| Fandango | |
|---|---|
 Hussey, as Fandango, in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Curtis Jonathan Hussey |
| Born | (1983-07-22)July 22, 1983 (age 41) Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Curtis Stoogerman |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 244 lb (111 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | |
| Trained by | |
| Debut | 1999 |
Curtis Jonathan Hussey[7] (born July 22, 1983)[8] is an Americanprofessional wrestler, signed toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a member ofThe System and performs under the ring nameJohnny Dango Curtis (shortened asJDC) while also making appearances for theNXT brand. He is best known for his time inWWE, where he performed under thering nameFandango.
Hussey began hisprofessional wrestling career in 1999. He competed in several independent promotions inNew England, winning thePLW New England Championship, the PWF Northeast Tag Team Championship withKenn Phoenix on more than one occasion, the PWF Northeast Heavyweight Championship, NCW New England Championship, the Tag Team Championship with Damian Houston, and the SCCW Lightweight Championship.
In 2006, Hussey signed a development contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to theirdevelopmental territory,Deep South Wrestling (DSW).[3] He was then moved toFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in June 2008, where he won theFlorida Tag Team Championship on more than one occasion withTyler Reks andDerrick Bateman.[3] In December 2010, he competed in thefourth season ofNXT asJohnny Curtis, and he eventually won the competition in March 2011.[6][9]
In 2013, Hussey re-debuted as Fandango. Subsequently, WWE audience members started singing and dancing to his entrance music, which rose substantially on theiTunes charts and generated coverage inmainstream media.[10] He later formed a tag team withTyler Breeze called Breezango, with the duo winning theNXT Tag Team Championship in August 2020.
Curtis Jonathan Hussey was born on July 22, 1983, inPortland, Maine. Hussey is a Native American of the Cherokee tribe.[7][11][8]
Hussey trained underKiller Kowalski and debuted in September 1999. He wrestled for variousindependentpromotions in theNew England area over the next few years. He competed inPower League Wrestling (PLW) from 2000 until 2003, during which time he won the PLW New England Championship.[4] He held the championship, after defeating Chris Blackheart at Power-fest 2002, from May 19, 2002, until May 18, 2003.[4][12]
He also competed in the Premier Wrestling Federation during this time, and he teamed with Kenn Phoenix to win the PWF Northeast Tag Team Championship from Fuzion (Mike Paiva and Blade) on October 28, 2002.[13] They held the championship until November 15, when they were defeated by Paiva and Kid Mikaze.[13] Now known as The Talent Exchange, Hussey and Phoenix won a three-wayTables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the championship again on February 15, 2003.[13] They held the championship until April 4, when Phoenix and Dean Ripley, The Talent Exchange'smanager (who had been forced to participate in the match instead of an absent Hussey), lost the championship to the Storm Brothers.[13] He also wrestled forNWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA),Chaotic Wrestling, andNWA Wildside.[14]
In 2006, Curtis signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was subsequently assigned to theDeep South Wrestling (DSW)developmental territory. Curtis made his debut for the territory on November 9, where he lost toDavid Heath.[3] Afterlosing consistently over the next several weeks, Curtis scored his first victory in DSW as he andRobert Anthony defeated The Headliners (Shawn Shultz and Chris Michaels) on February 15, 2007.[3] Curtis continued toteam with Anthony and after winning a few more matches, the team faced theDSW Tag Team Champions Team Elite (Mike Knox andDerick Neikirk) in a match for the championship on March 15, but they were unable to win the title.[3] Curtis then became a singles competitor once again and after losing two matches, he won his final match in DSW by defeatingFrankie Coverdale on April 12.[3]
