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1[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kevinsullivan_7926.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:259: "I have hung from the Tree of Woe..."]]
3
4Kevin Francis Sullivan (born October 26, 1949) is a retired body builder turned {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and booker from UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, Massachusetts best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WCW}} during the 1980s and 1990s. He has wrestled for the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWWF]], various Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territories, WCW, Wrestling/{{ECW}}, W*ING, Wrestling/{{FMW}}, Wrestling/JuggaloChampionshipWrestling, Wrestling/{{SMW}}, Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and many independent promotions. He made his [=PPV=] debut in the [[GimmickMatches Tower of Doom]] match teaming with Mike Rotunda, Wrestling/IvanKoloff, Al Perez and the Russian Assassin in a losing effort against Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Jimmy and Ronnie Garvin and Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams at ''NWA The Great American Bash 88''. Among his in-ring achievements, he held the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html NWA ECW Tag Team Titles]] twice with [[Wrestling/{{Tazz}} the Tazmaniac]] and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Titles]] with [[Wrestling/MickFoley Cactus Jack]].
5
6[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] the Comic book character villain ''ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}'', or the completely unrelated task-setting UK comedy series ''Series/{{Taskmaster}}''. Or the unrelated, but very similarly named, video game ''VideoGame/{{Taskmaker}}''
7
8!! Works associated with Kevin Sullivan that have pages on TV Tropes:
9* Wrestling/DungeonOfDoom
10* Wrestling/TheVarsityClub
11----
12!!"These tropes have hung from the Tree of Woe and seen the lady with the Third Eye":
13* AntiRoleModel: His occult practices were held up as an example of what ''not'' to do with your life in CWF Florida.
14* ArchEnemy: During his GCW and Florida days, [[Wrestling/DustyRhodes "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes]]. During his WCW days, first Wrestling/HulkHogan himself and then Wrestling/ChrisBenoit.
15* AuthorAvatar: He was one of Championship Wrestling From Florida's bookers, and much more infamously, one of WCW's.
16* AxCrazy: As the Master, sent mysterious threats to Brian Lee in late 1992 SMW. Made his debut at the November 8 show which was held at, of all places, the Sandlick Elementary School in Haysi, VA. He came to the ring in a [[InTheHood hooded]] robe with [[OminousLatinChanting Gregorian chants]] as entrance music. Right when the match was about to start, he [[PlayingWithFire threw a fireball]] at Lee and removed the robe. Sullivan pulled out a metal spike (with announcer Bob Caudle saying, "Well, he's criminally insane, anyway") and proceeded to repeatedly stab Lee with the spike, leaving him a bloody mess. Sullivan's associates, [[Wrestling/BryanClarke the Nightstalker (Bryan "Adam Bomb"/"Wrath" Clarke)]] and Malachi (Peter "The Mongolian Mauler" Flowers) joined in on the beating. Raised to Crosses The Line Twice by the fact that this show took place at an ''elementary school.''
17* BadassLongrobe: Wore one at different points in his career.
18* BaldOfEvil: Not by choice.
19* BashBrothers: With [[Wrestling/MarkLewin The Purple Haze ("Maniac" Mark Lewin)]], Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher, the Tazmaniac (in W*ING, SMW, [=ECW=], IWCCW) and Cactus Jack
20* BeardOfEvil: The effect was often secondary to his face paint but rarely ever absent.
21* BigBad: Of the Army of Darkness in the Florida territories, and of the Wrestling/DungeonOfDoom in mid 90s WCW.
22* BloodKnight: He and his "brother" Dave were supposed to team up against Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce (Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury, aka [[Characters/WWETagTeams WWE's the Godwinns]] on the May 14 (taped April 20), 1994 ''WCW Saturday Night,'' but it was announced that Dave had been injured. So, Sullivan went in there ''alone'' and was able to fight off ''both'' guys, sending them both out to the floor. Then Wrestling/TheNastyBoys showed up and attacked him. They were able to successfully double team until Cactus Jack ran out and hit Sags with a chair, knocking him off the top, sending the Nasties away.
