William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American 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 or ...

and road agent and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with

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 Nation ...

(WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) under his real name. DeMott also performed as Crash the Terminator in both

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

(ECW) and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Generally used as a

jobber to the stars In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

in WCW, he attained championship success during the promotion's dying days in late 2000 and early 2001, holding the

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE ...

twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...

. After an unsuccessful stint as a performer in WWE, DeMott retired from in-ring competition and transitioned into the role of a trainer for the company's '' Tough Enough'' program, on which he became known for using a rough, controversial style in handling trainees, as well as WWE's

developmental territories In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

Deep South Wrestling Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

, and

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

; after working for WWE a total of 10 years between 2001 and 2015, he resigned from the company.

Early life

William Charles DeMott II was born on November 10, 1966, in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958, He grew up in

Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

, graduating from

Paramus High School Paramus High School is an American four-year comprehensive public high school, located in Paramus, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Paramus Public ...

in 1983.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1988–1994)

DeMott was trained by

Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...

in his

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

wrestling school beginning in 1988. From there he began working at small independent promotions using the name Big Sweet Williams. In 1992 DeMott began wrestling for the

Americas Wrestling Federation The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

and started using the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

Crash the Terminator. Under this name he found some success, first capturing the AWF World Heavyweight Title from Steve Strong in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, before moving on to the Japanese promotion W*ING and winning their World Tag Team Championship with

Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...

. In 1993, while competing in W*ING, DeMott won a 16-man tournament to be crowned their World Heavyweight Champion. When DeMott returned to the United States, he wrestled for

for a short time under his Crash the Terminator name. On February 21, 1994 DeMott received a tryout match with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

at a

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

taping at Poughkeepsie, NY. He also had matches over the next two days at taping for

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...

and

Wrestling Challenge ''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...

. He then went to Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling, where he won the latter promotion's World Heavyweight Championship upon winning a

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

. Crash's final ECW appearance came on May 13, 1994, in a TV victory against AJ Powers, which aired on June 7.

World Championship Wrestling (1995–2001)

The Dungeon of Doom and The First Family (1995–2000)

In 1995, DeMott was signed to a

(WCW) contract at the behest of Kevin Sullivan who had been impressed by him. He debuted in

dark match 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 ...

es as The Man of Question and The Laughing Man, a strange

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

that saw him wearing a singlet covered in question marks and laughing frequently. He made his television debut as a member of

The Dungeon of Doom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

as "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus (a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...

on the word humorous) on the November 18, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night in a

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

inside the Dungeon, where Kevin Sullivan told his (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

) father, The Master, that he was giving him something he never had: laughter, and that he was giving him "the man from the Isle of Nowhere." Upon the dissolution of the Dungeon of Doom, Morrus was relegated to the undercard. He gained the distinction of being the first wrestler to lose a televised match to

Bill Goldberg William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE. One of the most ...

during the September 22, 1997 episode of ''

Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitroalkene, ...

''. As a part of the growing

hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...

style in WCW, Morrus joined

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...

First Family First Family is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. A first family usually consists of: the head of state, the first spouse and their children. Related terms The term ''second family'' is often used to refer to t ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

. Although the Family found success and received a

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

following a victory over their rivals

The Revolution A revolution is a drastic political change that usually occurs relatively quickly. For revolutions which affect society, culture, and technology more than political systems, see social revolution. Revolution may also refer to: Aviation *Warner ...

, the stable was suddenly disbanded. At this time, DeMott took some time off from WCW. He returned in early 2000, utilizing the same name and ring attire, but squashing a number of wrestlers as an angrier version of himself. The angry Morrus gimmick came to a halt when

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...

and

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

took over and aimed to take WCW in a new direction.

The Misfits In Action (2000–2001)

After getting on Russo's bad side (in

), Morrus was fired from his New Blood stable along with a number of other wrestlers. These ex-New Blood members (including

Chavo Guerrero Jr. Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), WWE, World Wrestling Feder ...

and

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

) formed the comedic Misfits In Action stable, which saw its members adopt both military-themed names and attires. As the stable's leader, Morrus re-christened himself General Hugh G. Rection, and led the group in a feud against

The Filthy Animals The Filthy Animals were a professional wrestling faction in World Championship Wrestling from 1999 until 2001. Concept The plan for the stable was to be WCW's version of the World Wrestling Federation's D-Generation X.Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating ...

