Sid Eudy

Sidney Raymond Eudy (December 16, 1960 – August 26, 2024) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenures in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), wrestling under the ring names Sid Justice, Sid Vicious, and Sycho Sid. He is a two-time WWF world champion (in 1996 and 1997) and two-time WCW world champion (in 2000).

Eudy wrestled in a number of promotions, most notably the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), en route to being signed by WCW in 1989 under the name of Sid Vicious. There, Sid was part of The Skyscrapers tag team with Dan Spivey, then part of the Four Horsemen in 1990 to 1991 with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Barry Windham. In the summer of 1991, Eudy jumped to the WWF and adopted the ring name Sid Justice, going on to main event WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan in April 1992. However, Eudy abruptly quit the promotion later that spring following disagreements with management, and he returned to WCW at Slamboree in May 1993. Five months later, Eudy was involved in an infamous real-life altercation with Arn Anderson, which led to his immediate termination from WCW. This was just months prior to Sid's planned winning of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade '93 that December.

After a run at United States Wrestling Association (USWA), where he won the Unified World Heavyweight Championship twice, Eudy returned as Sycho Sid to WWF in 1995, first as a bodyguard for Shawn Michaels, and then as part of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation stable. He then won the WWF Championship in 1996 by beating Michaels, where notably he was wildly cheered on by the crowd despite being a heel character. He later won it again, this time from Bret Hart, in 1997, after which he headlined the WrestleMania 13 pay-per-view. Following an injury, Eudy left the WWF and spent some time on the independent circuit and on Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Sid Vicious returned to WCW in 1999 where he feuded with Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner and then became United States Heavyweight champion. He headlined Starrcade 2000 and that year beat Nash on two occasions to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. During the main event of the 2001 Sin pay-per-view, Sid jumped from the ropes and broke his left leg, suffering a double compound fracture which forced him to retire from professional wrestling. He returned to the WWE in 2012 in two appearances as Sycho Sid as part of WWE Raw 1000. Eudy died of cancer in 2024.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1987–1989)

Eudy entered wrestling after an encounter with Randy Savage and his brother Lanny Poffo. After he was trained by Tojo Yamamoto, Eudy made his debut as he teamed with Austin Idol and wrestled the team of Nick Bockwinkel and Jerry Lawler. He began his career in Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW) in 1987 under the masked wrestler persona Lord Humungous. On Christmas Day 1987, Sid won the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division). Later, he turned into a fan favorite after rekindling a (kayfabe) childhood friendship with Shane Douglas, resulting in the two forming a tag team and capturing the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship.

He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he challenged Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship under the name Vicious Warrior, but was unable to win the title. Eudy then made a very brief stint in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he adopted one of his most notable ring names: Sid Vicious, which he took from the punk rock musician of the same name who played bass for the Sex Pistols.

NWA World Championship Wrestling (1989–1991)

The Skyscrapers (1989)

In 1989, Eudy signed with World Championship Wrestling and retained his Sid Vicious ring name. He made his televised debut in WCW by defeating DeWayne Bruce on the June 17, 1989, episode of Pro. Originally slated as a singles wrestler, Eudy was eventually paired with Danny Spivey to form The Skyscrapers, and were managed by Teddy Long. The Skyscrapers feuded with The Road Warriors and The Steiner Brothers. During that time, he incorporated the Powerbomb as his finishing move. The team was short-lived, as Eudy was replaced by "Mean" Mark Callous after breaking a rib and puncturing a lung during a match with The Steiner Brothers on November 15 at Clash of the Champions IX.

Four Horsemen (1990–1991)

After his recovery, Eudy was introduced on the May 11, 1990, edition of NWA Power Hour as the newest member of Ric Flair's Four Horsemen. Sid was the "muscle" of the group and initially brought in to counter-act the strength of RoboCop at Capital Combat. His first televised match back was a 26-second loss to Lex Luger on June 13 at Clash of the Champions XI after the referee performed a fast three count. As one of the Horsemen, Eudy feuded with Paul Orndorff and the Junkyard Dog. He attacked NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting following the champion's title match at Clash of the Champions XII in September, setting up his first feud as a singles wrestler. On October 27 at Halloween Havoc, a fake Sting (Barry Windham), in collusion with Sid, let Sid pin him after switching places with the real Sting for Sid to win the belt. They were thwarted when the real Sting came out and beat Sid to retain the title.

Sid's association with the Horsemen became tenuous following this episode, and he began a quasi-face run on November 20, when he defeated The Nightstalker at Clash of the Champions XIII: Thanksgiving Thunder. On December 16, The Skyscrapers had a short-lived reunion when Sid and former partner Spivey defeated Big Cat and The Motor City Madman at Starrcade. Following this match, Eudy made an abrupt return to heel status, squashing Joey Maggs at Clash of the Champions XIV: Dixie Dynamite on January 30, 1991. He returned to full-fledged Horsemen activity and participated in the WarGames match on February 24 at WrestleWar. The Horsemen amicably split in April, during which time he entered negotiations with the WWF. Despite a huge contract offer and a promise of a world championship run, Eudy announced his intentions to leave WCW. Eudy left WCW after his match with El Gigante on May 19, 1991, at SuperBrawl I.

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1992)

At a Superstars taping on May 28, 1991, Eudy made his WWF debut in an untelevised segment, attacking The Mountie following Mountie's open offer. On the June 8 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, vignettes began airing promoting his WWF debut and introducing him as Sid Justice. Sid made his debut on WWF television on the July 20 episode of Superstars. On August 26 at SummerSlam, he served as the guest referee in a handicap match pitting The Ultimate Warrior and the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan against The Triangle of Terror (Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa, and Gen. Adnan). Later that night, Sid saved Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth from an attack at the hands of Jake Roberts and The Undertaker at the newly wed couple's reception. During this time, Sid defeated Kato in his first televised match on the September 21 episode of Superstars.

Sid competed for the vacant WWF Championship in the Royal Rumble match on January 19, 1992. Sid entered at No. 29 and was among the final four wrestlers, along with Hogan, Randy Savage, and Ric Flair, before he eliminated both Savage and then Hogan, leaving himself and Flair in the ring. Hogan, who was still at ringside after being eliminated, grabbed Sid's arm and tried to pull him over the top rope, giving Flair the chance to grab Sid's legs and throw him out to win the match and become the new WWF Champion. Less than a week later, on the January 25 episode of Superstars, WWF President Jack Tunney held a press conference to determine Flair's opponent at WrestleMania VIII. Before Tunney revealed his decision, Sid stood up as if Tunney called his name. Yet to Sid's annoyance, Tunney chose Hogan, giving a menacing glance in Hogan's direction and calling Tunney's decision "bogus". Sid later apologized to Hogan and teamed up with him to face The Undertaker and Flair on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX. During the match, after he double clotheslined Undertaker and Flair, Hogan reached to Sid for a tag. Sid refused and walked out of the match, turning heel in the process. Hogan won the match by disqualification.