Kevin Sullivan

"This 5.08 rating is mindboggling to me. Kevin Sullivan was a helleva worker, memorable personality, unique and unforgettable promo, and had a great mind for the business. In front of and behind the camera, Sullivan worked at the highest levels in the business for 4 decades. In the ring he took part in some all time great feuds against everyone from Dusty Rhodes to Abdullah the Butcher to Jerry Lawler to Cactus Jack to Chris Benoit to Jimmy Garvin to Hulk Hogan and everyone in between. I have a feeling many of these low ratings are from folks who are only familiar with Sullivan's 90's WCW run as The Taskmaster with the Dungeon of Doom. Those same fans really need to go back and watch The Prince of Darkess era from Florida where Sullivan led an unforgettable stable that included Mark "The Purple Haze" Lewin, Bob Roop, Nancy Sullivan as The Fallen Angel, The Lock, Luna Vachon, Abudadein & others. And whether you enjoy the Dungeon of Doom or not, they served their purpose, presenting Hulk Hogan with a string of monster heels he was comfortable working with upon his arrival in WCW. And don't forget that Sullivan was booking for WCW post-Dungeon of Doom during the company's most successful period as well. All of these accomplishments, excellent in-ring work and mic work. Truly a one of a kind performer in a business where it's not easy to stand out in this way. Even The Varsity Club was a wacky idea that worked because of how committed and talented those involved were. A Manson-esque cult leader, known to the fans already as a mystic leader of the occult themed Army of Darknesss, enlists some elite college amateur wrestlers (with a screw loose themselves) to do his bidding. On paper it's an odd concept to say the least, but Sullivan, Rotunda, Steiner & Williams made it work. And Spivey for a cup of coffee. An early purveyor of what would become known as "hardcore wrestlingt", Sullivan worked for the first companies promoting so-called "extreme wrestling" in both the states and Japan (ECW, FMW, W*ING, etc.). Although obviously guys like Sullivan, Abby, The Sheik, Bruiser Brody, etc. had been pushing the envelope with out of control brawls for decades by the time the terms hardcore and extreme began being applied to this style. Kevin Sullivan, one of a kind. RIP. 10/10 No Question"

[8.0] "There is no way Sullivan should be rated this low, his work in Florida just by itself made him one of the most talked about acts in wrestling for the time and the most cosplayed in wrestling history. American Wrestling Bookers have a low standard but Sullivan had way too many good than bad ideas, the Army of Darkness happening during the Satanic panic that was happening during that time in the US was brilliant, sure does it look goofy and weird today? of course, but the impact is still talked about by those who lived it and watched it. He was wrestling's Charles Manson and much like James Mitchell was called a devil worshiper but never mentioned Satan once. While Sullivan made a lot of references to evil, IIRC A lot of what he mentions are terms or references to things in Asian & other foreign religions & mystic things like the Abudadein (sp? ) a Thai Buddhist fertility goddess, and drug references like the Cosmic Cookie which is hilarious watching back. from the Ministry of Darkness, House of Black, Wyatt Family, and now Wyatt Sick all following in the path of Sulivan's Army of Darkness"

[9.0] "One of the greatest and one of the realest heels thats ever wrestled. An absolute pioneer that set the tone for wrestlers such as bray wyatt or even the undertaker. Without a doubt one of the greatest workest in the history of the business. RIP Kevin Sullivan"

[10.0] "On August 9, 2024, the great man and wrestler Mr. Kevin Sullivan passed away. It is very difficult to come to terms with such an irreparable loss. For me personally, the era of amazing old school wrestling is over. Kevin Sullivan is my favorite wrestler. I first saw him in action in the mid-90s. While working as a booker for Nitro, WCW was at an unattainable height. It was the most watchable and coolest show in the wrestling world. My opinion: in terms of physical characteristics plus all his charisma, Sullivan had no equal and there will never be another such athlete. Yes, in the early 80s Kevin was a real bodybuilder. Later, naturally with age, he turned into the most powerful and luxurious athlete of the super heavy weight category, with outstanding body shapes and provocative proportions. Sullivan's tricks were fantastic and left an unforgettable mark on the history of wrestling. Take, for example, his role as a taskmaster and his subsequent unlikely feud with Chris Benoit. I would like to express my deepest condolences to Kevin's beloved family, friends and fans. May the great athlete rest in peace."

[5.0] "Guy was built like a giant dwarf. Was very punchy kicky and by the mid 90's, that style was considered old fashion. Worked fine as a manger and a promo guy."

[7.0] "I heard about his passing and wanted to give a rating I'm shocked to see how low it is. If I had to guess I'd assume it's based entirely on the Dungeon of Doom. I'll concede that he wasn't a great wrestler and had easily one of the goofiest looking finishers ever but his character work and brawling style is what sets him apart. He was the prototype for what we eventually saw with Jake Roberts and Bray Wyatt in particular. You could even include the Undertaker as far as a dark, evil and mysterious character goes."