After WWE severed ties with DSW, Curtis and all the other talent in DSW were transferred over to the newly established Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in June. On June 26, Curtis made his FCW debut as he defeated former tag team partner Robert Anthony.[3] After mixed success as a singles and tag team wrestler, Curtis defeated Chris Gray on December 18 to become the number one contender for theFCW Southern Heavyweight Championship.[3] On January 8, 2008, he wrestledTed DiBiase Jr. for the championship, but lost the match.[3] On September 18, Curtis made an appearance at theSmackDown/ECW tapings, where he defeatedArmando Estrada in adark match.[3]
On December 11, 2008, Curtis teamed withTyler Reks to defeatThe New Hart Foundation (DH Smith andTJ Wilson) for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship.[15] The team of Curtis and Reks proved to be successful, and they retained the championship on several occasions.[3] After beginning afeud withCaylen Croft andTrent Beretta, Curtis and Reks retained the title against them on a few different occasions before finally losing the title to Croft and Beretta on April 30, 2009, after Curtisdid not appear for the title defense, leaving Reks to wrestle alone.[15]
After Reks was called up to WWE's main roster, Curtis renamed himself Jonathan Curtis and became avillain. The two then faced off for Reks'Florida Heavyweight Championship on June 25, but Curtis was unable to win the title.[3] On July 2, Curtis wrestled in a triple threat match for the FCW Florida Championship also involvingAlex Riley, but was again unsuccessful as Reks retained the title.[16] Soon afterwards, Curtis reverted his ring name to Johnny Curtis.[17]
Beginning in 2010, Curtis began competing athouse shows for theRawbrand, with his first match being a loss toEvan Bourne on January 8.[16] After losing several matches to both Bourne andPaul Burchill at house shows, Curtis wrestled his first dark match, which he lost toKung Fu Naki on the January 19 episode ofECW.[16]
On August 12, 2010, Curtis teamed withDerrick Bateman to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating the team ofDonny Marlow andBrodus Clay and the defending champions,Los Aviadores (Hunico andEpico) in a three-way tag team match.[15][18] After a near three-month reign, Curtis and Bateman lost the championship to Wes Brisco andXavier Woods on November 4.
Curtis was part of thefourth season, withR-Truth as his mentor.[9][19] He made his in-ring debut on the season premiere on December 7 episode ofNXT, defeating fellow rookie Jacob Novak in singles competition.[20] The following week, Curtis was unsuccessful in the "Karaoke" challenge, but was successful in the "Obstacle Course" challenge, earning points towards immunity from elimination.[21] On the December 21 episode ofNXT, Curtis lost the "Wheelbarrow Race" challenge, and suffered his first loss in a rematch to Jacob Novak.[22] Curtis was then defeated by proDolph Ziggler on the December 28 episode ofNXT, and afterwards won both the "Power of the Punch" challenge and a "Talent Show" contest. On the January 4, 2011, episode ofNXT, Curtis was defeated in singles competition by Brodus Clay. It was later revealed that he was immune from elimination that week.[23][24] On the next week ofNXT, Curtis lost both the "Slingshot Challenge" and the "Superstar Password" challenge, and competed in singles competition defeating proTed DiBiase after a failed interference by his rookie Brodus Clay.[25] Curtis was unsuccessful in the "How Well Do You Know Your WWE Pro?" challenge on the January 18 episode ofNXT, and was safe from elimination that week.[26] On the January 25 episode ofNXT, Curtis was unsuccessful in the "Out-think the Fink" challenge, and competed in a fatal four-way match with Brodus Clay, Derrick Bateman, andByron Saxton with Clay winning the match.[27][28]
On the February 1 episode ofNXT, Curtis won an "Arm Wrestling" challenge, but was unsuccessful in the "Talk the Talk" challenge, and also lost in a tag team match along with R-Truth against Derrick Bateman andDaniel Bryan.[29] On the next week ofNXT, Curtis was unsuccessful in a "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Rookies" challenge, "WWE.com" challenge, and in singles competition against Brodus Clay.[30] On the February 15 episode ofNXT, Curtis lost the "Smash and Grab" challenge and the "Save Your Trivia" challenge.[31] Curtis was then successful in the "Grace Under Pressure Physical" challenge and in a triple threat match against Derrick Bateman and Johnny Curtis.[32] During the season finale on March 1, Curtis was declared the winner ofNXT, defeating Brodus Clay in the final.[33]