. The group's comedic nature and the workrate of some of the wrestlers made the group immediate favorites with fans. Upon the introduction of the heel

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

, the Misfits In Action immediately began feuding with Team Canada, based over the patriotism both stables had for their respective countries. As the leader of the Misfits, Rection feuded with Team Canada's leader and United States Heavyweight Champion

Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling (EC ...

, with the two trading wins until Rection defeated both Storm and a

turncoat A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinct from being a traitor, as the ...

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a Legends contract. His best-known character is that of an American patriot, which ...

in a handicap match on October 29 at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV ...

to win the title. Rection would soon lose the title back to Storm on the November 13 episode of ''

'' before defeating Storm to regain the title on November 26 at

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

. After his feud with Storm, the next night on ''Nitro'', DeMott stood in the ring and spoke to the fans. During this segment, the WCW locker room emptied and many wrestlers from backstage stood on the entrance way clapping for DeMott;

grabbed the microphone and, fondly recalling his first opponent in WCW, said "Hey, Goldberg's streak had to start somewhere, my friend." At

Sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

on January 14, 2001, Rection lost the United States Heavyweight Title to

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

. Following the title loss, the Misfits disbanded when Rection announced that they were

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

, which led to Rection reverting to his Hugh Morrus name while the now former Misfits briefly feuded amongst each other. DeMott would then resume his pursuit of the United States Heavyweight Title until the

(WWF) bought out WCW.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2007)

The Alliance (2001–2002)

When WCW was purchased by the WWF, DeMott signed a deal with the WWF and became part of The Invasion angle under his Hugh Morrus ring name as a member of The Alliance. Morrus made his WWF debut on the June 4, 2001 episode of ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' by attacking

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

. Aside from a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

match at

Invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

on July 22 where he,

Shawn Stasiak Shawn Emile Stipich (born July 21, 1970) is an American Canadian chiropractor, motivational speaker and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotions the World Wrestling Federation ...

and

Chris Kanyon Christopher Morgan Klucsarits (January 4, 1970 – April 2, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 200 ...

defeated

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently ...

and

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

and an Intercontinental Championship match on the August 27 episode of ''Raw'' which he lost to

via disqualification, Morrus was relegated to wrestling on the company's secondary shows ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

'' and ''

Jakked ''WWF Jakked'' and ''WWF Metal'' are professional wrestling television programs that were produced by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE). Both programs aired Broadcast syndication, syndicated weekly from August 28, 1999 until May 19 ...

'' much like his fellow WCW alumni. In the September 29 episode of WWE Metal, Morrus made his first appearance at the show, where he takes on Billy Gunn, in a losing effort. When The Invasion ended at

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

following Team Alliance's loss to Team WWF, Morrus was

fired by

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

. While off television, Morrus performed at

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s and worked in company's developmental territory

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

(HWA). During his time in the HWA, he teamed with

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

to defeat

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

and

Steve Bradley Steven James Bisson (December 10, 1975 – December 4, 2008) was an American professional wrestler who wrestled under the ring name Steve Bradley. He competed in various North American independent promotions as well as spending over three years ...

to win the Tag Team Champions on March 12, 2002, which they lost only three days later.

SmackDown! (2002–2004)

In April 2002, Morrus was drafted to the

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. He made his television return on the April 6 episode of ''

'' alongside fellow WCW alumnus

and defeated The Hurricane and Funaki. Morrus was soon relegated to being a mainstay on ''Jakked'' and later ''

Velocity Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity is a ...

'' until late July 2002, when he was legitimately injured in a motorcycle accident and had to take a leave of absence. During his time away, he became a trainer for the third season of Tough Enough'', WWE's

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show. When he had sufficiently healed, Morrus made his return on the November 23 episode of ''Velocity'' under his real name. DeMott made his ''SmackDown!'' debut on December 5 as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

, where he defeated Funaki in a

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

match. The victory saw DeMott immediately receive a

that saw him squash several established wrestlers, including Funaki,

Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years in the 2000s. H ...

