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Darren Drozdov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Darren Drozdov | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Darren "The Droz" Drozdov; Droz; Puke |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Billed weight | 310 lb (122 kg) |
| Born | April 7, 1969 Mays Landing, New Jersey |
| Debut | 1997 |
| Retired | 1999 |
Darren Drozdov, (born April 7, 1969) better known as Puke or Droz, is an ex-NFL player and retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF in 1998 and 1999. He was featured in the documentary Beyond the Mat (by Barry W. Blaustein) in 1998, as footage of his meeting with Vince McMahon was one (along with his paralysis being mentioned in the end) of the focal points of the film.
Contents |
Drozdov played high school football at Fork Union Military Academy.[1] He was a defensive tackle at the University of Maryland where he graduated 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. A 1993 Sports Illustrated article stated that he had vomited at nearly every game that season [2] 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" and unusual attitude was given a spot in the World Wrestling Federation, however.
Following a short stint in ECW during 1997-1998, Drozdov made his WWF debut in 1998. He was featured in dark matches and on WWF Magazine show, Shotgun Saturday Night until 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's Brawl For All tournament, making it to the semifinals before losing to Bradshaw.
He was involved in a storyline involving L.O.D. member Hawk's alcoholism. In this storyline, 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 storyline 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 infamously was shown to have fallen off the TitanTron.
After Drozdov's stint with the L.O.D., efforts were made to rebrand his character including one involving a series of skits called "Droz's World" where he would tell stories about his life as a pro 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 play Drozdov's dealer.
Drozdov's active wrestling career in WWF ended suddenly when he suffered a severe neck injury during a match with D'Lo Brown during a WWF SmackDown! taping on October 5, 1999 at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island. Droz, in a shoot 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, resulting in the botching of the move. Drozdov landed on his head, and fractured two disks in his neck. [3] 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. Even with intensive medical care, his injury left him a quadriplegic.
He remained employed by the company regardless, and began contributing articles and essays for website and magazine content, he also became a recurring guest on WWE Byte This, commenting on his opinions regarding talents or upcoming matches.
Droz also made an appearance on the "Life and Death of the Road Warriors" DVD in 2005, discussing his run with the LOD in 1998.
Currently, before every WWE pay-per-view, Droz writes an article with his predictions for the match. These articles can be found on each PPV exclusives page at wwe.com.
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 the Warrior infamously referred to Droz as "the cripple". http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1127876828.php
In September 2007, Drozdov was named honorary captain for a Maryland Terrapins football game against Villanova University.
- Finishing and signature moves
- Droz Bomb / New Jersey Naptime (High-speed powerbomb)
- Spear
- Three point stance clothesline
- Flying clothesline
- Diving elbow drop
- ^ Darren Drozdov, database Football. Accessed December 8, 2007.
- ^ King, Peter. "The End Zone." Sports Illustrated. 9/20/93, Vol. 79, Issue 12
- ^ "Wrestler Is Injured In L.I. Competition." The New York Times. New York, NY. Oct 7, 1999. pg B8.
Categories: Articles lacking sources from April 2007 | All articles lacking sources | 1969 births | People from Atlantic County, New Jersey | American football defensive tackles | American professional wrestlers | Denver Broncos players | Living people | Maryland Terrapins football players | People with quadriplegia | The Attitude Era | World Wrestling Entertainment alumni