Dory Funk, Jr.
Sullivan was initially trained by Brett Sawyer, the brother of Mad Dog Sawyer, at his wrestling school in Pinellas Park. After three months, he began training on his own and was later trained under Dory Funk, Jr., Steve Keirn, Jimmy Del Ray, Tommy Rogers, Pat Tanaka and The Bushwhackers (Luke Williams and Butch Miller). Sullivan eventually made his debut with his brother as the Freedom Ryders facing his future tag team partner Emory Hale and another wrestler in Bradenton, Florida. The match lasted up to 20 minutes.