Sid Eudy Through This Fan's Eyes

Sid Eudy's funeral will take place today.

The former wrestler died from cancer earlier this week. As soon as I learnt of Sid's passing, I wanted to publish a tribute post.

It had to be done. But it also had to be done right. 

You see, there was a time in my life when Sid Eudy was one of my favourite wrestlers. To tell that story, and everything in-between, I have to go through a LOT of points. 

I suppose the best way I can do a decent tribute to Sid is to jump back and forth through my memories and share with you Sid's story through this fan's eyes.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a small tribute to Kevin Sullivan. In it, I noted how I first came across Sullivan. It was by reading wrestling magazines rather than from watching the wrestling on the TV. Well, I kind of have a similar story about how I was introduced to Sid Vicious. 

It wasn't through TV. And not even through magazines.

There used to be a toy shop on my way to school. It would have displays in its windows and one day - as I walked by - I noticed the business was selling WCW action figures.

I recall seeing the Sid figure and wondering why he stole the name of the Sex Pistols bassist. 

That was the first time I came across Sid.

* * *

By the middle of 1991, Sid had arrived in the World Wrestling Federation. His first role was to serve as a special guest referee for the main match of SummerSlam 1991.

The bout saw Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior take on Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa in a 3-on-2 bout billed as 'The Match Made in Hell'. 

Sid, then known as 'Sid Justice', played it down the middle despite there being teases - in the weeks leading up to the show - that Sid had a bad reputation. He worked as a heel in JCP/WCW, so - even though the WWF didn't acknowledge that company directly - there was a hint that he was a heel elsewhere. They had heel wrestlers predict Sid would be a biased ref and the goodies have positive predictions about Sid.  Even the WWF Magazine alluded to Sid's previous career and cast doubt on whether he would bring 'Justice' to the match or lean on the side of the villains.

SummerSlam 1991 is a favourite event of mine because I watched it with my dad and uncle in my uncle's lounge when we stayed with him that summer.

At breakfast the following morning, my uncle commented that 'wasn't it odd the Ultimate Warrior didn't come back out after the match?' And it was. 

The post-match celebration saw Hulk Hogan bring Sid Justice into the ring so they could both share the spotlight. 

It would lead to something bigger.

* * *

Within eight months, Hogan and Justice were at odds with each other and wrestled against one another in the main event of WrestleMania VIII.

The feud began after Hogan was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Justice. Hogan felt he was double-crossed and then grabbed Sid's arm and kind of assisted Ric Flair in ousting Justice to win the Rumble.

Despite the Rumble always having the rule of 'every man for themselves', Sid was meant to be the bad guy coming out of the Rumble. The initial reaction went against Hogan. The crowd was livid and sided with Sid Justice as he and Hogan argued.

With that said, the WWF did other spots along the way to heel Justice up. First, he left Hogan to fend for himself against Ric Flair and The Undertaker in a tag match on an edition of Main Event. 

By Mania, Justice was absolutely positioned as the heel to Hogan. 

I loved everything about that year's WrestleMania. It remains one of my favourites because the main event featured two of my heroes at the time.

* * *

The Ultimate Warrior returned to the WWF at the conclusion of WrestleMania VIII to save Hulk Hogan from an attack by Sid Justice and Papa Shango.

This led to Warrior wrestling Sid Justice on house shows. However, shortly after that, Justice quit the company.

I, as you would expect, was gutted. 

* * *

I cannot recall if it was Easter Bank Holiday Monday or the one in late-May. Whichever one it was, I 'won' a goldfish at a fete. I named it Sid.

* * *

By 1993, Sid had returned to WCW using his previous alias of Sid Vicious. This is where things get even more interesting.

As I wrote IN THIS POST eleven years ago, I secured tickets to see night one of WCW's Halloween Havoc UK Tour. 

The handbill, which can be viewed on the aforementioned page, had Sid Vicious' name listed. However, I was always cautious of the 'Card Subject To Change' stipulation on the advertising. I was excited to be able to go to the show, but - to get to see Sid Vicious - was one of the things I wanted to achieve the most. After all, he had been in the main event of WrestleMania a year previous.

