“Waylon Mercy” Dan Spivey talks New Book about Overcoming Addiction, Shoot Fight with Adrian Adonis, Sid Vicious’ Punctured Lung, Bray Wyatt, more

Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: “Waylon Mercy” Dan Spivey
Date: 09/11/2025
Your Host: James Walsh

You know what I mean?

Dan Spivey, best known in the US as Waylon Mercy, had a wrestling career that spanned the glory days in the WWE’s Rock N Wrestling Connection period, the transition from Jim Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner’s WCW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and the WWE’s New Generation. His journey through pro wrestling, which continued via Bray Wyatt’s persona being a lot like Waylon Mercy and Mercy the Buzzard being a character on the Firefly Fun House, is only part of his journey.

A story about Dan Spivey’s journey through alcohol abuse and drug abuse is to be the subject of his upcoming autobiography scheduled for release prior to Christmasthis year, 2025! When it is up for sale, we’ll spread the word!

Spivey’s book will be self-published and we will have him back on when it is out and help you find it and get it for your collection. But, for now, we talk ‘raslin with the “Golden Boy” who has done it all! You know what I mean?

Don’t forget to check out www.WrestlingEpicenter.com for more interviews like this.

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/_Ly0tPchIm4

DAN SPIVEY:

 On writing his book:
“I’m doing fine! I’m playing a lot of golf. And, my wife and I are writing my book. It is a book about my life, my experiences, and my battle with drugs and alcohol. We are hoping to get it finished by the Christmas shopping season and think it will make a good stocking stuffer.”

On the book not just being about wrestling:
“The book is really not just a wrestling book. It is about my life and my struggles with alcohol and drugs which a lot of people never really knew I had. But, I’ll tell you, if I can overcome my addictions, anyone can.”

On his Hastell Toys Hasbro style Waylon Mercy action figure:
“It is very cool to be remembered. And, I think they did a great job with the action figure. And, apparently, people are buying them. I’m honored. I really am.”

On why he turned down a New York Jets contract out of college:
“Well, my last year of college football, I wanted to be red shirted. I didn’t want to play. But, they forced my hand and I didn’t play up to my standards. But, I was drafted by the New York Jets. Well, there was this new league called the World League and I figured I’d try my hand there with the Jacksonville Express. They folded pretty quickly. But, I thought I’d get some work done on my legs and get myself ready. There was a famous doctor named Dr. Nicholas, he worked on Joe Namath when he had problems with his legs. Well, he asked how long they waited to operate on me and I said “8 weeks.” He said, “Dan, they should have operated on you within 2 weeks.” That destroyed me. The whole reason I went to the University of Georgia is because it was my life long dream to play in the NFL… And, I figured that would have given me the best shot.”

On getting into pro wrestling:
“I was already in my 30’s. I went to a country and western bar and Dusty Rhodes was there. He saw me and asked me if I ever thought about being a wrestler. I said “yes” because I had thought about it. I had been a fan ever since I was a little kid! So, I went to his office in Tampa and we got started. He got the booker job in the Carolinas for Jim Crockett Promotions and me and Scott Hall followed him up there. We about starved to death up there. They didn’t even have a ring for us to work out in. We hardly got any bookings there at all.”

On who helped him settle in pro wrestling:
“Dusty, he opened the door for us. But, he didn’t help us. Not really. I got more help from Ricky Steamboat. I got to become good friends with him. He would get in there and work out with me and teach me things. I can’t say enough good things about Ricky. He is really a nice guy.”

On getting his first big break in WWE:
“Well, Ricky Steamboat asked me to give him some pictures. I did and he showed them to the booker up there. They said, “Bring him in” and they did. I had only been in the business for a year, hardly. But, they had a spot for me. Barry Windham had just left and another good guy, Mike Rotunda, needed a tag team partner. He took me under his wing. They called us the US Express. We started as the American Express to differentiate between him and Windham’s team name but there was a legal battle over that. Whatever. They even had us come out to Born in the USA but we couldn’t do that after too long.”

