.png) Sawyer in the 1980s | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruce Alan Woyan (1959-06-14)June 14, 1959[3] |
| Died | February 7, 1992(1992-02-07) (aged 32)[1][3] |
| Cause of death | Drug overdose[1][3][4] |
| Family | Brett Sawyer (brother)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg)[2] |
| Debut | 1978[1] |
| Retired | 1991 |
Bruce Alan Woyan (June 14, 1959 – February 7, 1992) was an Americanprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring name,"Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer.[1][3]
Sawyer started wrestling in 1978 (other sources state 1979) in theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliateJim Crockett Promotions.[5] He stayed there with some stints inGeorgia Championship Wrestling until 1984. He mainly teamed with his brother,Brett Sawyer.[4] Buzz had a feud withThe Road Warriors after he left their managerPaul Ellering'sLegion of Doom.[4]Pez Whatley was the first wrestler to pin Sawyer on live television.[6] He also had a feud withTommy Rich that led to many bloody matches,[5] the most notable of which was billed as the "Last Battle of Atlanta" and for the first time featured a completely enclosed cage; Rich won the match.[6][5] It also featured managerPaul Ellering suspended 20 feet above the ring in a smaller cage.[6] This is the match thatShawn Michaels credits for inspiring theHell in the Cell concept used byWWE.[5] The stipulation for this match was that Sawyer and Rich would never wrestle one another again.[6] WWE released the entire match on the WWE Network on September 5, 2016.[5]
Sawyer had a shortWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) run in 1984 as "Bulldog" Buzz Sawyer (since the moniker Mad Dog was being used byMaurice Vachon) withCaptain Lou Albano as his manager. Sawyer'sgimmicks included a dog chain, a lot of barking, and a newbulldog finisher. After his WWF stint, he surfaced in the NWA territoryChampionship Wrestling from Florida, under the mind control ofKevin Sullivan. He feuded withMike Graham,Dusty Rhodes, andAdrian Street. In 1985, Buzz went to Mid-South Wrestling (which became theUniversal Wrestling Federation in 1986) and became a protégé ofDick Slater's. After Slater won the North American title, he gave the Mid-South TV title to Sawyer to defend for him. The promotion tricked Slater into letting Sawyer defend the North American title (which he promptly lost), and Sawyer then refused to give the TV belt back to Slater.
In 1986, Sawyer left the UWF forWorld Class Championship Wrestling. He formed a team withMatt Borne and they won theWCWA Tag Team Championship. He also won theWCWA Television Championship and theWCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship and feuded withBrian Adias while there. He got into a feud withDingo Warrior and he lost his tag team titles, withMaster Gee substituting for him, to Warrior andLance Von Erich before reportedly being fired after failing a drug test.[6] He returned to WCW in 1989 as part ofGary Hart'sJ-Tex Corporation that was feuding with theFour Horsemen, and he had several matches againstArn Anderson.[6] He then joinedKevin Sullivan's "Slaughterhouse" stable in 1990.[7] At the Wrestle War event in 1990, he was victorious in a tag team match where he and Sullivan defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas andJohnny Ace),[6] but also fractured his wrist.[8] He left WCW in 1991.
Sawyer was a graduate ofDixie M. Hollins High School, where he was a state champion in the 191.5 pound weight class.[4] In 1976, he placed third nationally, losing in the semifinal to eventual championDan Severn.[9] He would use his amateur skills,[6] while inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1989, against the Soviet amateursSalman Hashimikov,Victor Zangiev, Vladimir Berkovich and Wahka Evloev, that joined the promotion.[4]
Sawyer was known for his antics both in and out of the ring, including his drug abuse and fighting with police outside a bar.[10] Most notably, he was known for scamming aspiring wrestlers who wanted to be trained by him - Sawyer would often take their money, beat them senseless, then skip town.Mark "The Undertaker" Calaway recounted onJoe Rogan's podcastThe Joe Rogan Experience that he was a victim of this scam, however also highlighted that at that time this was a common way to whittle prospective wrestlers to only those dedicated to becoming professional wrestlers (though Calaway also indicated Sawyer's service was still a scam).[11][12]Jim Cornette has stated his reason for breaking Buzz's nose with a tennis racket during a spot was due to him taking liberties with other talent (Cornette included, as Sawyer threw ashoot punch at Cornette during a match).
Sawyer died at hisSacramento, California apartment fromheart failure due to adrug overdose on February 7, 1992.[1][3][4]
