Darren Drozdov
Encyclopedia
Darren Drozdov, is an essay
ist, former NFL
player and retired professional wrestler
who competed in the World Wrestling Federation
in 1998 and 1999 under the ring name
s Puke and Droz.
Drozdov is quadriplegic due to a neck injury sustained from a failed wrestling maneuver, but has regained most of the use of his upper body and arms. His hiring interview with Vince McMahon
was featured in the documentary
Beyond the Mat
in 1999.
in South Jersey.
After a stint at Fork Union Military Academy
, he attended University of Maryland
and was a defensive tackle for the Terrapins
. He culminated his collegiate career by graduating with a B.S.
in Criminal justice
.
Before his wrestling career, Drozdov was a professional football
player for a few seasons with the NFL's New York Jets
and Denver Broncos
. He gained some notoriety (and the nickname "Puke") when he vomited on TV
during a Monday Night Football
game directly onto the football before the center could snap it. A 1993 Sports Illustrated
article stated that he had vomited at nearly every game that season and would reportedly see a psychiatrist for a "chronic vomiting" problem. Apparently, many in the football industry found his antics bizarre and appalling. This "off-the-wall" athlete was soon to be given a spot in the World Wrestling Federation.
during 1997-1998, Drozdov made his WWF debut in 1998. Drozdov claimed the natural ability to regurgitate on command, and WWF management decided to use this as his gimmick. In Beyond the Mat
, Drozdov's meeting with Vince McMahon is shown, with McMahon requesting Drozdov to vomit
in a trashcan in his office.
He was first featured in dark matches and on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
. He debuted on the May 25, 1998 episode of Raw is War
as an associate of the tag team
, the Legion of Doom
. Dubbed Puke, he was the unofficial third member of the group.
In late 1998, Drozdov competed in the WWF Brawl for All
tournament, making it to the semifinals before losing to Bradshaw
.
He was involved in a confrontation involving L.O.D. member Hawk's
alcoholism
. In this confrontation, Hawk was seen by his partner Animal
as unfit to wrestle and Drozdov was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team. The situation ended with accusations that Drozdov had been the "enabler" of Hawk's problems and had dosed the L.O.D. member to take his place in the team. During this segment, Hawk was shown to have fallen (or more likely pushed by Puke) off the TitanTron
. The feud culminated at the UK
PPV WWF Capital Carnage
when the L.O.D. team of Drozdov and Animal took on The Headbangers
. During the match, Drozdov entered the ring to defend Animal who was on the receiving end of an illegal double-team by The Headbangers. While the referee was occupied ushering Headbanger Thrasher
out of the ring, Headbanger Mosh
rolled up Drozdov, and the referee turned around and made the three count. Animal, enraged that Drozdov got involved, began to brawl with Drozdov before walking away from the ring in disgust, effectively ending Drozdov's run with L.O.D.
After Drozdov's stint with the L.O.D., efforts were made to rebrand his persona including one involving a series of skits called "Droz's World" where he would tell stories about his life as a professional wrestler. He started to come into his own after turning heel
. He started to build a stable of wrestlers who shared his bizarre lifestyle. He added Prince Albert to his faction as his personal "body piercing
artist" and Vic Grimes
was brought in briefly as Key, allegedly to be Drozdov's dealer
.
during a WWF SmackDown! taping on October 5, 1999 at the Nassau Coliseum
on Long Island
. Drozdov, in an interview, states he was wearing a loose shirt during the match. When Brown went for his signature running powerbomb, he wasn't able to gain a proper grip on Droz while Droz wasn't able to execute a proper jump to aid in the lifting of the powerbomb. Additionally, a fan-thrown drink in the ring caused Brown to slip slightly, and as a result, the move was botched
. Drozdov landed on his head, and fractured two disks in his neck. He was immediately rushed to Nassau County Medical Center where he underwent hours of surgery to reduce and stabilize the pressure on his injured neck. Because the match was pre-taped, it was not aired to fans during the October 10 broadcast and has never been shown to the public.
Even with intensive medical care, his injury initially left him a quadriplegic with essentially no movement below the neck. Droz has since regained movement in his upper body and arms, as can be seen in a shoot interview online (he holds his right arm up to the camera at one point). (It must be noted here that the medical definition of quadriplegia requires only that some impairment exist in all four limbs; many quadriplegics with injuries to one or more lower cervical vertebrae have fully functioning arms but impairment of the fingers.)
Fellow wrestler Mick Foley
recounts in his 2001 book Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling
, that he was at the hospital with D'Lo Brown after the match. Brown was extremely upset at what had happened. Foley tells how Drozdov (on a stretcher) told Brown not to blame himself and that it was an accident.
