edition of Impact! after being attacked by LAX backstage. He was mocked by Konnan who fired a taser gun at him causing Runt to roll around in pain. Brother Runt did not appear on TV since, although he did appear at TNA house shows. On August 15 2007, Runt was released from TNA after several months of inactivity.

Independent circuit (2007-)

Since parting ways with TNA, Hyson has been working for different independent promotions such as Top Rope Promotions, Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW), and Big Time Wrestling (BTW).

In wrestling

Hyson executing a diving double foot stomp on Rodney Mack in 2003.
  • Nicknames
    • The Boss (WWE)
    • The Giant Killer (ECW) [1]
    • The Little Show (While teaming with The Big Show; WWF) [1]
    • Little Spike Dudley (L.S.D.) (ECW) [1]
    • The Runt of the Litter (ECW and WWE)
    • One Tough Little Bastard (WWE)

Championships and accomplishments

  • Chaotic Wrestling
    • CW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kyle Storm[7]
  • New York Wrestling Connection
    • NYWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]

Personal life

Hyson was a former third grade teacher from Rhode Island before getting into the wrestling business. In mid-2006, Hyson opened a professional wrestling school in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Brother Runt Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  2. ^ "Before They Were Superstars - Spike Dudley". World Wrestling Federation via YouTube. 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  3. ^ a b "History Of The World Tag Team Championship - Tazz & Spike Dudley". WWE. 2002-01-07. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  4. ^ a b "History Of The Cruiserweight Championship - Spike Dudley". WWE. 2004-07-24. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  5. ^ "ONE NIGHT STAND RESULTS". WWE. June 12, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  6. ^ "WWE releases several Superstars". WWE. 2005-07-08. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  7. ^ "Chaotic Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  8. ^ "ECW World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  9. ^ "New York Wrestling Connection". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  10. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2007". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  11. ^ "History Of the European Championship - Spike Dudley". WWE. 2002-04-08. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  12. ^ "History Of The Hardcore Championship". WWE. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
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