On the WrestleMania II NFL Football Players versus Wrestlers Battle Royal:
“We had Andre on our side so they couldn’t get too cute. No, the NFL players were big guys but they knew they were in our element. They ahd Dick Butkus, Too Tall Jones, William “The Refrigerator ” Perry. A lot of big names were there. But, it turned out great. It was a great experience. It really was!”

On the pro football players getting bigger and the pro wrestlers getting smaller these days:
“That’s true! Back when I was playing at the University of Georgia, if I weighed in at more than 250 pounds, I had to go sit at the fat man table!”

On the “Golden Boy” Dan Spivey look and character:
“Well, I didn’t hear people compare me to Hogan at the time and nobody seemed to have a problem with it so I kept doing it. That was really one of the stupidest things I did, though. I wish I had never did it. I don’t know why I did it. I should have gone away, come back with my hair dyed black or something. But, I went with the long blond hair, yellow trunks, and yellow boots. I guess it was OK. Nobody ever said anything. And, it eventually caught up to me because Vince McMahon called me one day after a lot of other things happened and he said, “I don’t need 2 Hulk Hogan’s.” And, he let me go.”

On his relationship with Hulk Hogan:
“I liked Hulk. I knew him before either of us were in wrestling. In was in a rock band and I was the bouncer.”

On his incident with Adrian Adonis:
“It started a few weeks before it happened. He started doing the gimmick where he acted like a fairy or a gay guy kind of like a new version of Gorgeous George. They were getting him ready to work with Hogan. But, he started getting stiff in the ring and hurting guys. One match, he got stiff with me and started saying stuff in the ring that really got to me. The British Bulldogs and those guys got my stuff out of there so it didn’t go further that night. The next night we were in Flint, Michigan. It was sold out, 10,000 people. Pat Patterson came in and said I had to work with Adrian, George Steele was hurt. I said I didn’t want to work with Adrian. Patterson goes out, comes back in and said, “Adrian said he doesn’t want to work with you either. But, Vince says you’re working together.” So, I go out first. Then he comes out, and he blows one of those air boogers and snot is running down his arm. That pissed me off right there. I yelled at Jimmy Hart, “Wipe his arm off!” He did. Anyway, we started the match and I was hoping he would try something. I realy was. And, he did. He put me in the sleeper hold and really started to cinch down on it. So, I got out of it and I started to beat his ass. I knocked him out. I laid down on top of him. The referee says, “Dan, that’s not the finish!” I said, “I’ve changed the finish!” Well, he disqualified me. I go to the back and I picked up a chair. I was going to hit him with it. The boys grabbed me and took the chair off of me. He comes in and he goes to leg dive me. Jake was holding me back and he let go and said “here he comes”, so I stopped the leg dive and hit him with an upper cut. Every time I hit him, I split him open. Randy Savage grabbed me, took me down to his locker room, gave me some ice and told me, “Whatever you do, make the town tomorrow.” I did.”

On if he got in trouble with Vince over the Adrian incident:
“Not exactly. Vince called and said, “Dan, I can’t have you beating up my talent.” I said, “He’s not that talented, though.” Vince said again that I couldn’t be beating up his talent. I told him, “I understand. But, he’s not that talented.””

On his Skyscrapers Tag Team with Sid Vicious:
“I liked Sid. I really did. But, what happened between me and him was one night we were having a match, I think it was a pay-per-view, with the Steiner Brothers. I tag Sid in and he gets in, hits the rope, and falls down on the apron. I go over and say, “What’s the matter?” He says, “I can’t breathe!” So, I spent 15 minutes getting my ass kicked by the Steiner Brothers! They came to ringside, carried him out, and he went to the hospital and they said he punctured his lung with a broken rib.”

On when he last saw Sid:
“I actually got to see Sid just a few weeks before…. It was at an autograph signing and he was there. I went up to him, he looked good. He didn’t say he was sick or anything… Then, a few weeks later, he died. I was glad I got to see him before that, though.”

On Sid possibly always having an ilness:
“Well, he punctured a lung getting into the ring. Then, he broke his leg jumping off the middle rope. Those kinds of things are not normal. Maybe he always had some kind of cancer thing going on?”