After various dark matches, Curtis debuted onSmackDown on the June 3 episode in a bizarre backstage promo where he said that his promised tag team title shot was "not going to happen" in light of R-Truth's recent villainous turn.[6] He then began to sarcastically cry and proceeded to pour milk onto a plate and then over his head, in reference to the saying "don't cry over spilled milk".[34] After weeks of backstage promos playing on words,[35][36] Curtis made his SmackDown in-ring debut on the August 12 episode, being squashed byMark Henry in less than a minute,[37] which was his only non-battle royal match on SmackDown in 2011.[38]
Curtis then made his return to the fifth season ofNXT as a heel on November 2.[39] Curtis turned his attentions to wooingMaxine, whom he had formerly dated, and therefore ignited a feud with Maxine's storylinefiancé, Derrick Bateman.[40][41] As the weeks passed, Bateman and Maxine ultimately broke up as Maxine gave a kiss to Curtis on the December 28 episode ofNXT Redemption, thus solidifying their relationship. On the January 4, 2012, episode ofNXT Redemption, Curtis and Maxine revealed that they would marry in two weeks time inLas Vegas during Bateman's match with Darren Young. On 100th episode ofNXT, Derrick Bateman interrupted Curtis and Maxine'swedding ceremony. Derrick showed a clip of Curtis sending a message on Bateman'siPad toTheodore Long (Maxine had dumped Bateman because he had allegedly sent a message to Long saying he did not need Maxine and wanted to leave her on NXT whilst he had a chance at getting a contract on Smackdown). Maxine then slapped Curtis and reunited with Bateman once again after finding out that it was not true. Curtis then started to use his new catchphrase "Let's Get Weird" which was also printed on his trunks. In the next weeks, Maxine dumped Bateman for Curtis again. On the March 14 episode ofNXT Redemption, Curtis and Maxine were defeated in a mixed tag team match against Derrick Bateman andKaitlyn, who kissed at the end of the match, solidifying their relationship to the annoyance of Maxine.[42]
AfterWilliam Regal was appointed as NXT's authority figure, Maxine enlisted Curtis' help to allow her to get close to Regal. On the March 21 episode ofNXT Redemption, Maxine and Curtis knocked outMatt Striker with chloroform so that Maxine could join Regal on commentary. However, Striker was then kidnapped (kayfabe) by unknown persons,[43] later revealed to beCurt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, who intended to blackmail Curtis and Maxine into using Maxine's charms to get Regal to leave Hawkins and Reks alone.[44] Striker was rescued by Bateman and Kaitlyn on the April 11 episode of "NXT Redemption". On April 18, William Regal forced Maxine to sign a contract as Curtis's manager if the two still wanted to be employed toNXT and then handcuffed them together.[45] On the May 9 episode ofNXT Redemption, Regal allowed Curtis and Maxine to be uncuffed.[46][47]
For the rest of 2012, Curtis formed an occasional tag team withMichael McGillicutty.[48] On the final episode of the fifth season ofNXT on June 13, Curtis teamed with McGillicutty but lost tothe Usos.[49] After the conclusion of the fifth season ofNXT, NXT transitioned into the renamed Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory.[50] Curtis continued appearing onNXT,[51] where at the October 11 tapings[52] (which aired on November 28) Curtis finally received his tag team title shot from winning season four ofNXT,[53] when he teamed up with McGillicutty in a loss to championsTeam Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan).[54]
At the October 23, 2012SmackDown taping, Hussey debuted a newballroom dancer character namedFandango in adark match, with vignettes for the character airing by November.[55] After months of promotional videos, the character of Fandango debuted on the March 1, 2013, episode ofSmackDown.[56] As part of his act, Fandango was portrayed as fussy, flamboyant, and sultry-voiced.[57] He was also accompanied by a female dance partner, mostly by a dark-haired and unnamed Andrea Lynn (a real-life dancer and at the time college student) and laterSummer Rae, a developmental wrestler.[58]