23* {{Brainwashing}}: During his Florida Championship Wrestling run he attacked Kendall Windham while the promotion's reporter, Trudy Herd, was giving him an award. During the fight Sullivan knocked Herd out and afterwards he took her into his army of darkness, turning her into Wrestling/LunaVachon.
24* TheCameo: Refereed the Wrestling/{{Raven}}-[[Wrestling/JimFullington Sandman]] [[GimmickMatches Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match]] at ''[[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling NWA TNA]] #35,'' March 5, 2003.
25* CelebrityEndorsement: Listen to Caged Heat Radio or Kevin Sullivan will kick down your door, strap you down and turn your radio on full blast.
26* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: Lucifer, when he was [[{{Kayfabe}} suspended for a year]] in Florida in 1983. It ended when Dusty, doing his own version as the Midnight Rider, defeated and unmasked him.
27* ClusterBleepBomb: On the March 3, (taped February 22), 1990 episode of ''World Championship Wrestling'', Sullivan's Slaughterhouse (Sullivan and [[Wrestling/BuzzSawyer "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer]], w[=/=]Cactus Jack) lost a Squash via DQ. After the match, Wrestling/JimRoss attempted to interview them, with Sullivan [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOabqAiqqUM telling]] a bizarre story about Buzz's mother being a nomad out in the desert, with a she-wolf getting involved somehow, and some of his comments were replaced with crowd reactions.
28* {{Cult}}: His Army Of Darkness resembled a cult of personality more than an army.
29* CurbStompBattle: Turned beating up jobbers into an art-form.
30* DarkerAndEdgier
31** His heel work in Florida, and has said that the Dungeon of Doom was supposed to have been darker than it was.
32** Back in late 1992-early 1993 in SMW, he cut a promo against wrestling being aimed at kids. If Sullivan wasn't so hated by online fans, this would qualify as Hilarious In Hindsight since much of what Sullivan said in the promo sounds like the complaints of online fans about [=WWE=]'s current "[[LighterAndSofter PG Era]]" today.
33* TheDreaded: Steve Corino, leader of SCUM, may have been the most evil man professional wrestling of his time, but he defaulted to Kevin Sullivan, the most evil man in professional wrestling of ''all'' time.
34* DiabolusExNihilo: Sullivan and his army of Darkness jumping the Ring Warriors Grand Champion Bruce Santee after his defense against Steven Corino in 2013, without explanation(not at first anyway). Turns out it was exactly because people had thought they had become obsolete!
35* DirtyCoward: Often in Squash Matches during the Dungeon of Doom's run, he'd throw his victim to the floor and occupy the EasilyDistractedReferee so that whichever DOD members (e.g., the Giant, Jacqueline) he brought with him could beat up the poor guy on the floor before throwing him back into the ring. Sometimes he'd get away with this multiple times in the same match.
36* EstablishingCharacterMoment: His "Satanic" heel turn in Florida created the image that would carry him through much of his career.
37* EvilMinion: Snakemaster Abudadein
38* EvilIsPetty: Himself and [[Wrestling/TheBigShow The Giant]] shaving off Wrestling/HulkHogan's mustache.
39* {{Expy}}[=/=]LegacyCharacter: Wrestling/TheUndertaker (particularly his Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness run), Mick Foley, Raven, and, through Raven, Wrestling/CMPunk have all drawn on Sullivan.
40* FacialMarkings: Came up with some rather distinctive combinations in Florida and in WCW.
41* FatBastard: For most of his career, Sullivan was noticeably paunchy.
42* FeatherBoaConstrictor[=/=]ReptilesAreAbhorrent: During his Florida run, he sometimes wore snakes around himself while walking to the ring.
43* FinishingMove: The [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 Tree of Woe]] (running knee with opponent upside down in the corner) followed by the Double Stomp on the Stomach
44** He's also used a Samoan Drop and a sleeper.