Chuck Palumbo Charles Palumbo (born June 15, 1971) is an Italian-American television personality, motorcycle and automotive designer/fabricator, home designer/builder, and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with professional w ...

Crash Holly Michael John Lockwood (August 25, 1971 – November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2003 under the ring names ...

, and

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...

weekly on ''SmackDown!''. However, this came to an end soon and saw DeMott relegated back to ''Velocity'' beginning in February 2003. In May, DeMott made a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

turn that also saw him tell

knock-knock joke The knock-knock joke is a type of audience-participatory joke cycle, typically ending with a pun. Knock-knock jokes are primarily seen as children's jokes, though there are exceptions. The scenario is of a person knocking on the front door to a ho ...

s as part of the turn. As the

failed to get over, he remained on ''Velocity'' while continuing to win several squash matches. DeMott wrestled his last televised match on the June 14 episode of ''Velocity'', where he defeated fellow WCW alumnus

. Later that month, DeMott retired from in-ring action, citing years of knee injuries. He then moved on to become the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

for ''Velocity'', beginning on the November 1 episode, and remained in that position until December 11, 2004.

Deep South Wrestling (2004–2007)

When '' Tough Enough 4'' wrapped production, DeMott did not make a return to ''

''. Instead, he became a full-time trainer for WWE and began working in the company's

developmental territory. DeMott also worked as a booker for DSW, although his direction in the promotion received criticism, most notably by former WWE developmental wrestler

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

, who soon requested to be released from his developmental contract due to poor treatment. DeMott was released from his WWE contract on January 19, 2007, with

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 ...

taking his place as DSW's head trainer. In March 2015,

Devon Nicholson Devon Nicholson is a Canadian professional wrestler who has wrestled under the names of Kid Nichols, Hannibal and Blood Hunter. He is also a professional wrestling promoter, running the Great North Wrestling company, and has a YouTube channel, Th ...

described an incident from 2006 that DeMott was involved with while he was head trainer for the WWE's

developmental territory. Nicholson described an incident in which

Drew Hankinson Andrew William Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Luke Gallows. Hankinson began his career in 2005 and participated in ...

was completely naked in the ring for a long period of time and gave naked stinkfaces to

Zack Ryder Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Zack Ryde ...

and

Melissa Coates Melissa Lavinia Coates (June 18, 1969 – June 23, 2021) was a Canadian professional wrestler, bodybuilder, fitness model, and actress. She was best known for appearing in the first two seasons of the Game Show Network show ''Extreme Dodgeball'' ...

while DeMott held jelly donuts over their faces. The wrestlers agreed to do this (with the other talent encouraging them) in order to get out of regular training for that day. DeMott refuted the notion that it was his idea, stating that the other trainees came up with because they wanted to skip the session.

Independent circuit (2007–2011)

After parting ways with WWE, DeMott competed for several independent promotions, including the Carolina Wrestling Association and the United Wrestling Federation. In addition to wrestling, he also began operating his own wrestling school called New Energy Wrestling School from 2009 to 2010 in

McDonough, Georgia McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 22,084 at the 2010 census, up from 8,493 in 2000. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated comm ...

, while also running a brief series of wrestling events in

Locust Grove, Georgia Locust Grove is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,402 at the 2010 census, up from 2,322 in 2000. Some unincorporated communities such as Luella and many rural areas surround Locust Grove, and those communities ha ...

Return to WWE (2011–2015)

Return as trainer (2011–2015)

In 2011,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

announced that DeMott would return to the company to perform as the head trainer on the revived ''Tough Enough'' series. Following the conclusion of ''Tough Enough'', DeMott replaced

as the head trainer for the

developmental territory on June 2, 2012. After FCW was rebranded into

, DeMott retained his position as the head trainer, and continued in that role when the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...

was opened in 2013. He was featured as a trainer in the ''

WWE 2K15 ''WWE 2K15'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K14'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2K16''. ...

'' video game. DeMott resigned from WWE on March 6, 2015 following multiple online wrestling news reports of accusations of misconduct and abuse by a dozen-plus former WWE trainees (see below) -- allegations DeMott defiantly denied.

