When you think of the career of Sid Vicious/Justice, what are the first memories that pop into your head?
I feel bad for writing this, but when I think of Sid, it is the moments he would not be overly proud of that are the first ones I remember, and I am a little ashamed of that.
You see, like many, I was one of the people who got sucked into wanting to know what was happening ‘behind the curtain’ back in the early 1990s. I’d gone through the Hulkamania Era and come out the other side with a keen interest in all things wrestling, and by this stage, dirtsheets were becoming more readily available all the way over here in Australia.
The dirtsheet community is like the seedy underbelly of wrestling. It’s funny, because the people who devour them think they’re reading about the seedy underbelly, but they’re actually part of it!
Maybe that’s the appeal?
With the benefit of hindsight, I regret going down that path. Those in that incestuous little community at the time introduced me to workrate, Japanese wrestling I ended up not giving a shit about, and more concerningly, took some sort of weird pleasure in belittling some of the more prominent US performers, as they were assessing them on what they were watching on tapes from overseas.
I’m not sure anyone copped the brunt of that criticism quite as much as Sid Vicious.
As an experiment prior to writing this article, I messaged a friend who likes, loves, and loathes wrestling all at the same time – I don’t have many friends who like it, so my catchment wasn’t huge. I asked him what his memories of Sid were, and his answers listed the following.
- When he broke his leg leaping off the second rope in WCW
- When he powerbombed Brian Pillman on the back of his head at Wrestlewar 91 after Pilllman’s feet hit the cage roof
- When he asked to start his promo again on live TV
- When he and Arn Anderson stabbed each other on tour overseas
- When he told Scott Hall and Kevin Nash that he had half the brain that they do
- And second to last, when he and Brian Pillman had an altercation and Sid returned to continue the fight carrying a windscreen washing “squidgee”
Not exactly a stellar CV, is it?
To be honest, it was kind of what I expected. Not to diss my mate – he’s a good dude, and as I explained, my initial thoughts were similar, but he was another who fell down the dirtsheet rabbit hole, and I am not sure he ever really climbed out.
It’s wrestling’s version of the Hotel California.
There is a final note he mentioned as part of the conversation, and at least over here in Australia, it earned Sid the moniker of “Softball Sid” amongst the wrestling diehards.
You see, Sid seemed, at heart, to be a simple guy. I mean that in the nicest possible sense. He knew what he loved doing, and he made time to do it.
In between his runs with WWF and WCW, he played softball.
Yep, this monstrous man who looked like a jacked-up version of Frankenstein’s monster (the only thing missing was the bolts in his neck) would go off and do something he loved, because he could.
To the smarts, this was akin to blasphemy. How could he turn his back on wrestling and go to play something he loved, right? Didn’t he love wrestling the same way they did? Why would he willingly miss a boom time in the business? There must be something wrong with him!
The fact is that a guy like Sid was never going to be denied in pro wrestling. With his size, his look, and that trademark intensity (not to mention a chin that looks like it could shred a shirt), Vicious could have walked into either of the Big Two companies and be welcomed as an asset at any point. At times, he left and went to do something else simply because he could.
He did what everyone wishes they could do… and many held that against him. Says more about them than it says about him, really.
Sid was always one that appealed to the masses. I reckon he understood how over he was, and that meant he didn’t have to take shit. He did, at times – we all do – but when he’d had enough, he’d be gone. It didn’t matter how hot the business was – he had other things he enjoyed. I like that. It’s actually a place in life we should all aspire to be in.
The news that Sid had passed away trickled across my deck this morning, and whilst many have taken to social media to express their condolences to the family (Sid is survived by his wife and two sons), I feel compelled to list a few of the more positive aspects that litter my memories, when it comes to the big man’s career.
Yes, others may choose to remember the gaffes – it is the nature of the smart ark to gravitate to these things in order to seem edgy – but the legacy of Sid is bigger than whatever they’re using to garner a few likes on whatever corner of the internet they inhabit.
THE FIRST TIME… EVER I SAW YOUR FACE
In the barren wasteland of Australia, wrestling coverage was scarce, and so it was that I had to rely on the Apter Mags to get up to speed (three to four months later) on what was occurring in wrestling.
It was in these mags that I got a look at Lord Humongous, who was a monster, but under a hockey mask, kind of seemed like a bit of a “nothing” character. The type that may have been a monster heel, but given the gimmick, couldn’t really go anywhere with it. Without the aid of footage, it made following territories difficult, but I remember thinking “that guy looks huge”.
Turns out, he was. In both size, and potential.
However, it wasn’t until Sid surfaced in WCW that I really sat up and took notice.
At this stage, it was about 1989, and I was receiving tapes from the States through my dirtsheet acquaintances (and they’d charge me… the pricks). Here, I saw Sid debut as a singles star, completely destroying Ranger Ross on a Clash of Champions broadcast.