Despite his debut, Fandango refused to wrestle his first match on numerous occasions because the ring announcers and his opponents could not pronounce "Fandango" to his satisfaction.[59][60][61][62][63] On the March 18 episode ofRaw,Chris Jericho mispronounced Fandango's name intentionally and repeatedly to start Fandango's first feud.[64][65][66] In his debut match on the main roster atWrestleMania 29, Fandango scored what would be the biggest win of his career when he defeated Jericho.[67] He then wrestled in his firstRaw match againstKofi Kingston the following night. Despite Fandango being a heel and winning via disqualification from Chris Jericho attacking him, he still received an enthusiastic ovation from the live audience as they boisterously sang his theme music and created a dance for it as well.[citation needed] Not only did this take place during and shortly after his encounter,[68] but it also took place long after the show itself.[69] The song became an overnight hit as many fans took toiTunes to buy the single, causing it to gain considerable momentum and move from #175 to #11 in one day on the UK chart, before settling at #44 by the week's end. In spite of the phenomenon which WWE labelled as "Fandango-ing", the Fandango character continued to insult audiences.[70][71] AtExtreme Rules, Fandango was defeated by Jericho in a rematch to end their feud.[72] Fandango moved on to a three-way feud for theWWE Intercontinental Championship against championWade Barrett and fellow challengerThe Miz.[73] Days later, Fandango distracted Miz by dancing at ringside while Miz was wrestling Barrett; then he attacked Miz, resulting in Miz gaining a disqualification win over Barrett.[74] Fandango later pinned Barrett in a non-title match after Miz, who was the special guest referee, attacked Barrett.[75] A triple threat match for the Intercontinental title was set forPayback which Fandango wasbooked to win. However, he suffered alegitimateconcussion during a SmackDown taping againstZack Ryder in June and was removed from the match.[76][77][78] His replacement,Curtis Axel, won the match and the championship.[79]
Fandango returned on the July 1Raw, losing toSheamus via count-out.[80] At theMoney in the Bank pay-per-view, Fandango competed in theWorld Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, but was unsuccessful as the match was won byDamien Sandow.[81] On the September 2 episode ofRaw, Fandango had his nose broken during a match against The Miz, which he lost.[82] Fandango then lost a dance contest to The Miz, which also involved R-Truth andThe Great Khali, as well as losing another match to him atNight of Champions. His losing streak came to an end on the September 16Raw, where he defeated R-Truth. AtHell in a Cell, Fandango and Summer Rae defeatedNatalya and The Great Khali in a mixed tag team match.[83] On the December 23Raw, Fandango defeated Dolph Ziggler in a "Present on a Pole match" to earn a WWE Intercontinental Championship match againstBig E Langston the following week, however he was ultimately defeated.[84] On the March 3 episode ofRaw, Fandango and Summer Rae lost toEmma and Santino in a mixed tag team match, when Emma once again made Rae submit.[85]
AtWrestlemania XXX, Fandango competed in the "André the Giant MemorialBattle Royal" match in a losing effort.[86] The following night onRaw, Fandango and Summer Rae were once again defeated by Emma and Marella in amixed tag team match, with Emma making Rae submit.[87] The following week,Layla replaced Summer Rae as Fandango's dancer and valet, and quickly became embroiled in a feud with Emma and Santino Marella.[88][89][90] Rae returned on May 19, attacking Layla.[91] On the July 11 episode ofSmackdown, Fandango lost toAdam Rose by countout after Summer Rae started attacking Layla. Later, he got a kiss from both women and started dancing, leading to both women attacking him and dancing together. Layla and Summer Rae went on to cause Fandango numerous losses on WWE television.
After months of absence, Fandango returned withRosa Mendes as his new dance partner to compete in the pre-show match atSurvivor Series, defeatingJustin Gabriel with asalsa dancer gimmick and new theme music.[92] Fandango participated in theRoyal Rumble match, in which he was eliminated byRusev.