Sid was indeed on the card. He teamed up with 'Ravishing' Rick Rude to take on Sting and Dustin Rhodes.

During the match, it felt like the entire audience was cheering for Sting. My friend and I stood on our seats with our programmes opened on Sid's page. We continuously chanted 'Sid.. Sid.. Sid' and then, at one point during that match, he looked over at us with that stare he had and nodded at us. 

It was bloody amazing. 

My Sid story doesn't end there. 

Once the match was over, I ran to the side of the entranceway to try and tap Sid's hand as he was heading to the dressing room. He walked by, I reached out but missed him. I kept stretching as he walked by, though. I finally caught his back. 

Whenever I see videos of Morrissey in concert and see all those people jump the stage to touch or embrace Mozza, I always remind myself how I was almost as crazy leaning over the guardrail to pat Sid on the back.

As I wrote above, that was night one of WCW's UK tour. It was Sid's one and only appearance on those shows.

* * *

After finishing off the night in Cardiff, the crew travelled on to Blackburn. In the early hours of the following morning, Sid and Arn Anderson got into a fight which escalated to the point where a pair of scissors was used. Both men ended up with stab wounds. 

I sent a Get Well Soon card to  Sid at Blackburn Royal Infirmary (ha!). I don't know how long he would have been in there for. I doubt he would have even received it. I'd like to believe he did, though.

WCW ended up firing Sid for the incident. 

It's kind of a 'What If?' moment because, at that time, Sid was being groomed to be the next WCW World Champion. The plan was for Sid to challenge Vader for the strap at Starrcade in December of 1993.

I often wonder how that would have impacted the timeline because, in 1994, Hulk Hogan came into WCW and ended up in a feud with Ric Flair - who had won the title against Vader in the match Sid was meant to have won.

* * *

For most of 1994, I read bits about Sid Vicious working for the USWA on the independent scene. I figured he wouldn't have returned to WCW because of the stabbing incident and wasn't sure whether he would return to the WWF. 

The USWA did have a working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation at the time, so I hoped of a chance of his return to the WWF.

By late-94, I started reading WWF was interested in bringing him back.

* * *

In early January of 1995, things were building towards WWF WrestleMania XI. Shawn Michaels and his bodyguard - Diesel - had split up a couple of months earlier. 

Diesel had become the WWF Champion and, with the Rumble winner gaining a shot at the champion at Mania, Michaels was the obvious winner of the 1995 battle royal.

Michaels required a new bodyguard.

On a Saturday following the Royal Rumble, I finished my paper-round and stopped at a shop to buy a Pot Noodle and a can of blackcurrant Tango, which had just been released in shops. You'll know why I remember the flavour soon enough.

As soon as I returned home, I switched the TV on to WWF Mania. It was mid-programme when I tuned in. Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Wiand were both on screen talking about Shawn Michaels' new sidekick.

Wiand said the man gave her the creeps. Todd then introduced a video package of the bodyguard to reintroduce him to older fans and acquaint him to newer ones.

A video package of Sid Justice's carnage from 1992 aired.

My sister was in the room as this went on. I ran over to her, hugged her and started jumping up and down yelling 'Yes! Yes! Yes!'

Once the video stopped, I left the room to make my Pot Noodle. As I was waiting for the kettle to boil, I took the can of Tango out of my pocket, I pulled the ring to open it and a fountain of purple blasted upwards. 

The can had been in my coat pocket when I was jumping for joy at the news of Sid having returned to the WWF.

I came out of Sid's return drenched in purple Tango.

* * *

Shawn Michaels did not beat Diesel for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XI. In fact, Sid was blamed for the loss because he distracted referee Earl Hebner at a key point during the match. 

On the following night's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, Diesel granted Michaels an opportunity of a rematch. While doing so, Diesel warned his former friend that Sid was the reason the previous evening's contest didn't go his way.

Later in the show, Shawn Michaels and Sid came out for a promo. Michaels accepted Diesel's offer of a rematch and even took Big Daddy Cool's advice and told Sid that, whenever the rematch took place, he would have the night off.

It didn't go down well.