To my young eyes, the Clash cards were a treat. They were unlike anything outside a PPV or Saturday Night’s Main Event, so to see Sid come out and squash a guy so comprehensively as a treat.
And it wasn’t just about the way he won – WCW also did the production of his entrance brilliantly. They used a rotating podium and great lighting to highlight the size of Vicious, who looked like a colossus standing there.
I’m sure others had thought it prior, but in fairness, this was my first look at Sid, and you could tell immediately he was going to be a superstar.
THE SKYSCRAPERS
From there, we head into one of the real “what could have been…” phases of Sid’s career. The first of quite a few, actually.
Here, teamed with Dan Spivey to form ‘The Skyscrapers’, this team looked incredible, and with the Road Warriors and Steiner Brothers both in the mix, as well, the WCW tag team picture looked incredibly enticing. When you throw in the team of Butch Reed and Ron Simmons, known as Doom, at the time, you could see the potential of this era.
Again, I saw Sid at the next Clash of Champions, as he and Spivey stood across the ring from the Steiners. I was spoiler-free in those days. Really, we all were. I had not yet begun to read the sheets and watched on with curious wonder at the match.
At one point, Scott Steiner hoists Sid up and hits a fallaway slam, but in doing so, Sid lands partially on Scott’s big head, and it breaks a couple of his ribs.
Unfortunately, it also punctures his lung.
This basically derails what could have been a dominant tag team run. The Scrapers were set to be part of the round-robin tag team tournament at Starrcade, featuring the Road Warriors, Steiners, and Doom. How that bracket played out would have been fascinating, as the only team that looked like taking a loss was Doom (and they did).
The Scrapers were replaced by the Samoan Swat Team, and in the process, WCW lost one of their aces in the hole. For a while, anyway.
During his rehabilitation, news that Sid was playing softball got back to WCW Booker, all-round happy guy, Ole Anderson. Never one to miss a reason to get angry, Ole was pissed at Sid, and ordered him to lose to Lex Luger in 26 seconds upon his return.
Tell me again why Sid would rather earn coin and then bugger off to play softball?
A punctured lung, broken ribs, and a crusty prick sabotaging your career as soon as you get back?
Batter up.
THE FAKE STING
Halloween Havoc 1990 was memorable for a few reasons. Number one was the crazy mat colour. Was it brown?
The second was that Sid was the most credible challenger Sting had since taking the title off Ric Flair. As a Horseman, Sid looked incredible, and his star was climbing. I was thinking this was going to be a title change, and for a little while, it looked to be the case.
However, in the days long before armies of black and white-painted fake Stings would inhabit WCW, the Horsemen tried to pull a fast one and inserted Barry Windham into the match, with his hair cut short, and face paint on, to take the part of Sting late in the contest.
After ten minutes, the action spilled to the floor and Sid started to head back to the dressing room. Sting pursued him as Flair and Arn hung around ringside. As Sid and Sting (Windham) made their way back to the ring, Windham scooped Sid up for a slam, only to have Sid collapse on top of him. The ref counted three, and it appeared Sid had won his first word title.
As Sid celebrated at being named the new world champ, the director completely missed the standoff in the runway between the real sting and the fake Sting (Windham), which led to the real Stinger returning to the ring, nailed Sid with a Stinger Splash, got him in a small package, and pinned him.
Sid was rightfully pissed, and the seeds were planted for his split from the Horsemen, as a result.
As an aside, I loved the commentary team of JR and Paul Heyman on this show.
RIPPING OFF THE REF’S SHIRT
When Sid Justice was selected as the referee for the Hogan/Warrior v Slaughter/Adnan/Mustafa match at Summerslam 91, we could all see where things were going to head.
Sid was, at heart, a monster heel, but in WWE, he was basically turning over a new leaf and being portrayed as a babyface. However, in the end, it was to build toward the inevitable Sid run against Hogan.
It was a confusing time in the WWF, with the obvious Wrestlemania match being Hogan v Flair, which had been a dream match for so long, but the Fed was impatient, and started scheduling Hogan against the ‘Real World Champion’ in October. With Hogan refusing to sell much of Flair’s offence, it painted Flair in a weak light, and his ability to be a credible opponent for Hogan, who was killing monsters by this stage of his career, took a huge hit.
The WWF had to adjust to recalibrate after their error (and really, the mishandling of the Flair v Hogan potential should be a Vice Series in its own right) so they looked to their new monster.
Before that, however, they had to have the fans, and Hulk Hogan, embrace Sid.
And so, following the win over the Iraqi heels, Hogan invited Sid back to the ring to pose. Sid did his best “who, me?” look as he poked his head out of the certain, but soon enough, there he was in the ring with the Hulkster, who ripped the shirt of Sid off, revealing a physique that made Hulk’s look… is inadequate the right word? Hogan certainly seemed lesser standing next to Justice.