On the April 13 episode ofRaw, after losing toStardust, Fandango brought back his old theme and dance and dissolved his relationship with Mendes, turningface in the process for the first time since 2010. Mendes then cost Fandango a match against Adam Rose, joining his "Exotic Express" and sparking a short feud between Fandango and Rose. Fandango earned the majority of victories between the two over the next few weeks on television and athouse shows, ending the feud in mid-2015. Fandango then commonly appeared onSuperstars andMain Event, defeating the likes of Adam Rose andHeath Slater. Fandango suffered a loss to Rusev on the episode ofMain Event on August 17.
On the March 21, 2016, episode ofRaw, Fandango faced Chris Jericho in a losing effort. AtWrestleMania 32, Fandango was the first participant to be eliminated from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
On the April 14 episode ofSmackDown, Fandango teamed withGoldust in theWWE Tag Team Championship number one contender's tournament, replacingR-Truth; the two were defeated byThe Vaudevillains in the first round.[93] On the May 12 episode ofSmackDown, a match pitting Fandango and Goldust against R-Truth andTyler Breeze ended with a quirky result when Fandango and Breeze turned on their partners, who had refused to fight each other.[94] Fandango aligned with Breeze, adopting the name "Breezango", thus turning heel once again.[95] The new team defeated The Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) a week later onRaw[96] but lost a rematch at theMoney in the Bank, ending the feud.[97] After being drafted toSmackDownbrand as a result of theWWE draft,[98] Breezango defeatedThe Usos on July 24 atBattleground.[98][99] Breezango then entered a tournament which would determine the inauguralSmackDown Tag Team Champions, they were eliminated in the first round byAmerican Alpha.[100] On the November 8 episode ofSmackDown Live, Breezango defeatedThe Vaudevillains to qualify for Team SmackDown for the10-on-10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match atSurvivor Series;[101] they were the first team eliminated from the match, which was ultimately won by Team Raw.[102] During this time, Breezango began to refer themselves as "Fashion Police".[103] AtWrestleMania 33, Fandango took part in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he failed to win.[104]
On the April 25, 2017, episode ofSmackDown Live, Breezango defeatedThe Ascension in a Beat the Clock challenge match, becoming number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.[105] During this time, Breezango transitioned intofan favorites in the process.[106] AtBacklash, Breezango unsuccessfully challenged The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.[107] Breezango lost toKevin Owens and Sami Zayn atSurvivor Series[108] and toThe Bludgeon Brothers atClash of Champions.[109] On March 11, 2018, atFastlane, Breezango teamed withTye Dillinger to defeatMojo Rawley,Chad Gable andShelton Benjamin in a six-man tag team match.[110] AtWrestleMania 34, Fandango competed in the André the Giant Battle Royal, but was unsuccessful.[111] On April 16, Breezango were moved toRaw brand as part ofSuperstar Shake-up.[112] On that night, they defeatedCesaro and Sheamus.[113] On July 6, it was reported that Fandango has suffered a left labrum tear in his shoulder and that he would be out of action at least six months.[114][115]
At the end of the year, Breeze and Fandango were sent to NXT. According to Dave Meltzer, WWE assigned them to the brand to work as experienced veterans to work with the younger talent and to help NXT's rating during theWednesday Night War against theAll Elite Wrestling'sDynamite.[116] Fandango returned from the injury a year later, on the July 31, 2019, episode ofNXT, saving his tag team partner Tyler Breeze from a post-match attack by The Forgotten Sons (Jaxson Ryker,Steve Cutler andWesley Blake).[117] Breezango began a feud with The Forgotten Sons, defeating them in tag team action as well as in a six-man tag action withIsaiah "Swerve" Scott as their partner.[118] However, in December, Fandango was sidelined with another injury as he announced he had undergoneUlnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) with an expected recovery of six to twelve months.[119]
Fandango returned on the June 3, 2020, episode ofNXT, teaming with Breeze to defeatOney Lorcan andDanny Burch, andThe Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish andRoderick Strong) in a number one contender's match for theNXT Tag Team Championship.[120] On the June 17 episode ofNXT, Breezango failed to win the titles fromImperium (Fabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel), after interference from both Lorcan and Burch and Indus Sher (Rinku andSaurav).[121] AtNXT TakeOver XXX, Breezango defeated Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, and Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde andRaul Mendoza) in atriple threat tag team match to become the number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship.[122] On the August 26 episode ofNXT, Breezango defeated Imperium to win the titles, marking Fandango's first title in WWE, nearly ten years after his NXT debut.[123] On the October 21 episode of NXT, Breezango lost the titles to Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan, ending their reign at 56 days. On the November 11 episode ofNXT, they failed to regain the titles from Lorcan and Burch in a rematch.