On teaming with The Undertaker as Sid’s repacement:
“I knew he would be a good hand but I didn’t realize he’d go on to be one of the greatest ever. He probably had the best gimmick ever (as the Undertaker) and, if you think about it, he might go down as the very best big man ever in the business. WCW told him, Ole Anderson told him after I left and he was working as a singles wrestler. Ole told him “you’ll never make any money in this business.” So, he went to WWE and Vince gave him the ball and he ran with it. He ran with it hard!”

On why he left WCW while teaming with Undertaker:
“I got sick of it. They weren’t doing anything with us and that was ridiculous. We were having these matches with the Road Warriors and I would call those matches and we’d never win. But, I wasn’t even making as much money as Paul Ellering. So, I went back to Japan and left Mark there. That was probably a pretty mean thing to do.”

On Bill Watts taking over WCW and how he felt about Watts’ job there:
“Well, I was over in Japan. I was under contract but they stopped paying me my checks. So, I called over there and Bill said, “Well, you could come back and put people over or something.” So, I went back to WCW and he changed his tune pretty quick. He didn’t make me put anybody over and theys tarted cutting me my checks.”

On wrestling in an empty MGM Grand Garden Arena for UWF Blackjack Brawl:
“(laughs) That was ridiculous! (laughs) We had more wrestlers at that show than people in the crowd! (laughs) That was Herb Abrams. I heard he stiffed the venue on the booking fee. And, he died not all that long after that.”

On if it is fair to say that AJPW’s tough style broke down a lot of guys before they went to WWE:
“That’s true. Yeah, it was a very tough style. But, I took to it. I loved it. Plus, I got to work with a lot of great guys. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, Stan Hansen, Plus, the environment was no bullshit. There wasn’t sponsors, people coming in to adjust your attire… Dogs. Well, the British Bulldogs did have their dog that they would bring to the ring. But, it was no bullshit. Just hard hitting wrestling.”

On if Johnny ACe was a great over there:
“No! (laughs) He won’t correct you if you say he was but no, he was a stooge. In fact, when he’d get on the tour bus, a lot of the boys would just scream at him, “STOOGE!” and he’d just smile. He was a stooge buttering up Ms. Baba. I’m not surprised he would end up a stooge in the WWE and end up working for Vince McMahon like that. Do you know where he is today? I don’t.”

On the Waylon Mercy character:
“I loved Waylon Mercy. Vince McMahon and I came up with it. It was based on Cape Fear and Robert DeNiro’s character of Max Cady. It was perfect for me. And, for me, getting to do a character in the WWE and do promos was a little bit of unfinished business.”

On the slower promo style of Waylon Mercy:
“Well, if someone gets real mad at you and starts screaming at you, you probably just get pissed off with them but you don’t really listen. But, if they come in and they talk to you directly and calmly and slowly express things to you, you really do listen to what they say. It is a little different way of doing it. I borrowed some of that from Jake Roberts. But, I really loved Waylon Mercy. You know what I mean?”

On why he retired at the height of his WWE run:
“I just couldn’t do it anymore. My body was giving up on me. I truly regret that I wasn’t able to carry on because Waylon Mercy could have gone on to huge things. I just couldn’t keep going.”

On Bray Wyatt borrowing from the Waylon Mercy character:
“Bray Wyatt talked to me about doing some of those things. Some of the phrases and a shirt that was kind of like the Waylon Mercy style shirt. I was honored he wanted to do it and of course I gave him my blessing. He didn’t need it. But, it meant a lot to me.”

On of Mercy the Buzzard was a tribute to him:
“I don’t know. I think so. But, it was never said it was to me.”

On if he likes modern wrestling:
“I don’t watch that much. When I do, I like guys like Drew McIntyre and Sheamus. I’ve seen them tear it up. A lot of the guys now are a lot smaller and do a lot more high flying moves than I ever could do. I never could have done what they do. But, I still like the big guys.”

Word association: Jim Cornette
“(laughs) I plead the fifth!”