Currently, before every WWE pay-per-view
(PPV), Droz writes an article with his predictions for the matches.
In one internet rant, the Ultimate Warrior
was responding to an invite by WWE to appear on Byte This! following the release of the controversial DVD The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior; in response to the invite, Warrior infamously referred to Drozdov as "the cripple".
Droz also made an appearance on the Life and Death of the Road Warriors DVD in 2005, discussing his run with the group in 1998. In September 2007, Drozdov was named honorary captain for a Maryland Terrapins football game against Villanova University
.
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
ist, former NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player and retired professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
who competed in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in 1998 and 1999 under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
s Puke and Droz.
Drozdov is quadriplegic due to a neck injury sustained from a failed wrestling maneuver, but has regained most of the use of his upper body and arms. His hiring interview with Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
was featured in the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Beyond the Mat
Beyond the Mat
Beyond the Mat is a 1999 documentary directed by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts, as well as some aspiring wrestlers...
in 1999.
Football career
Darren as a 6' 3", 245 lb quarterback in high school, threw a 72 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lou Rothman to win the last game of the 1985 regular season to finish the season with a perfect 10-0 record. Drozdov set an Atlantic County record in Track and Field in the shotput event. He was All-State in Football at Oakcrest High SchoolOakcrest High School
Oakcrest High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District. The school name was chosen based on its site on the crest of a hill amid oak trees...
in South Jersey.
After a stint at Fork Union Military Academy
Fork Union Military Academy
Fork Union Military Academy is a private, military boarding school located in the town of Fork Union, Virginia. The school is more commonly known by its acronym FUMA ....
, he attended University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and was a defensive tackle for the Terrapins
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
. He culminated his collegiate career by graduating with a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
.
Before his wrestling career, Drozdov was a professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player for a few seasons with the NFL's New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He gained some notoriety (and the nickname "Puke") when he vomited on TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
during a Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game directly onto the football before the center could snap it. A 1993 Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article stated that he had vomited at nearly every game that season and would reportedly see a psychiatrist for a "chronic vomiting" problem. Apparently, many in the football industry found his antics bizarre and appalling. This "off-the-wall" athlete was soon to be given a spot in the World Wrestling Federation.
Professional wrestling career
Drozdov was originally an indie wrestler fighting under the names of Drozzy King Lake, Darren "Ripping Yarns" Laxingham and DD Da Death Dude. Following a short stint in Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
during 1997-1998, Drozdov made his WWF debut in 1998. Drozdov claimed the natural ability to regurgitate on command, and WWF management decided to use this as his gimmick. In Beyond the Mat
Beyond the Mat
Beyond the Mat is a 1999 documentary directed by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts, as well as some aspiring wrestlers...
, Drozdov's meeting with Vince McMahon is shown, with McMahon requesting Drozdov to vomit
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
in a trashcan in his office.
He was first featured in dark matches and on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired from January 4, 1997 through August 21, 1999 as a syndicated broadcast...
. He debuted on the May 25, 1998 episode of Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
as an associate of the tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
, the Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
. Dubbed Puke, he was the unofficial third member of the group.
In late 1998, Drozdov competed in the WWF Brawl for All
WWF Brawl For All
The WWF Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament held in the World Wrestling Federation that lasted from June 29, 1998 to August 24, 1998.-Inception:...
tournament, making it to the semifinals before losing to Bradshaw
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
.
He was involved in a confrontation involving L.O.D. member Hawk's
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...
alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. In this confrontation, Hawk was seen by his partner Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
as unfit to wrestle and Drozdov was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team. The situation ended with accusations that Drozdov had been the "enabler" of Hawk's problems and had dosed the L.O.D. member to take his place in the team. During this segment, Hawk was shown to have fallen (or more likely pushed by Puke) off the TitanTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
. The feud culminated at the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
PPV WWF Capital Carnage
WWF Capital Carnage
WWF Capital Carnage was a UK-only professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 6, 1998 at the London Arena in London, England...
when the L.O.D. team of Drozdov and Animal took on The Headbangers
The Headbangers
The Headbangers is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh and Thrasher, best known for their work in the World Wrestling Federation...
. During the match, Drozdov entered the ring to defend Animal who was on the receiving end of an illegal double-team by The Headbangers. While the referee was occupied ushering Headbanger Thrasher
Glen Ruth
Glen Ruth is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Thrasher.-Career:Ruth trained under Larry Sharpe and debuted in 1990 as The Spider. He later became Sharpe's assistant and trained wrestlers such as the Big Show and others at Sharpe's "Monster Factory"...
out of the ring, Headbanger Mosh
Charles Warrington
Charles Warrington is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Chaz and Mosh.-Career:Warrington began training under Larry Sharpe and Glen Ruth during the early 1990s, debuting in 1993...
rolled up Drozdov, and the referee turned around and made the three count. Animal, enraged that Drozdov got involved, began to brawl with Drozdov before walking away from the ring in disgust, effectively ending Drozdov's run with L.O.D.
