Buzz Sawyer
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| Bruce Woyan | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Buzz Sawyer |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg/17 st) |
| Born | October 14, 1959 St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Died | February 7, 1992 (aged 32) |
Buzz Sawyer (born Bruce Woyan October 14, 1959-February 7, 1992) was a professional wrestler who went by the nickname of "Mad Dog". He was known for his crazy antics in the ring and out.
Contents |
[edit] Career
"Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions. He stayed there with some stints in Georgia Championship Wrestling until 1984. He mainly teamed with his brother, Brett Sawyer. He had a huge feud with the Road Warriors after he left their manager Paul Ellering's Legion of Doom.
Buzz also had an epic feud with Tommy Rich that led to many bloody matches, the greatest of which was billed as the Last Battle of Atlanta and for the first time featured a completely enclosed cage. It also saw manager Paul Ellering suspended 20 feet above the ring in a smaller cage. This is the match that Shawn Michaels credits for inspiring the Hell in the Cell concept used by the WWE. Tommy Rich won the Last Battle Atlanta match. Another stipulation for the match was that Sawyer and Rich would never fight again - which they did not in Georgia Championship Wrestling. They did meet again in WCW about five years later.
Sawyer had a short World Wrestling Federation (WWF) run in 1984. He was called "Bulldog" Buzz Sawyer because Mad Dog was being used by Mad Dog Vachon. During Sawyer's only TV appearance, he was managed by Captain Lou Albano. Sawyer's gimmick included a dog chain and a lot of barking.
In 1985, Buzz went to Mid-South Wrestling (which would become the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986) and became a protege of Dick Slater's. After Slater won the North American title, he gave Mid-South TV Title to Sawyer to defend for him. The promotion tricked Slater into letting Sawyer defend the North American Title (which he promptly lost), and Sawyer then refused to give the TV belt back to Slater.
In 1986, Sawyer left the UWF for World Class Championship Wrestling. He formed a team with Matt Borne and they won the WCWA Tag Team Championship. He also won the WCWA Television Championship and the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship and feuded with Brian Adias while there. He got into a feud with Dingo Warrior and he lost his tag team titles to Warrior and Lance Von Erich before reportedly being fired after failing a drug test.
He returned in 1989 as part of Gary Hart's J-Tex Corporation that was feuding with the Four Horsemen, and he had several matches against Arn Anderson. He then joined Kevin Sullivan's "Slaughterhouse" stable in 1990.[1] However, at Wrestle War '90, he fractured his wrist and never returned to WCW.[2]
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Nicknames
- "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer
- "Bulldog" Buzz Sawyer
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
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- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brett Sawyer
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- PWI ranked him # 185 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1981)
- Best Heel (1982)
[edit] Personal life and death
Sawyer was wrestling on the independent circuit when he died from heart failure due to an overdose on February 7, 1992.
Sawyer was known for his crazy antics such as trying to fight the police outside a bar and also his drug abuse. He trained a few wrestlers, among them Magnum T.A. and Ken Shamrock. Sawyer was paid by The Undertaker to teach him to wrestle, but Sawyer only showed Undertaker how to lock-up (or start a match) and then skipped town the next day.[3]
Sawyer has an illegitimate son Travis, who is a wrestler for promotions including KAPOW and EWP on the independent circuit of East Tennessee.[citation needed]
Sawyer is survived by two biological sons from his wife. One works for Target outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while the other is an amateur boxer in Orlando, Florida[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins, 768. ISBN 0061031011.