[10.0] "The unsung innovator. One of the best bookers (if not the best), his work was always imaginative and creative. The pioneer of the cultist gimmick who played this role to the perfection. Had great matches and feuds all over the world. Helped to establish such great talents like Chris Benoit, Luna Vachon, Kintaro Kanemura (That was one sick spot, I tell you). If there was no Kevin Sullivan, there would be no Waylon Mercy, no House of Black, no Wyatt Family. He was everything you can see nowadays. R.I.P."

[7.0] "Sullivan was a legitimately creepy wrestler. He gave a good aura. He was definitely a good promo guy and could be a good brawler in the ring. His participation in some absolutely duds of storylines does hurt him. Also looking at him as the booker who made the Radicals leave does hurt him as a booker despite seeming to be a really good wrestling mind."

[8.0] "This is as embarrassing as any rating on the site. ~30 German idiots probably gave him low scores knowing nothing of him outside of the Dungeon of Doom, and then you've got another spike in bad scores because of, I guess some WCW retrospective podcast thing? I don't know, I was too busy actually watching territorial TV where Kevin Sullivan was a miles-ahead-of-the-pack heel and one of the better little-dog brawlers all the way into the 90's. Maybe there's a world where Sullivan gets a Satanic sex cult to feud with Hogan, but one of the issues with being ahead of your time is sometimes the time you're in holds you back."

[8.0] "A really good brawler with a unique mind for storytelling, for better and worse. He fell off a bit in the twilight of his career, but even then, he was capable of a great brawl with the right opponents. His work in Florida is especially noteworthy, he was a legitimate menace down there."

[8.0] "In the ring Sullivan wasn't necessarily the smoothest technical wrestler in the world, but he was a solid brawler and that generally suited his character what he set out to accomplish in the ring. He was also a good talker and knew how to draw heat and get under the crowd's skin, and his implied-Satanic gimmick tapped into the Satanic-panic zeitgeist of the time, but in wrestling was ahead of its time, setting the stage for many of the classic dark/occult/cultish characters of the next several decades (accidental, but appropriate, that he ended up being my 666th wrestler rating). It should also be noted that it was no small feat for a 5'8" wrestler in the '70s and '80s to get over as anything other than enhancement talent - let alone to become an imposing heel - and Sullivan accomplished that. In the later part of his in-ring career he made the shift to more of a manager figure and his talking skill did well with that, even with a lot of silliness involved in the Dungeon of Doom stuff, while his work as a booker is somewhat more of a mixed bag. Overall an interesting, multifaceted career."

[5.0] "I found him to be creepy when I was a kid. That faded really quickly. Looks like a goof, talks like a goof, and was involved in some of the most baffling angles ever. Some of his stuff was interesting, but the bad really sticks out."

[5.0] "Damn this guy was a bad pro wrestler at least in-ring wise. He gassed out instantly and didn't have the best moves. His character work in the territories was sick as hell though, and the Dungeon of Doom stuff was funny in it's own way. He wasn't a good booker either, because that Benoit feud felt like it went on forever with no memorable story beats."

[7.0] "He was an undersized guy for his time. I believe Kevin was 5'8" or so, and 255 lbs soak and wet. However, as a wrestler, he had the ability to be so good at playing so many different character roles over the years in every facet whether it was the taskmaster, the games master, the devil, etc, , that the aura, the mystique, and all of that around him, along with style that he used in the ring made you feel sorry for the bigger guys that had to get in the ring to face him. He booked several different places, had some solid and some not so solid ideas, but I think he's best known for his WCW stint where he wrote the majority of the t.v. that beat WWE for 83 weeks in a row."

[5.0] "Decent brawler that can definitely play an evil character, but as a booker he's terrible. The Dungeon of Doom storyline was obe of the worst and stupid factions he came up with. His early stuff with the sex cult thing is much better and should be remembered better than his WCW stuff."

[4.0] "Since my criteria is "how watchable are they"? The Taskmaster might not get much of a glowing review. I don't think I cared much for his ring work. He rarely seemed credible at his size, and more often than not had cronies or partners to help him get or keep an upper hand. The Army of Darkness is quite legendary and put the business on it's collective ear. And then kicked it for extra measure. I really liked The Varsity Club and every direction it took (booked perfectly from start to finish, excepting two incidents with Precious). His interviews sometimes went nowhere and took forever never getting there. I liked the whole Kevin Sullivan's butcher shop grouping, but I was a total Cactus Jack mark. Speaking of which, the best thing Sullivan ever did was constant, consistent favours for ol' Cacti; made growing up a wrestling fan more fun. The Alliance To End Hulkamania was duuuumb. The Dungeon of Doom was stuuuuupiiiid. The way he booked the nWo successfully MURDERED WCW. He drove out some of WCW's best talent at a time, which was a critical blow to them in never recovering any amount of success. Lotsa negatives here, fast forward moments piling up, heaps of groaning... uh oh... 4 points earned, mostly via The Varsity Club and the booking of Cactus Jack. also, that Boston accent is hilariously excessive."

