Championship Wrestling from Florida (1983–1984) Spivey was trained as a wrestler by
Dusty Rhodes, the then-
booker for
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) and made his debut in 1983. Spivey and
Scott Hall formed a
tag team in CWF called "American Starship". Spivey adopted the
ring name "Eagle" and Hall the ring name "Coyote". The men wore furry boots, bright masks and silver pants.
Jim Crockett Promotions / Central States Wrestling (1984–1985) In 1984, Rhodes moved from Championship Wrestling from Florida to the
Charlotte, North Carolina–based
Jim Crockett Promotions, bringing Spivey and Hall with him. The team was sometimes referred to the U. S. Express II since the patriotic gimmick of the original U. S. Express was recycled, with Spivey taking Barry Windham's place. less than a month after Spivey joined the WWF. The team continued the U.S. Express' feud with the
Dream Team, but once they were proven unsuccessful, the two did not team from January to May as Rotunda briefly left the WWF. During this time Spivey took part in the
WrestleMania 2 "wrestlers and football players"
battle royal. Spivey was eliminated by
The Iron Sheik without much fanfare. Once the American Express reunited, they feuded with
The Moondogs, the
Hart Foundation, and the
Islanders, whom the team faced in their last match together on February 9, 1987. Not long before Rotunda left the WWF, Spivey began to be billed as "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey which continued for his singles run after Rotunda left. His in-ring appearance at the time led to many fans labelling him a
Hulk Hogan clone. As the "Golden Boy", Spivey wrestled in yellow trunks and boots, this colour choice combined with his height, build and blond hair saw him resemble the then
WWF Champion. Spivey took part in the
1986 King of the Ring tournament, losing to
Nikolai Volkoff in the first round. He also tried a new tag team partner. In March 1987 Spivey teamed with
Tito Santana to unsuccessfully challenge the Hart Foundation for the
WWF Tag Team Championship. Spivey was also part of the
1987 King of the Ring. This time he lost to
Rick Martel in the first round. Spivey stayed with the WWF until the spring of 1988, becoming a heel and competing mainly against such low carders as
Lanny Poffo and
Outback Jack. In 1991, Spivey testified that Dr George Zaharian had illegally supplied him with
anabolic steroids in the late 1980s. Zaharian was ultimately found guilty.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1995) After working exclusively in the United States since his debut, while making some appearances in
Puerto Rico for the
World Wrestling Council,
Bruiser Brody talked to Spivey about going to Japan, Spivey started to tour with
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in the summer of 1988 and kept touring with the company every year until 1995, when he signed with the WWF. In his first tour, Spivey gained ring experience by competing with Japanese wrestling legend
Genichiro Tenryu. Spivey also teamed with
Johnny Ace, a man he would team with many times during his Japanese tours. Spivey kept on touring with AJPW while working for the NWA, mainly teaming with
Stan Hansen. Spivey and Hansen formed a very popular
Gaijin team that almost won AJPW's "
World's Strongest Tag Determination League" in 1990. Spivey and Hansen won the
All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag-Team Championship from
Terry Gordy and Steve Williams in
Tokyo, Japan on April 18, 1991.
Kendall Windham and Jim Steele.
Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling (1989–1992) The Varsity Club (1989) In early 1989, Spivey returned to
Jim Crockett Promotions. Spivey was made a member of
The Varsity Club as a replacement for
Rick Steiner, who left the group. Spivey's background as a football player at the University of Georgia was touched upon to lend credibility to his inclusion in the group. While in the Varsity Club, Spivey feuded with Rick Steiner and
the Road Warriors, acting more as back-up while former tag team partner Mike Rotunda and
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams were pushed as the stars of the group.