45* GarbageWrestler: He actually had an amateur wrestling background before going pro, but found that he was at his best in wild brawls.
46* GreenEyedMonster: Sullivan is afraid of [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Vampire Warrior]] because Sullivan is convinced Vampire Warrior wants to take Sullivan's throne. Kevin's jealous guarding of this lead him to stake Vampire Warrior but this only immobilized Vampire rather than dust him this ''just'' made Vampire Warrior stop moving, making Sullivan scared of what may happen if the stake was moved.
47* GroinAttack: Dropped a ring bell onto the crotch of Wrestling/JimmyJacobs
48* HatesEveryoneEqually: During Wrestling/TheVarsityClub's run, he cut a promo where he said, "We don't like ANYONE!"
49* {{Heel}}: He was this during much of his career and is best known in this role.
50** CardCarryingVillain: Has [[http://thesmartmarks.com/old_site/artman/publish/article_420.shtml said]] that he hated working {{face}}.
51*** In Mick Foley's autobiography ''Have A Nice Day,'' when he is talking about how he didn't want to have to go heel against Kevin on his way out of WCW, he mentions a conversation he had with Rip Rogers, who called Sullivan "the least sympathetic character in the business."
52** ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Prior to his BIG turn in Florida, had turned on [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]] in Memphis and had also gone heel in Georgia.
53** EvilLaugh: In various promos, including at the end of the one mentioned in TakeThat below.
54** ForeignWrestlingHeel: In the [[GarbageWrestler hardcore]] promotions [=FMW=] and W*ING in Japan.
55* HollywoodSatanism[=/=]{{Cult}}: His gimmick in Florida.
56* IHaveManyNames: Johnny West, Kevin Caldwell, Task Master, Masked Lucifer, Wizard
57* IWasQuiteALooker: Started out as a prettyboy bodybuilder. That ended when he got bald and paunchy.
58* LargeHam: He put a lot of enthusiasm into the early Dungeon of Doom vignettes.
59* LaserGuidedKarma: Evolve's Gabe Sapolsky called it karma when told about Jimmy Jacobs stealing a rail road spike from him, saying it made up for Sullivan stealing one of his jackets.
60* LegacyCharacter: Pretty much any wrestler leading a {{Cult}} (Wrestling/{{Raven}}, Wrestling/TheUndertaker [during the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness run in 1999], Wrestling/{{Raven}}, Wrestling/{{UltraMantis Black}}).
61* LighterAndSofter: While wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions. His gimmick was a heel varsity wrestling coach.[[http://thesmartmarks.com/old_site/artman/publish/article_420.shtml Kevin Sullivan even said]] that he didn't do the Satanic gimmick when the [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] promoter brought him in after closing Florida because Crockett was a [[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Baptist]].
62* LivingLegend: To paraphrase it, "Never stripped, lost, stolen or hidden. Kevin Sullivan, once, now and forever Florida Heavyweight Champion."
63* MonochromaticEyes: His eyes were rolling back into his head well before the Undertaker started doing it.
64* NoSell: Often in squashes, otherwise it would vary depending on who his opponent was at the time. For example, he no-sold some of Benoit's punches early on in their Falls Count Anywhere match at ''WCW The Great American Bash 96'', though he did sell Benoit slamming the [[BathroomBrawl men's room stall door]] on his head, for obvious reasons.
65* NoodleIncident: Wrestling/JimCornette attempted to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di78fuSrokY interview]] Sullivan's Slaughterhouse (himself[=/=]Buzz[=/=]Cactus) on [[TalkShowWithFists "The Louisville Slugger"]] on the March 2 (taped February 22), 1990 episode of ''[=WCW=] Power Hour.'' Amidst Cactus's odd jokes and Buzz's ranting, yelling and [[LaughingMad insane laughter]], Sullivan insisted, "In this country, you're supposed to be innocent until you're proven guilty. Buzz never was proven guilty," with Buzz saying, "I was guilty," and Sullivan tried to get him to stop talking. Cornette asked, "Of what?" and Sullivan said, "Doesn't matter of what." (For what happened next, see ClusterBleepBomb above.)