[9.0] "Sullivan deserves way more credit, he was a great old-school brawler and his feud with Benoit was one of the best in WCW during that time period. His Occult persona in the Florida scene was way ahead of its time and pre-dated alot of the edgier stuff fans would grow to love in the late '90s. You could tell he loved the wrestling business and gave his all to it. I just don't get the low rating here at all."

[6.0] "Kevin Sullivan is a pretty revolutionary guy in the business from a wrestling and booking standpoint."

[8.0] "Why is he this low? Kevin Sullivan had a long career in many different roles. He was a solid wrestler for most of it, and his heel work in Florida was revolutionary. Great character."

[6.0] "Lord of Darkness' gimmick with his own faction with Manson's Family vibe was a masterpiece. A charismatic talented performer who can make you believe his words who even in the sunset of an active career when he gone from his satanic gimmick and was a member of cartoony storylines, he performed at a quite adequate level most of time."

[8.0] "Always liked the Satanic gimmick. A pretty good booker too. Small but had enough character to get him gigs in pretty much every promotion of the 20th century."

[10.0] "Frankly, I'm surprised that Sullivan's overall rating is quite low. From the time he was wrestling as a mid-card babyface back in the 70s to his unhinged heel gimmicks in the 80s and onwards, Kevin Sullivan was totally hardcore long before being hardcore was popular. Whether he was the Boston Battler, the Prince of Darkness, the Gamesmaster, or even the Taskmaster, Sully never failed to impress in the ring. As a kid, I was totally sold by his devil gimmick. In fact, Sully managed to intimidate me way more with his performances than the Undertaker ever did with his Dead Man gimmick. He won gold throughout both his babyface days and during his unhinged heel gimmick days. He had memorable kayfabe feuds with Dusty Rhodes, Blackjack Mulligan, Cactus Jack (after he split from Sully as a tag team duo), and the murderer who I will never acknowledge by name. Not to mention that Sully was unhinged enough to take on Abdullah The Butcher in a bloody steel cage match or even take on Bruiser Brody on numerous occasions. Sully was truly the epitome of old school wrestling and that was totally hardcore. Whenever I think of hardcore wrestlers, people like Cactus Jack, Abdullah The Butcher, Buzz Sawyer, and Kevin Sullivan come to mind."

[7.0] "I think he has excellent in-ring psychology and can perform very well in the ring. He has limited ring moves but he is a great entertainer. He can play the heel character very well. Sullivan's peak was in Florida in the 80's and being a member of the Army of Darkness. The Taskmaster gimmick in WCW was okay. I love his devil gimmick in the 80's best ever. Excellent at cutting promos Yes he effected Nancy his ex -fie Chris Benoit lives but shit happens. As a road agent and booker in WCW he was not that great. I am surprised that he is so low on this site. He is still wrestling at 69 years old and is not that great anymore."

[8.0] "Sullivan was a pretty good booker, along with a great character in WCW. He seemed to always change just enough to stay relevant, and as bad as the Dungeon of Doom was, he was really good in that role."

[8.0] "Kevin Sullivan was one of the most underrated overrated wrestlers of all time, if that makes any sense. His demonic character ruled Florida to the point of overkill in the early-mid 80s, yet he never got the chance to portray in WCW tot the fullest extent that evil, Satanic character that made him famous. Instead you had the goofy Taskmaster. If Sullivan was allowed to be truly evil during that feud with Hogan, it surely would have been a lot more intense and worth remembering."

[8.0] "Kevin is a very good wrestler with a good grasp of ring psychology. He was so convincing that to this day many people believe that he is a satanist (He isn't). While much of his offense is brawling related, he has a good amount of scientific knowledge. He has been a wrestler, manager, and booker, and has run several stables over the years."

[9.0] "You really want to see the best work Sullivan did, forget his WCW shit and find his work from Florida. This guy was years ahead of his time. Guys like Bray Wyatt are nothing but a cheap rip off of Sullivan. Don't believe me, watch and/or read how his work in Florida actually made many believe he was the devil and freaked out more than not."

[2.0] "A one-dimensional brawler in the ring. He could occasionally cut a good promo (like in his feud with Benoit) but more often than not his promos were just a much of mystical nonsense. And for all people say about how awful Vince Russo's WCW was, when they fired Russo and put Sullivan in charge, that was arguably even worse, with gimmicks like making Al Greene a dog and inexplicably reviving the Varsity Club 15 years too late."

[8.0] "One of the best I've heard on the mic. Worked like a big man, was a good brawler. Also the booker of WCW during the biggest boom ever."

[7.0] "One of the strangest wrestlers in the business, and one with a surprising amount of longevity. He has a background in bodybuilding, but from the look of his body, you'd never guess it in a million years. He wasn't a technical giant or a scientific genius, but he could brawl like nobody else. An innovator of hardcore, a predecessor to the many other "supernatural" characters in wrestling, and a controversial figure behind the scenes of WCW. Quite a resume for just one man."

[7.0] "Sullivan was very good on the Mic, and his evil gimmicks worked incredibly well, which is why he gets a 7. As a wrestler however, he was unremarkable, a brawler through and through, and at the same time, not an interesting one to watch."