After Drozdov's stint with the L.O.D., efforts were made to rebrand his persona including one involving a series of skits called "Droz's World" where he would tell stories about his life as a professional wrestler. He started to come into his own after turning heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
. He started to build a stable of wrestlers who shared his bizarre lifestyle. He added Prince Albert to his faction as his personal "body piercing
Body piercing
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...
artist" and Vic Grimes
Vic Grimes
Victor "Vic" Grimes is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling, Xtreme Pro Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-All Pro Wrestling:...
was brought in briefly as Key, allegedly to be Drozdov's dealer
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
.
Injury
Drozdov's active wrestling career ended suddenly when he suffered a severe neck injury during a match with D'Lo BrownD'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...
during a WWF SmackDown! taping on October 5, 1999 at the Nassau Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, United States. Home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, the Coliseum is located approximately east of New York City on Long Island...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. Drozdov, in an interview, states he was wearing a loose shirt during the match. When Brown went for his signature running powerbomb, he wasn't able to gain a proper grip on Droz while Droz wasn't able to execute a proper jump to aid in the lifting of the powerbomb. Additionally, a fan-thrown drink in the ring caused Brown to slip slightly, and as a result, the move was botched
Botch (professional wrestling)
To botch in professional wrestling means to attempt a scripted move that does not come out as it was originally planned due to a mistake, miscalculation, or a slip-up. Most botches are harmless but embarrassing, such as a wrestler simply flubbing a line or missing a cue, or falling before his...
. Drozdov landed on his head, and fractured two disks in his neck. He was immediately rushed to Nassau County Medical Center where he underwent hours of surgery to reduce and stabilize the pressure on his injured neck. Because the match was pre-taped, it was not aired to fans during the October 10 broadcast and has never been shown to the public.
Even with intensive medical care, his injury initially left him a quadriplegic with essentially no movement below the neck. Droz has since regained movement in his upper body and arms, as can be seen in a shoot interview online (he holds his right arm up to the camera at one point). (It must be noted here that the medical definition of quadriplegia requires only that some impairment exist in all four limbs; many quadriplegics with injuries to one or more lower cervical vertebrae have fully functioning arms but impairment of the fingers.)
Fellow wrestler Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
recounts in his 2001 book Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling
Foley is Good: And The Real World is Faker Than Wrestling
Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling is the second autobiography of wrestler Mick Foley, formerly of WWE and TNA. It details his career from January 1999 until his retirement in April 2000 at WrestleMania 2000...
, that he was at the hospital with D'Lo Brown after the match. Brown was extremely upset at what had happened. Foley tells how Drozdov (on a stretcher) told Brown not to blame himself and that it was an accident.
Post-injury
Drozdov remains employed by the company, and began contributing articles and essays for website and magazine content. He also became a recurring guest on the WWE Byte This! internet show, commenting on his opinions regarding talents or upcoming matches.Currently, before every WWE pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV), Droz writes an article with his predictions for the matches.
In one internet rant, the Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
was responding to an invite by WWE to appear on Byte This! following the release of the controversial DVD The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior; in response to the invite, Warrior infamously referred to Drozdov as "the cripple".
Droz also made an appearance on the Life and Death of the Road Warriors DVD in 2005, discussing his run with the group in 1998. In September 2007, Drozdov was named honorary captain for a Maryland Terrapins football game against Villanova University
Villanova Wildcats football
The Villanova Wildcats football program represents Villanova University in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision . The Wildcats play at Villanova Stadium with capacity of 12,500.-History:...
.
Personal life
Darren married fellow WWE employee Julie Youngberg in 1999, only days after his accident. He later stated that the one thing he would like to do would be to walk Julie down the aisle. Youngberg and Drozdov divorced in late 2005.In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- New Jersey Naptime (Sitout powerbomb)
- Spear
- Signature moves
- Bridging German suplex
- Diving elbow drop
- Diving lariat
- Jumping elbow drop
- Leaping clothesline
- Three-point stance clothesline
- With Road Warrior AnimalRoad Warrior AnimalJoseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
- Doomsday DeviceDoomsday DeviceDoomsday Device, often shortened to Device, is a term used in professional wrestling to reference a tandem move in which one wrestler hoists the opponent on their shoulders so that they are facing in the same direction in what is known as the electric chair position, while another wrestler climbs...
- Doomsday Device
Championships and Accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #142 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
in 1999
- PWI ranked him #142 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500