He did, however, have a more natural interaction with the fans, so as they posed, Hogan fluently going through his routine, it became apparent that this really wasn’t Sid’s bag. Maybe it was at that moment that Vince realised Sid could not take the place of Hogan?
But why replace him when you can oppose him?
THE ROYAL RUMBLE BETRAYAL
Is the 1992 Royal Rumble not everyone’s favourite Rumble?
It’s brilliant, with Flair putting on perhaps the most complete Flair performance, ever, and Bobby Heenan doing such an incredible job of selling everything Flair-related during the match.
But this isn’t the Flair/Heenan show – this is about Sid, and his role in the match that handed Flair his first ever WWE World Title.
After Flair entered at number three, many others came and went, giving us great memories of Flair v Piper, Flair v Kerry Von Erich, etc… but it was only when it came down to the last three that things really heated up.
You all know how it went, but you may not know about the reactions.
The tide was turning amongst WWE fans at this point, and on the live broadcast, Hogan was being booed loudly at the end of this match. When Hogan punched Flair and he went over the top rope, there was excitement, but not cheers. When Sid walked toward Hogan, grabbed him by the trunks and head and hurled him over the top rope, there were raucous cheers.
Then Hogan reached up and grabbed Sid’s arm – more boos.
And when Flair dumped Justice out to win the title… cheers again!
In the official video releases, the WWF had to dub over the crowd noise to get the desired effect, but everyone knew what they heard on the original broadcast. They wanted Hogan out, and I genuinely believe the crowd would have been satisfied with either of Flair or Justice winning over Hogan.
As Flair hightailed it out of there to give his “with a tar in my eye” promo to cap the night, Hogan and Sid went nose to nose in the centre of the ring, sowing the seeds for their Wrestlemania clash. But first, they had to go through the machinations of tension building, the official turn, etc..
But on that night, the crowd decided who they wanted to support, and it was no longer the Hulkster.
KICKING OUT OF THE LEG DROP
Blame Charles Wright/Papa Shango all you like, but Sid became the first man to kick out of the Hogan leg drop in years at Wrestlemania Eight.
I lean towards Shango missing his cue (quite considerably, actually) as the reason for the kickout, as it should have been a moment that stopped the crowd, Hogan, the announcers, and the referee dead in their tracks.
Hogan dropped the big leg, the crowd counted one… two… and then Sid kicked out!
His manager, the pretty much useless Downtown Bruno immediately jumped onto the apron, largely ruining any chance of an improvised moment of astonishment from Hogan, before Shango finally ambled to the ring to commence his assault on Hogan and pave the way for the return of the Ultimate Warrior, but at that point in time, nobody kicked out of the leg drop.
Nobody.
Even Ultimate Warrior, two years before, did not get that badge of honour. He rolled out of the way of Hogan’s legdrop. Sid took it AND kicked out.
It was a Wrestlemania moment, by hook or by crook, that should have been a much bigger deal.
THE I QUIT MATCH
Am I the only one who has a hazy memory of the latter-day WCW?
I know it was the nature of the beast and of Vince Russo’s “Crash TV” style, but Sid returning, calling out Goldberg, and going on his inflated win-streak all seemed so rushed. I suppose they kind of had to, but WCW at this time, struck me as akin to a teenage boy in bed – always in such a rush.
I know I was.
Anyway, after Sid decided to get a restraining order issued against Goldberg, which made zero sense at all, and really hampered whatever build they could have put together, the feud culminated in an I Quit match on the ‘Mayhem’ PPV in 1999, and was pretty damn good, from memory, with Sid bleeding like a stuck pig throughout the contest and bounding to his feet several times after being hammered Big Bad Bill.
The match ended in typical WCW fashion. In an I Quit match, what is the one way of garnering a victory?
Well, Sid never said I quit, and was instead choked out. Still, at a time when WCW was a complete mess, this was one of the more entertaining aspects of the product. I just wish they hadn’t teenage-boyed it.
Look, I write this stuff for fun now. I have always disliked the way some wrestlers are portrayed by the fans, particularly those who think they’re somehow above the performers, themselves. I am thinking of starting a series focusing on the more poorly-regarded wrestlers and the real positives of their careers. If you like that type of stuff, please let me know – Lex Luger would be one. Buff Bagwell another. It’d be a way to honour the legacies of some long before their time is up. Too often, we wait until it’s too late to appreciate people.
I doubt the family of Sid will read this – there will be better reads out there in the next day or two. I know Oliver Bateman will pen one for The Ringer, and knock it out of the park, as usual, however, should you ever read this, I hope it gives an indication as to how Sid’s legacy reaches all the way around the world. It was a career to be proud of from a man who ran his own race, and really, isn’t that all of us ever want to be?
Rest in peace, Sid.