Brett Eugene Woyan (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional wrestling trainer and retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, better known by the ring name Brett Sawyer.

Early life

Woyan grew up in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. He attended Dixie M. Hollins High School, where he took part in amateur wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Woyan was trained to wrestle by

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

and his elder brother Bruce Woyan, who wrestled as

Buzz Sawyer Bruce Alan Woyan (June 14, 1959 – February 7, 1992) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buzz Sawyer. Professional wrestling career Sawyer started wrestling in 1978 (other sources state 1979) in the National W ...

. He debuted in 1976 at the age of 16. Woyan eventually adopted the ring name "Hacksaw" Brett Sawyer and formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with his brother. In the early-1980s, Sawyer competed for the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

-based Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion. Between 1982 and 1984, he held the

NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...

four times and the

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of O ...

five times. In 1983 and 1984, the Sawyers competed for the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

-based

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

promotion, where they feuded with

The Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

, defeating them for the

NWA National Tag Team Championship The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986. The championship was introduced in November 1980 when Georgia Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Freebi ...

in 1983. Sawyer also won the

NWA National Heavyweight Championship The NWA National Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the U.S.-based, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The current champion is Cyon, who is in his first reign. The championship was established in January ...

in 1983. In 1984, Sawyer wrestled for the

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

-based

Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joe Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company. ...

promotion, winning the SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship with Chicky Starr. In early 1985, Sawyer began wrestling for the

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

-based

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

, with he and his brother losing a " loser leaves town" cage match to The Midnight Express in September 1985. In late 1985, he wrestled for the Kansas City, Missouri-based

Heart of America Sports Attractions Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

promotion, winning the

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that served as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Central-States Championship Wrestling. For most of its existence, however, ...

. Sawyer returned to Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986, competing in the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament. In 1987, Sawyer and his brother toured Japan with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

, competing in the NJPW New Year Dash 1987. In 1989, Sawyer wrestled for

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

, where he teamed with

Jim Backlund David Everett Ferrier (November 30, 1962 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Del Ray was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as one ...

as "The Playboys". The duo briefly held the

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

in the summer of 1989. In the late-1980s, the Sawyer brothers trained

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

to wrestle. In 1991, Sawyer wrestled three matches for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

as "Brett Wayne". Sawyer retired from professional wrestling in 1998. He opened a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

called Mad Dog's Palace School of Professional Wrestling.

Personal life

Woyan is married with two children. Woyan's elder brother, Bruce Alan Woyan, was also a professional wrestler under the ring name

. On February 7, 1992, Bruce Woyan died of drug overdose-induced heart failure. Woyan's nephew, Bruce Woyan's son Travis, also wrestled.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) - with

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) - with

( 1 time) * Pacific Northwest Wrestling **

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) **

( 5 time) - with

(1 time),

Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler and author. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career Early career (1979–1986) Tom Prichard began his career in Los Angeles ...

(2 times),

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...

(1 time), and Steve Pardee (1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1983) **PWI ranked him # 404 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. *''Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter'' **Tag Team of the Year (1984) - with Tom Pritchard *

** SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Chicky Starr José Anibal Laureano Colón (born June 24, 1958) is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler and manager. He is better known by his ring name, Chicky Starr. He's currently the general manager of the International Wrestling Association (IWA ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Brett 1960 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Florida Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Orlando, Florida 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA National Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA National Tag Team Champions