The Skyscrapers (1989–1990) When the Varsity Club disbanded in June 1989, Spivey came under the management of ex-referee
Teddy Long and started teaming with newcomer
Sid Vicious under the name of
The Skyscrapers. The Skyscrapers' (so named due to their height and leanness) first taste of success came at the
Great American Bash pay-per-view, where they first co-won a
Two-Ring King of the Hill Battle Royal with Sid being the survivor in one ring and Spivey surviving in the other. The rules called for the two to fight each other but manager Teddy Long convinced them to shake hands and share the prize money. Later in the night, the Skyscrapers defeated The Dynamic Dudes due to their overwhelming size and power. Shortly after Halloween Havoc, the Skyscrapers faced the
Steiner Brothers at
Clash of the Champions IX in a hard hitting match. Sid Vicious suffered a punctured lung due to a broken rib. With Vicious out of action, Teddy Long brought in another tall newcomer in the same mold as Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey and dubbed him
"Mean" Mark Callous. At the same time while working for the NWA as one of the Skyscrapers, Spivey also competed in his home state of
Florida, winning the
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship in late 1989. However, this title win was not referred to on NWA Television. Spivey would go on to hold the title until July 1992, when he lost it to
Lou Perez. At this point in time, no one had ever been able to physically dominate the Road Warriors, something that pointed that big things had been planned for the Skyscrapers. However, in the days before the scheduled
Chicago Street Fight at
WrestleWar 1990, Dan Spivey suddenly left WCW, leaving the bookers to scramble for a replacement. Spivey stated in a shoot interview that he left the company over money issues, as well as his dislike of the Road Warriors themselves for taking what he perceived as liberties with his tag-team partner "Mean" Mark Callous. On September 1, 1990, Spivey made his return to WCW when he substituted for former partner Sid Vicious against
Lex Luger at a house show in
Greensboro, North Carolina, losing via count-out. Spivey returned to television on the September 14 edition of the WCW Power Hours, where he discussed facing
Brian Pillman. On the same show he would defeat Lou Perez. On the September 16 edition of
WCW Main Event, Spivey prevented Pillman from running the Gauntlet and won $5,000. Spivey's next appearance came at
Halloween Havoc 1990, where he threw a cowbell to AJPW partner Stan Hansen to use in a match against United States Champion Lex Luger. Hansen used the weapon and ended Luger's record title reign; this would in turn lay the groundwork for an eventual feud between Luger and Spivey. But before this could take place it was announced that the original Skyscrapers would reunite at
Starrcade '90: Collision Course. This took place, and he and Sid Vicious made short work of
The Big Cat and
The Motor City Madman.
Various storylines (1991) With Sid Vicious being part of the
Four Horsemen, the Skyscraper reunion was short-lived. Instead, Spivey started to focus on his singles career in WCW, challenging
WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger at the February 1991 pay-per-view
WrestleWar '91. Spivey did not win the title, although he continued to receive opportunities during house shows in March 1991. However, he would not receive another high-profile title opportunity on television while with the company. In April, he found himself teaming with various combinations of the Four Horsemen and reunited with manager
Teddy Long. In May he formed a short-lived tag-team with
The Angel of Death, the duo making their debut on the June 6 edition of
WCW Pro and defeating Larry Santo and
Keith Hart. On May 19 at the
SuperBrawl I pay-per-view, Spivey defeated
Ricky Morton. In May 1991, Spivey again began teaming with Stan Hansen in WCW. On June 22, 1991, Spivey and Hansen were booked to face Rick Steiner and
Tom Zenk and Spivey was told to lose the match to Zenk. Spivey refused since the duo were the AJPW World Tag Team Champions. After further discussions, Dan Spivey once again left WCW. Stan Hansen would depart a day later after being booked to be a part of the "Desperados" angle that was airing on WCW programming. He was originally booked to team with The Barbarian at the
Clash of the Champions XX in a match against
Barry Windham and
Dustin Rhodes, but was replaced by the newly arrived
Butch Reed. Spivey returned in December and suffered his first singles loss of his comeback on December 12, 1992, in Columbus, OH when he was defeated by WCW World Champion Ron Simmons. After another defeat to Simmons the following night, he teamed with
Big Van Vader in a loss to Ron Simmons and WCW Television Champion
Ricky Steamboat at a house show on December 13 in Greensboro, NC. On television, his biggest match during this time was his appearance at
Starrcade where he teamed with
Van Hammer to defeat
Johnny B. Badd and
Cactus Jack to advance in the "Lethal Lottery". Spivey was eliminated from the main event battle royal by eventual winner
The Great Muta. His last televised match aired on the January 2, 1993 edition of WCW Worldwide where he lost to Dustin Rhodes. This match, having been previously taped on December 9, 1992, would be his last chronological match with the promotion.
Universal Wrestling Federation (1990, 1994) In 1990, Spivey made regular American appearances for
Herb Abrams'
Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). In 1994 he defeated Johnny Ace at
UWF's Blackjack Brawl to become the only
UWF Americas Champion. Mercy was pushed upon his debut with victories over numerous
enhancement talents (including a young
Jeff Hardy), as well as established stars such as
Bob Holly,
The 1-2-3 Kid, and
Doink The Clown. Soon after, he competed in matches with the top faces of the WWF at the time, such as
Bret Hart,
Razor Ramon, and
WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel. Spivey's only
pay-per-view appearance as Waylon Mercy came at
In Your House 3, where he lost to
Savio Vega. Spivey defeated Diesel by countout in his last televised match on September 26 (aired October 14). His last match was a win over
Bob Holly in
Cologne, Germany on October 10. He retired from the WWF in October 1995.
Retirement (1995–present) Spivey retired in 1995 due to injuries. He went on to work for Spivey Underground Utility Construction Company, a construction company owned by his family. On August 1, 2015, Spivey, at age 62, returned to the ring for
Dory Funk Jr.'s !BANG! promotion. Spivey and Funk won a 10-man Japanese Banzai match. Spivey also voiced Mercy the Buzzard in Bray Wyatt's Firefly Funhouse segments in 2019, as the puppet was based on Waylon Mercy. == Personal life ==