66* OneSteveLimit: Held the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/al/gc/gc-t.html NWA Gulf Coast (Alabama) Tag Team Title]] and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/al/gc/gc-us-t.html NWA (Gulf Coast) United States Tag Team Title]] as "Johnny West" because Eddie Sullivan (real name Ruben Huizar) was already established in the territory.
67* PartsUnknown: (As "The Taskmaster" of the Dungeon Of Doom): "The Iron Gates of Fate"
68* PerkyFemaleMinion: The Daughters Of Darkness, Luna and Lock, who doubled as a TagTeam. Also his valet, "The Fallen Angel", who remained "happy" even when he [[BondageIsBad beat her and drug her around by chains.]]
69* PintSizedPowerhouse: Under 6', and had legitimate weightlifting credentials and could bulk up or cut down as needed for years.
70** He slammed Wrestling/{{Kamala}} during their match at ''W*ING Desire for Blood'', April 5, 1992.
71* PowerStable
72** Wrestling/JimmyHart's First Family, basically a bunch of guys set up to take down the ever popular Wrestling/JerryLawler, more LegionOfDoom.
73** The Army of Darkness in Florida (including Wrestling/LunaVachon, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], the Purple Haze ["Maniac" Mark Lewin], the Chairman of the Board [King Curtis Iaukea), Wrestling/TheOneManGang, Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham and others)
74** [[JerkJock The Varsity Club (NWA/WCW 1988-1989, 2000)]]: with Rick Steiner and Wrestling/MikeRotunda (both versions), "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Wrestling/DanSpivey (80's version), and Leia Meow (real name Kristina Laum, aka Wrestling/KimonaWanalaya) (2000 version).
75** Dungeon Of Doom (WCW 1995-1997): with Kamala, the Zodiac (Brutus Beefcake), the Shark (John Tenta), [[Wrestling/TheBigShow The Giant]], Meng, [[Wrestling/RonReis the Yeti]], Wrestling/JimmyHart, Wrestling/LexLuger, [[Wrestling/BillDeMott Hugh Morrus]], Wrestling/{{Konnan}}, Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}}, Wrestling/TheBarbarian, [[Wrestling/GiantHaystacks Loch Ness]] and others.
76* PoliticalCorrectnessIsEvil: He argued that Bruce Santee's efforts to "clean up" pro wrestling amounted to political overcorrectness. (Santee though, was only "politically correct" [[PoliticallyIncorrectHero by comparison]].)
77* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: On Caged Heat Radio's ''Reality Check'', he said political correctness was what was ruining pro wrestling, and to a lesser extent, the United States Of America, citing the fact that he was being interviewed by a "woman and a minority" in Amber Rodriguez. Just exactly what was someone who worked with Jacqueline and would have against women and minorities was never adequately explained beyond supposed locker room mixing resulting from a ''planned'' interview.
78* PutOnABus: Replaced as head booker for WCW by Kevin Nash in late 1998, leading to Nash booking himself to kill Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s streak and to the eventual demise of the company some 2 years later.
79** TheBusCameBack: After Wrestling/VinceRusso's first run as booker in late 1999-early 2000 failed, was brought back with Wrestling/JamesJDillon and Terry Taylor to try to salvage his mess. Sent away again when Russo and Wrestling/EricBischoff were brought back in April 2000.
80* RedBaron: "The Boston Battler," "The Gamesmaster," "The Taskmaster," "The Prince of Darkness"
81* RingOldies: Started back in the early 1970s and could still be found making appearances on independent shows in 2015. In 2013 he unveiled the Florida Heavyweight Title belt he won in 1982, boasting it had never been taken from him and that it never would be.
82* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Worked as a booker in Memphis, Florida and in WCW.