In early 2021, Breezango participated inDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but were defeated by The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Roderick Strong) in the first round. On the June 15 episode ofNXT, they defeated Imperium in what would be their final match in WWE. On June 25, Fandango, along with Breeze, was released from his WWE contract, ending his 15-year tenure with the company.[124]
As of July 15, 2021, Fandango now goes by the name,Dirty Dango on the independent circuit. On July 16, 2022, at Immortal Championship Wrestling Dirty Dango defeated Mike Skyros to become Immortal Heavyweight Champion in Schenectady, NY.
In December 2021, Dango made his debut for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) at theHard Times 2 pay-per-view.[125]
Hussey made his return forImpact Wrestling, previously known as TNA: Total Nonstop Action, under the ring nameDirty Dango, at the 2022Bound for Glory, where he acceptedBrian Myers' open challenge for theImpact Digital Media Championship, ultimately failing.[126] In January 2023, it was confirmed that Dango has signed with Impact Wrestling.[127] On the April 6 episode ofImpact!, the Director of AuthoritySantino Marella was mysteriously attacked backstage.[128][129] WithSami Callihan being suspected behind the attack as part of his initiation intoThe Design, Marella teamed up with Dango and the Digital Media ChampionJoe Hendry on April 16, atRebellion, to face and ultimately defeat the Design.[130][131] Following Rebellion, Dango alongside Hendry decided to investigate who attacked Marella. On the May 18 episode ofImpact!, It was revealed that Dango was Marella's assailant and proceed to attack Hendry, thus turningheel in the process.[132][133] AtUnder Siege, Dango lost to Hendry by disqualification, Dango continued his assault on Hendry until Marella returned to make the save.[134] On June 9 atAgainst All Odds, Dango unsuccessfully challenged Hendry for the Impact Digital Media Championship.[135]
On June 14, atAgainst All Odds, Dirty Dango allied himself withThe System after costing the Nemeth Brothers (Nic andRyan Nemeth) their tag team title shot againstBrian Myers andEddie Edwards, after which he changed his name to Johnny "Dango" Curtis (JDC).[136][137]
On February 4, 2025, Curtis returned toWWE NXT, using his Fandango theme, interruptingLexis King.[138] He challenged King to a match the following week, for theHeritage Cup.[139]
As Fandango, he made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K14 (as adownloadable character) and has since appeared inWWE 2K15,[140]WWE 2K16,[141]WWE 2K17,[142]WWE 2K18,[143]WWE 2K19,[144]WWE 2K20,[145]WWE 2K Battlegrounds andWWE 2K22.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Swerved | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Southpaw Regional Wrestling | Chet Chetterfield | 8 episodes, web series |
| 2017 | Superstar Ink | Himself |
37-year-old me knows that now but 26-year-old me didn't at the time.
Although Fandango is portrayed by Curtis Hussey, a wrestler with almost 15 years of experience, the character is a strange bedfellow in the WWE roster: a fussy, flamboyant, sultry-voiced dancer who seems more interested in ballet than brawling, and works up his fiercest rage when his name is constantly mispronounced.