Sid took offence to Michaels' comments. The segment was cut-off by Vince McMahon - who was conducting the interview - and the episode went to break.

When the programme resumed, Sid was standing over a fallen Heartbreak Kid as Diesel ran down to the ring to help his former friend. Sid left the ring as the show went off the air.

It was apparent that Sid had attacked his in-storyline employer during the commercials.

This was quite a gutsy call for the time to have the main part of the angle take place during a commercial break. It was a vehicle to get the fans to tune in to other WWF programming in the days following the attack.

Sid had powerbombed Michaels a few times. The segment was shown on WWF's weekend shows and was also a focus of the following Monday's episode of Raw.

Remember back when I wrote about how the audience booed Hulk Hogan for costing Sid the 1992 Royal Rumble?  It was a misstep of sorts on the WWF's front because the company surmised the crowd would react in favour of Hogan. Instead, they rooted against him for what he did to Sid Justice.

Well - the company kind of found itself in a similar spot with this angle. When Sid attacked Shawn Michaels, the majority of the fans in attendance assumed it was Sid turning babyface against Michaels. That wasn't the case - the move was to put the sympathy on Michaels because he was attacked from behind and powerbombed by the bigger man.

The WWF had to do what it did in 1992 and dub the audio to manufacture the audience reaction to fit its narrative.

With that said, just like in 1992, the long game played out: Sid eventually became a stronger heel for his attack from behind and Shawn Michaels began his ascent to become the top babyface in the company from that angle.

* * *

As noted, this angle moved Sid into the top heel spot in the company. He made two consecutive challenges for the WWE Championship against Diesel at the first and second In Your House events. Both were unsuccessful. 

I loved seeing Sid moved into the top program so soon after returning to the WWF.

I felt, on both occasions, that there was a chance of Sid winning the strap. However, it didn't play out that way. Diesel was in the middle of what turned out to be a year-long run which concluded at the 1995 Survivor Series.

* * *

My Dad and I went to see the World Wrestling Federation at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 4th 1995. This show is the only time my father went to watch a wrestling show from one of the big US companies. 

On that night, Sid lost to Bam Bam Bigelow in the third bout on the card.

* * *

The early part of 1996 was a peculiar one. Sid was still the main man in the Million Dollar Corporation faction. However, he had been moved into a tag team with The 1-2-3 Kid.

It felt the team didn't get enough time to become a thing because Sid had to leave due to a neck injury.

During Sid's absence, Vince McMahon brought The Ultimate Warrior back into the fold. This return didn't last long. Warrior was gone by the summer after no-showing events thus leaving McMahon to find an adequate replacement.

Can you guess who it was?

In storyline, Sid was once again recruited by Shawn Michaels. He came in as a babyface to take The Warrior's spot on the team with Michaels and Ahmed Johnson against Owen Hart, Vader and The 'British Bulldog at In Your House 9 on July 21st 1996.

It was grand to see Sid return that summer. It was even great to see him play the role of a babyface - something I hadn't seen since 1991 although things were going in that direction before he was fired by WCW in '93.

* * *

By the WWF Survivor Series of 1996, Sid and Shawn Michaels were once again on opposing sides despite both still being babyfaces at the time.

The two men squared off for Michaels' WWF Championship inside Madison Square Garden for the annual November PPV.

It was in this match where Sid's destiny was fulfilled. Nearly every publication, ever since Sid's debut in pro wrestling, tagged him as a 'future world champion'. He came close many times before, but November 17th 1996 was the day the decision was finally made to put the belt on Sid.

There was another case of the crowd siding strongly with Sid during the title match against Shawn Michaels.

The New Yorkers historically loved Sid, so they sided with him more than they did Shawn Michaels, who was - at that time - the number one guy in the WWF. According to reports both Michaels and even Vince McMahon were irked at the reaction.

Despite WWF choosing to have Sid as its champion, the end goal was to have Shawn Michaels regain the strap at the 1997 Royal Rumble, which was held in Michaels' home city of San Antonio, Texas.

By the time of the match, the company had turned Sid more villainous. That's mainly because he had to work the match against the January 1997 rematch as the heel against the hometown hero. 

