Dan Spivey Early life . Spivey was born in Tampa , Florida . He played football at the University of Georgia . Career . Spivey and his workout buddy Scott Hall were trained in Florida , mainly by Dusty Rhodes , but they also received training from Rick Martel and Barry Windham . When it was time for the team ' s debut , Rhodes made a deal with Jim Crockett for the two to work in Crockett ' s territory based out of Charlotte , North Carolina . National Wrestling Alliance ( 1984 – 1985 ) . Spivey and Hall made their debut as a masked tag - team called American Starship with Spivey being called Eagle and Hall being dubbed Coyote . With their furry boots , massive stature , bright masks and Hulk Hogan - esque T - shirt ripping routine the two men were easy to spot on any card . Initially , American Starship worked only sporadically . At first they were booked so sparingly that the two were given a job for the Charlotte Orioles ( which Jim Crockett owned at the time ) as part of the ground crew . When the two men did get into the ring it was with little success , the highlight of their stay in Crockett ' s Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling was being defeated by Arn and Ole Anderson when the rookies challenged for the NWA National Tag Team Championship . After working in MACW the duo joined Bob Geigel ' s NWA Central States territory based in Kansas City in 1985 . The duo had a shot at the NWA Central States Tag Team Champions Marty Jannetty and " Bulldog " Bob Brown but did not manage to win the titles . Spivey ’ s stay in the Central States territory was short lived , according to Scott Hall Spivey did not like Kansas City . Spivey returned to the Carolinas and the recently redubbed " Jim Crockett Promotions " where he worked as " American Starship " Eagle . World Wrestling Federation ( 1985 – 1988 ) . In the fall of 1985 , Spivey signed with the World Wrestling Federation and started working without a mask and under his real name . Spivey was brought in to team with Mike Rotunda as the US Express after Barry Windham left the federation . The team had their first match together on November 1 , 1985 less than a month after Spivey joined the WWF . The team was sometimes billed as The American Express , but most people referred to them as the U . S . Express II since the patriotic gimmick of the original U . S . Express was recycled with Spivey taking Barry Windham ' s place . 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 Rotundo 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 . After Rotundo left the WWF , Spivey was repackaged as " Golden Boy " Dan Spivey for a singles run . 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 tag team titles . 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 . All Japan Pro Wrestling ( 1988 – 1995 ) . After working exclusively in the U . S . since his debut , Spivey started to tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling 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 . One night , he was to go up against Bruiser Brody but Brody was murdered backstage and the match was cancelled . National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling ( 1989 – 1992 ) . In early 1989 , Spivey returned to the National Wrestling Alliance and Jim Crockett . 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 Steve Williams were pushed as the stars of the group . When the Varsity Club disbanded , 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 ' 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 . The Skyscrapers quickly became involved in a feud with the Road Warriors , sparked by Teddy Long ' s actions while he was still a referee . The two teams were very evenly matched in power and intensity , creating a series of matches that did not favor one team over the other . Spivey and Vicious were disqualified against the Road Warriors at Halloween Havoc . Shortly after Halloween Havoc , the Skyscrapers faced the Steiner Brothers at 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 ( who would eventually join the WWF to become the legendary Undertaker ) . The New Skyscrapers immediately picked up the feud with the Road Warriors and kept on having inconclusive matches with them . At the Skyscrapers finally got the better of the Road Warriors , not in the match , but afterwards when they beat the Road Warriors down . 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 . While working for the NWA as one of the Skyscrapers , Spivey also competed in his homestate 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 . Spivey also 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 . By the end of 1990 , Spivey returned to WCW television . The Skyscrapers briefly reunited at Starrcade 1990 as he and Sid Vicious defeated The Big Cat and the Motor City Madman . 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 U . S . Champion " The Total Package " Lex Luger at the February 24 , 1991 PPV WrestleWar . Spivey did not win the title , and he did not get another high profile title opportunity while with the company . On April 18 , 1991 Dan Spivey and Stan Hansen captured the World Tag Team Championship from Terry Gordy and Steve Williams in Tokyo , Japan . Spivey and Hansen even brought their successful tag team to WCW during this time . 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 World Tag Team Champions . After further discussions , Dan Spivey once again left WCW . Spivey and Hansen would lose the tag - team titles back to Gordy and Williams . After the title loss , Spivey started to team with other wrestlers , mainly with Johnny Ace , but also linked up with Jim Brunzell , Kendall Windham and Jim Steele . Spivey managed to mend fences with WCW enough to work with them once more during the summer of 1992 . 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 . Universal Wrestling Federation ( 1990 – 1995 ) . Between 1990 and 1995 , Spivey made regular American appearances for Herb Abrams ' Universal Wrestling Federation . He defeated Johnny Ace at UWF ' s Blackjack Brawl to become the only UWF Americas Champion . Return to World Wrestling Federation ( 1995 ) . Spivey rejoined the WWF in June 1995 , adopting the name Waylon Mercy in a character based on Robert De Niro ' s portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of " Cape Fear " . Like Cady , he had jet black hair , wore white attire with a Hawaiian shirt , and sported several strange tattoos , including one of a dagger on his forehead ( Spivey ' s were artificial ) . The character was introduced through a series of vignettes that always had Spivey speaking in a calm yet sinister manner , finishing with the phrase " Lives are gonna be in Waylon Mercy ' s hands . You know what I mean ? " Spivey portrayed a heel despite his character acting as a peaceful southern gentleman outside of the ring . Waylon would shake the hands of the fans , his opponent , and even the referee before his matches . However , once the bell rang , he became vicious , insincerely apologizing for actions such as kicking or choking a downed opponent . Mercy ' s finishing move saw him apply a sleeper hold as he revealed a wide - eyed , insane expression . Once the bell rang , he would return to his " peaceful southern gentleman " act . Mercy was pushed upon his debut with victories over numerous enhancement talents , 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 . While it was rumored for years that Spivey suffered a career - ending back injury after the match when he was " Jackknife Powerbombed " twice by Diesel , a January 2010 WWE . com " Where Are They Now ? " interview with Spivey clarified that his retirement in October 1995 was the result of built - up injuries over the years . Personal life . Spivey was arrested on July 14 , 2007 for driving under the influence in Odessa , Florida . He was released on $ 500 bond . He began to turn his life around and became sober in April 2009 . He now owns his own company , Spivey ' s Sober Companions , in Odessa and Stamford , Connecticut .