Darren Drozdov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darren Drozdov | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Droz Puke |
Darren Drozdov, (born April 4, 1969 in Mays Landing, New Jersey) better known as Puke or Droz, is a retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 until 1999.
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[edit] NFL career
Before his wrestling career, Droz was a professional football player in the NFL for a few seasons with the 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 <ref>King, Peter. "The End Zone." Sports Illustrated. 9/20/93, Vol. 79, Issue 12</ref> 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.
[edit] WWF career
Droz made his WWF debut on the May 25, 1998 episode of Raw is War as an associate of the tag team, The Road Warriors. Dubbed "Puke", he was the unofficial third member of the group. 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 Droz was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team. The storyline ended with accusations that Droz 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.
In late 1998, Droz competed in the WWF's Brawl For All tournament, making it to the semifinals before losing to Bradshaw.
After Droz'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. Droz 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 Droz's dealer.
He is also shown interviewing with Vince McMahon in the documentary Beyond the Mat by Barry W. Blaustein in 1998.
[edit] Injury
Droz'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. A fan had thrown a drink into the ring, spilling its contents over one section, a fact of which both wrestlers and the referee were unaware. Brown went for his trademark running powerbomb and subsequently slipped on the wet patch of the ring while holding Droz in his arms, resulting in the botching of the move. Droz landed improperly, on his head, and fractured two disks in his neck. <ref>"Wrestler Is Injured In L.I. Competition." The New York Times. New York, NY. Oct 7, 1999. pg B8.</ref> 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. Before this injury it was expected that Droz had a very bright future within the WWF as Vince McMahon was a big fan of his.
[edit] Continued work in wrestling
Today, Droz is still involved with WWE behind the scenes and as a contributor to wwe.com, and his work on WWE Byte This! A clip of him being carried out of the ring from his career-ending injury on SmackDown! was used in the Don't Try this at Home clips for WWE.
[edit] Personal life
Darren married fellow WWE worker Julie on November 8, 1999, only weeks after his accident. He later stated that the one thing he would like to do would be to walk Julie down the aisle. However, the couple divorced in 2005.
Darren played football as a defensive tackle at the University of Maryland where he graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Droz Bomb / New Jersey Naptime (High-speed powerbomb)
- Spear
- Three point stance clothesline
- Flying clothesline
- Diving elbow drop
- With Road Warrior Animal
[edit] Notes
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