Shortly after regaining the title, Michaels relinquished it for what he claimed to be an injury. If I recall correctly, Michaels was meant to lose the title back to Sid and then go on to WrestleMania to have a rematch with Bret 'Hitman' Hart from the previous year's Mania. However, Michaels handed over the title and went on hiatus. 

Sid became a two-time World Champion by winning the vacant title but ended up losing it to The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania 13 on March 23rd 1997.

Sometime after that, Sid was in a car crash with - I believe - Phil LaFon and 2 Cold Scorpio. He once again left the company shortly after that.

* * *

That was the end of Sid's time in the WWF. He made a cameo return to the company for night only during an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw in 2012. But, 1997 was the end of his full-time run with that company.

* * *

It didn't all end in '97!

Sid returned to the big time when he made his debut for ECW in early 1999. It was a brief stint in what was considered to be a renegade company which was anti anything to do with WCW or the WWF.

When I first learned about Sid joining ECW (we didn't get the regular TV over here, so I read the news via the newsletters), I knew he would be the perfect fit.

The reason why is because of where the majority of ECW's shows were based: the East Coast of the USA. 

That area had always been strong supporters of Sid. The Albany and New York City crowds cheering Sid over the top two babyfaces in Hulk Hogan (Royal Rumble 1992) and Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 1996) are evidence to prove that notion.

Following on from his return to pro wrestling's big companies, Sid left ECW for his former spot of WCW.

That one shocked me because I thought the odds of Sid returning to WCW, following the scissor fight in 1993, would be very low. That price was even shorter considering the fact that Arn Anderson was still with the company in a backstage management position.

To be straight up - back then, I found it a struggle to watch WCW programming. The storylines were all over the place and I genuinely cannot do Sid's career at that point any, if you pardon the pun, justice. 

Everything will be out of order, but the following stands out:

- His feud with Bill Goldberg

- WCW calling Sid something like 'The Man of the Millennium'. I felt it was a bit backwards to do so considering Sid Vicious had been a significant part of pro wrestling during most of the 1990s and was billed as a future superstar back in the late-80s. The 'Millennium' moniker would have best been served being tagged to an up-and-comer at the time

- A few more title wins to his record

- Skits with Kevin Nash (who worked as Diesel in the WWF) and Scott Hall (Razor Ramon in the WWF). In one, Nash was dressed as Vince McMahon. Sid was in on that joke, but - somewhere in the conversation - Sid snaps at Nash but lambasts him as if he were talking to Vince. I found that funny

- There was also a segment in which Sid was with 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and they teamed up with Ric Flair or something. Arn Anderson happened to be there with Flair in this promo. It felt surreal to see Anderson and Sid in the ring together after their real-life fight in 1993. As the segment finished up, you do see Sid and Arn shake hands

* * *

I cannot write about Sid's final run in WCW without mentioning what turned out to be his last major match in professional wrestling.

At WCW Sin, on January 14th 2001, Sid came off the middle turnbuckle during a fatal four corners match and snapped his leg.

I didn't see the event live because we didn't get WCW PPVs on TV over here. However, I read about the injury in the news. I made it a vow to never see the clip because it seemed gruesome.

Years later, however, I downloaded some wrestling clips on Napster (or another one of those file sharing sites) and I opened a mislabelled video. It was the injury, so I came across it by accident.

It genuinely is the worst sporting injury I have ever seen through a TV screen or monitor.

What makes it even more sickening to me is it was preventable. And I have the evidence to back that up because, in a shoot video filmed at least a couple of years before, Sid mentioned himself how he doesn't do moves from the top rope because he could land and break his leg. 

Those comments were eerily prophetic. 

* * *

World Championship Wrestling closed down shortly after Sid's injury. The company was sold to the World Wrestling Federation.

During the aftermath of WCW's demise, I found myself scouring eBay for WCW merchandise. One of the final WCW things I bought was of a Sid Vicious figure from 2000.

It seems quite fitting one of the last memories I have of Sid's wrestling career is of me purchasing a WCW action figure of him. After all, it was an action figure of Sid's which first brought my attention to him on a morning walk to school.