Allegations of misconduct and departure (2015)

Several former FCW, DSW, and NXT employees previously working within or with the WWE developmental system made public allegations of misconduct by DeMott during his time as trainer, including accusing DeMott of making trainees perform dangerous drills, physically

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

ing and

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

trainees, using

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

and

racial slurs The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...

amongst other derogatory terms, letting trainees train while naked, and condoning

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

. These allegations were made by Kevin Matthews,

Mike Bucci Michael Bucci (born June 5, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. Bucci is best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Nova, Super Nova, and "Hollywood" Nova and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as S ...

Ivelisse Vélez Ivelisse Milagro Vélez (born September 21, 1987), better known by her ring name Ivelisse, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. She is known for her time in Lucha Underground, where she twice held the Lucha Underground Trios Championship (wi ...

, and

in 2012, Chad Baxter and Chase Donovan in 2013,

Curt Hawkins Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...

in 2014, as well as several wrestlers including

Judas Devlin Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and television personality currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Luchasaurus, where he is a former AEW World Tag Team Champ ...

, Briley Pierce, Brandon Traven,

Derrick Bateman Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). EC3 is a co-founder of Control Your Narrative. He also performs on the independent circuit. He ...

, independent wrestler Terra Calaway, and

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

star

from late February to March 2015. Devlin and Traven stated they had submitted complaints to WWE management about DeMott in March 2013 when still WWE employees; they publicized those complaints in 2015. WWE released statements regarding some of the claims that came to light in 2013 and 2015, stating it had investigated the matter and had found no wrongdoing. Pierce questioned the thoroughness of WWE's investigations, saying WWE did not question him despite Pierce being one of the alleged victims. The allegations caused a strongly negative reaction on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

in March 2015, with the #FireDeMott hashtag trending on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. On March 6, 2015, DeMott publicly denied the allegations on Twitter, but also announced his resignation from WWE "to avoid any embarrassment or damage" to the company. During a May 2015 podcast with

, Vélez asserted that her reporting DeMott's alleged misconduct in 2012 to WWE officials was the likely reason WWE released her (i.e., as retribution) shortly thereafter.

Personal life

DeMott married his first wife, Rose Azzolino, in 1987. Bill DeMott.''The Last Laugh'' (p.22) The marriage was annulled in 2004. Bill DeMott.''The Last Laugh'' (p.169) They had two daughters: Casey, who was born two months premature on July 7, 1993, Bill DeMott.''The Last Laugh'' (p.54) and Keri, who was born on January 9, 1995 Bill DeMott.''The Last Laugh'' (p.63) and died in a car accident as a result of a drunk driver in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

on October 10, 2015. DeMott married his second wife, Lacey Storey, on December 18, 2004. They have a son, William Charles DeMott III, who was born on November 2, 2008. Bill DeMott.''The Last Laugh'' (p.231)

Championships and accomplishments

*Americas Wrestling Federation (Puerto Rico) **AWF World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Men's Wrestling Award (2012) *

HWA Tag Team Championship The HWA Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles contested for in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was established in 1996 when the Head Bangers (Mosh and Thrasher) became the first champions. Title history Key See also *Heartla ...

( 1 time) – with

*Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling **PCW Heavyweight Championship (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 Publish ...

**Ranked No. 40 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''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 Publishi ...

'' in 2001 **Ranked No. 450 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2003 *

Wrestling International New Generations Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in deathmatches. History After leaving Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in the summer of 1991, Kazuyoshi Osako and Kiyoshi "Mickey" Ibar ...

W*ING World Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling championship contested in Wrestling International New Generations. It was briefly revived in International Wrestling Association of Japan in 1995. Title history Reigns Combined reigns Notes See also * IW ...

( 1 time) **

W*ING World Tag Team Championship The W*ING World Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship contested in both Wrestling International New Generations Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in death ...

( 1 time) – with

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

)

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Bill DeMott Experience
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demott, Bill 1966 births American color commentators American male professional wrestlers Living people NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions People from Florida People from Paramus, New Jersey People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling controversies Professional wrestlers from New Jersey Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey The First Family (professional wrestling) members Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers