‘The Taskmaster’ Kevin Sullivan is glad that fans have better memories of the Dungeon Of Doom’s days in WCW.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard spoke with Kevin Sullivan, best known for his role as a wrestler and booker in WCW. Sullivan was also the leader of the Dungeon Of Doom, a stable of kooky characters that once tried to end Hulkamania. Sullivan was asked where the stable took inspiration from, noting He-Man and Masters of the Universe felt like a potential connection.
“Hulk had his friends, and he wanted them to be used on TV. So I decided that I was booking them [and] rather than putting them in singles because their style was completely different to what was happening than in wrestling. I thought putting them all together in one segment. It helps him because I wanted him to turn heel about six months when he got there. I wanted to gain his trust. He was used to somebody — I kind of filled the void of Bobby Heenan ending Hulkamania and me saying he’s not who you think he is. So, lump us all together, it gave a little bit of comedy to the show.”
A Bit Of Levity
Sullivan says people hated the idea at first, but it’s more revered by fans today. Sullivan also credited his new adversary Hogan for calling him “Taskmaster” in the first place.
“Now that they’ve grown up, [fans] love it. Masters of the Universe, yeah, I did it probably subconsciously because I used to watch the cartoon. I thought, yeah, [Hulk] was so over the top, say prayers, take your vitamins, that I had to go the other way. And I’m sure some of that rubbed off on me. And I mean, actually, you’re watching all this great wrestling from the luchadores to the cruiserweights to the nWo to the Four Horsemen. It gave a little bit of levity to the show.”
Under The Big Top
Kevin Sullivan explained that he tried to book WCW like a circus. The Dungeon of Doom was supposed to be a group that appealed to kids. They could enjoy the Dungeon of Doom, but older kids were linked to the nWo and Four Horsemen.
“Here we have the nWo with ball bats coming into Orlando, [lawn-darting] Rey Mysterio into the trailer. Ric Flair and the Horsemen doing wrestling and violence. The young guys, the cruiserweight, putting on these magnificent matches. The luchadores who hadn’t been seen,” Sullivan explained.
“If you don’t like the tightrope walkers. Hold on, because the clown car is going to come later on. We’re the clown car. And then you had the acrobats. Then you had, at the end of the show, Gunther Gebel Williams. He had the violence. You’d open the lion’s mouth and stick his head into it. So we tried to give a little bit of everything that we possibly could to keep it whole. To make it almost like a family could watch it and enjoy it together.”
Tuesday with The Taskmaster airs each week on AdFreeShows.com.
Watch our full interview with Kevin Sullivan below:
