Lars Sullivan

Dylan Miley (born July 6, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Lars Sullivan. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the SmackDown brand where he is inactive due to a knee injury.

Lars Sullivan
Sullivan in April 2018
Birth nameDylan Miley
Born (1988-07-06) July 6, 1988
Westminster, Colorado, United States
ResidenceCleveland, Ohio, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dylan Miley
Lars Sullivan[1]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2]
Billed weight325 lb (147 kg)[2]
Billed fromThe Rocky Mountains[2]
Trained byBobby Lashley
WWE Performance Center
DebutMarch 29, 2015[3]

Sullivan entered professional wrestling in 2013 upon signing with WWE, spending several years training at the WWE Performance Center before making his television debut in April 2017 on WWE's developmental brand, NXT. He was subsequently called up to the Raw brand in April 2019, before moving to the SmackDown brand later that month.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

Training (2013–2017)

Miley initially trained as a professional wrestler under Bobby Lashley, who recommended him to WWE.[4] He signed with WWE in 2013[5][6] and by October 2014 had reported to the WWE Performance Center. He wrestled his first recorded match on March 29, 2015, defeating Marcus Louis in a showcase match at WrestleMania Axxess.[3] He then made sporadic appearances at NXT live events over the following two years.

NXT (2017–2018)

Miley made his television debut on the April 12, 2017 episode of NXT under his real name, teaming with Michael Blais in a loss to DIY. Following the match, Miley attacked Blais.[7] In May 2017, he adopted the ring name "Lars Sullivan". After several similar tag team appearances which resulted in him attacking his partner, Sullivan made his first appearance as a singles performer on the August 23 episode of NXT, attacking No Way Jose before a scheduled match.[8] His first televised singles match and victory took place on the September 6 episode of NXT, defeating three jobbers in a three-on-one handicap match.[9]

Following weeks of squash matches, Sullivan defeated Kassius Ohno at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 18, 2017.[10] In December, he competed in a tournament to determine NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas' opponent for NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia that was won by Johnny Gargano.[11] At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, 2018, Sullivan took part in a six-man ladder match for the NXT North American Championship, which was won by Adam Cole.[12] On the May 16, 2018 episode of NXT, Sullivan interrupted a match between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream, attacking both; the following week, he defeated both men in a handicap match.[13][14] Sullivan wrestled his final NXT match on June 16, 2018 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, unsuccessfully challenging NXT Champion Aleister Black; the loss marked his first televised pinfall defeat in NXT.[15]

Main roster (2018–present)

In November 2018, vignettes began airing for Sullivan's main roster debut on both Raw and SmackDown.[16] He was scheduled to appear on the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw but reportedly walked out due to an anxiety attack.[17]

Sullivan debuted on the main roster on the April 8, 2019, episode of Raw by attacking Kurt Angle, who had retired the previous night. Pushed as a monstrous heel by WWE, he went on to attack high-profile wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio and The Hardy Boyz.[18] On April 16, he moved to the SmackDown brand during the Superstar Shake-up.[19] He began feuding with the three members of Lucha House Party, defeating them via disqualification in a three-on-one handicap match at Super ShowDown on June 7, 2019.[20] During a rematch with Lucha House Party on the June 10, 2019, episode of Raw, Sullivan sustained a severe knee injury with a predicted recovery time of six to nine months.[21]

Personal life

In 2019, Miley was accused of running accounts on the Bodybuilding.com forum between 2007 and 2013 which Sports Illustrated described as having produced "a slew of racist, sexist, homophobic and otherwise offensive posts", some of them directed towards WWE employees. Paste wrote that the posts showed "a long history of repeated behavior" and additionally noted that some had insulted foreigners and people with mental disorders. In response to the accusations, Miley stated: "There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago. They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended."[22][23] Miley was fined $100,000 by WWE and required to complete sensitivity training.[24] On December 28 of that year it was revealed that Miley, years earlier, had performed in gay pornographic films as Mitch Bennett.[25]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. Williams, J.J. (May 7, 2017). "NXT St. Petersburg, FL, live results: Dylan Miley gets a new name". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. "Lars Sullivan". WWE.com. WWE. 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  3. "WWE WrestleMania Axxess 2015". Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  4. Barrasso, Justin (June 16, 2018). "What to know about Lars Sullivan, WWE's big brute". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  5. "Lars Sullivan's knee injury described as a "freak accident"". PWPix.net. June 23, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  6. Martin, Adam (October 3, 2013). "Details on some new WWE developmental signings". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  7. Moore, John (April 12, 2017). "4/12 Moore's NXT TV Review". ProWrestling.net.
  8. "Lars Sullivan destroyed No Way Jose". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  9. Witner, Arya (September 6, 2017). "WWE NXT results: Asuka says goodbye to NXT". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  10. "Kassius Ohno runs into a Freak Accident at WarGames". WWE.com. WWE.
  11. "Johnny Gargano def. Aleister Black, Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain in a No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  12. Benigno, Anthony. "Adam Cole def. EC3, The Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain and Ricochet to become the first-ever NXT North American Champion". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  13. "Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream ended in a No Contest when Lars Sullivan attacked both Superstars". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  14. "Lars Sullivan def. Ricochet & Velveteen Dream in a Handicap Match". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  15. Pappolla, Ryan. "NXT Champion Aleister Black def. Lars Sullivan". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  16. McClead, Michael. "NXT star headed to WWE main roster". Wrestlezone.com. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  17. Johnson, Mike; Jordan, Paul (January 15, 2019). "WWE call-ups, Lars Sullivan, WWF Superstars coming to WWE Network, Kevin Owens, Booker T and more". PWInsider.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  18. Powell, Jason (April 23, 2019). "4/23 WWE Smackdown Live results". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  19. Barnett, Jake (April 16, 2019). "4/16 WWE Smackdown Live Results". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  20. Holloway, Henry (May 20, 2019). "WWE blasted as 'tone deaf' over Lars Sullivan beating up 3 luchadores after racist storm". The Daily Star.
  21. Martínez, Sebastián (June 20, 2019). "Lars Sullivan podría no volver a luchar en WWE hasta 2020" (in Spanish).
  22. Gartland, Dan (May 10, 2019). "Lars Sullivan apologizes for history of racist, sexist and homophobic remarks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  23. Martin, Garrett (May 9, 2019). "WWE Wrestler Lars Sullivan acknowledges history of racist, misogynistic and homophobic online comments". Paste. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  24. Sapp, Sean. "WWE fines Lars Sullivan $100,000 for controversial remarks". Fightful.com.
  25. Martinez, Sebastian (December 29, 2019). "Lars Sullivan se convierte en tendencia debido a su pasado en el cine para adultos". Solowrestling.com.
  26. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". Cagematch.net. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
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