83* SdrawkcabAlias: His big [[FaceHeelTurn Heel turn]] in Florida centered in part around a mysterious check written out to Jake "The Snake" Roberts that had been signed by a "Nivek Navillus," making it possibly the most serious DontExplainTheJoke moment in wrestling history, and it became a [[AuthorAppeal hallmark of his booking style]]. See below.
84** SdrawkcabName: In January 1994, [[Characters/WCWBischoff the Equalizer]] was reintroduced as Kevin's [[LIsForDyslexia "Dyslexic"]] [[UnrelatedBrothers "brother"]] Dave, aka "Evad."
85** Wrestling/{{Lodi}} (real name Brad Cain) of Raven's Flock was so named because he looked like Music/BillyIdol.
86* ShoutOut: Has [[http://thesmartmarks.com/old_site/artman/publish/article_420.shtml said]] that the Varsity Club were like Film/TheThreeStooges: Rick [=Steiner=] was Curly, Rotundo was Larry[[note]]Rotundo's real first name is Lawrence[[/note]], he was Moe and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams was Curly Joe.
87* UsefulNotes/{{Singapore}}: He was billed from there for a time. During his SMW run, he introduced a Gimmick Match called the "Singapore Spike Match."
88* SquashMatch: Some fairly nasty ones at that, especially in 1995-1997 WCW. Seriously, nobody could beat the shit out of jobbers like Kevin Sullivan could.
89* StartMyOwn: His gym, [[http://www.froggysfitness.com Froggy's Fitness]], which he later sold.
90* TagTeam: The Three Faces of Fear, with the Butcher (Brutus Beefcake) and Avalanche (John Tenta).
91* TakeThat: In Florida, reintroduced "Maniac" Mike Davis as "Dusty Rhodes," complete with Davis dressing and wrestling the same way and copying Dusty's voice, and even calling Dusty by his real name, Virgil Runnels.
92** Crossed with ArtisticLicenseGeography: After Davis' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZibUcEGNe0 first match]] in this role, Sullivan cut a promo about how "The Dream" had spent time with Abudadein[[note]]Sullivan's Army of Darkness featured a manager named Abudadein, who should not be confused with Curtis Iaukea's RealLife son Rocky Iaukea, who competed in [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pnw/nwa NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling]] and [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pr/wwc the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico]] as Abbuda Dein[[/note]] on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugis_Street Bugis Street]] in [=Singapore=]. Davis apparently hadn't been briefed on Southeast Asian geography, since he mentioned that he had been to [[UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} Bangkok]].
93** During Sullivan's Slaughterhouse's debut on "The Louisville Slugger" mentioned under Noodle Incident above, Sullivan said, "This is not [[Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen the most elite group in professional wrestling.]] We don't ride in no limos. We're the ones who go and turn the limos over and grab the people who ride in the limos, who fly the jets."
94* TalkShowWithFists: The very short-lived "Sullivan's Saloon."
95* ThirdEye: During his Florida run, talked about "the Lady with the Third Eye," revisiting it at ''[=WCW=] The Great American Bash 91'' in a promo before the match between The One Man Gang (w[=/=]Sullivan) and El Gigante.
96* TournamentArc: Many, though the one he is known for is the 1982 Florida Heavyweight Title tournament where he beat Wrestling/BarryWindham in the finals.
97* [[UglyGuyHotWife Ugly Guy, Hot Valet]]: Fat, bald and crazy during his most successful period, and yet he had ''Woman'', ''Jacqueline'' and the former ''Kimona Wanalaya'' in his corner at different points in his career.
98* VitriolicBestBuds: Has probably teamed with Abdullah the Butcher as many times as they have been opponents.
99* WorkedShoot: One of the first, with Wrestling/BrianPillman. In an "I Respect You" match (where the point was to force the opponent to say 'I respect you'), Pillman began wrestling sluggishly, then stopped all together, said "I respect you, Bookerman" (referencing Sullivan's role as WCW booker) and walked out of the match.
100* WorthyOpponent: Dusty Rhodes, the Steiner Brothers, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Wrestling/TerryFunk, Abdullah the Butcher, Chris Benoit.

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