Duke "The Dumpster" Droese

Duke "The Dumpster" Droese is an American Born Wrestler working for the WWF. He is a 2 time WWF Champion. His most notable accomplishments include winning the 1996 Royal Rumble, and main eventing Wrestlemania 12 against Diesel and Wrestlemania 13 against Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

## **September to December 1995**

Droese spent this time tagging with Big Daddy Cooligate as Wasted Toothpaste. They would win 9 Tag Team Championships during this time. Duke had a gimmick as a tag team specialist, winning the gold with Fatu, Aldo Montoya, Adam Bomb, and Shawn Michaels, which brought Drose's reigns to 14 total by the end of the year.

On the Raw Before In Your House: Rage in a Cage, Droese and Cooligate defeated Undertaker and Paul Bearer to win the tag titles, however the referee accidentally declared the winners as Cooligate and Mo. Before he could correct himself Mo attacked the ref and declared himself the tag team champion with Cooligate. A match was held as the main event of Raw between Mo and Droese with the winner getting to tag with Cooligate. Drose defeated Mo in his first singles match to become the tag team champion. At Rage in a Cage, Wasted Toothpaste defended the titles sucessfully against Proud Men (Ultimate Warrior and Villano IV). However, Proud Men would attack Wasted Toothpaste after the match starting a feud between the two teams. Droese and Cooligate's reign would come to an end after Cooligate and Droese won a tag title match but the ref accidentally named Droese and Mo the champions. Mo would attack the ref before the ref could correct himself but Sgt. Slaughter would strip the titles from Droese and Mo shortly after. Droese and Cooligate would then win the titles again on November 9th and continue to feud with several different teams throughout the year. Drose would also win the S'BradBradshaw Title on the October 5th edition of RAW beating Owen Hart for it and would hold it for 2 weeks before dropping it to Fart Gunn.

Near December Droese started breaking out with several wins, including beating then WWF Champion Chris Benoit in a non title help due to his friend Diesel (formerly known as Big Daddy Cooligate) on RAW.

## Road To Wrestlemania

Droese defeated Undertaker in a "Loser Enters #1" match, with the stipulation being the loser starting first at the 1996 Royal Rumble on RAW. Meanwhile Droese supported his friend Diesel, helping him get the upper edge in his feud against Chris Benoit.

At the Royal Rumble Diesel won the WWF Title and Droese won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Villano IV. Droese entered at #30 and had 4 eliminations (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, and Villano IV). Diesel would then turn on Droese by injuring him, putting him out of action until Wrestlemania 12. Leading up to Wrestlemania 12 Droese would cut promos on and attack his former best friend.

## Wrestlemania/Post Wrestlemania

At Wrestlemania 12 Droese would end up pinning Diesel in a No DQ match to win the WWF Championship. The match was rated a 73% with most critics calling it an above average but not great match.

He would hold onto it for 50 days, defending it against Diesel and G.Q. in a triple threat at Money in the Dank. Following Money in the Dank, Vince McMahon helped his protege Aldo Montoya win a shot at the title at King of the Ring. Droese would then appear on the first ever edition of Kwang TV. The first Kwang TV saw The Mighty Kwang interview Duke on Aldo Montoya. Duke uttered his famous line "Aldo, you're a piece of trash, and I take out the trash for a living. So at King of the Ring, I'll take you out" here. Aldo would, in return, taunt and attack Droese leading up to King of the Ring, but Aldo failed to win the title. Also at King of the Ring, Undertaker won the King of the Ring Tournament and a #1 Shot at the WWF Title at In Your House: Cafe of Blood. However, his title match was moved to the Raw after King of the Ring. The match would end in a no contest as Money in the Dank Briefcase holder Scotty 3 Hotty 5 Me would attack both men, causing a double DQ. Scotty would then cash in and pin Droese to become the WWF Champion.

At IYH: Cafe of Blood, Undertaker defeated Scotty and Droese in a triple threat match to win the WWF Title Drose then reunited with Diesel to reform Wasted Toothpaste. The team would win the tag titles and hold onto it for 3 weeks before dropping it to Bret Hart and Bob Backlund due to a distraction from Diesel's rival Flap Jack New Jack. Droese would take a few weeks off but then returned and beat Blacktop Bully to win the WWF European Championship. However Authority Figure Paul Heyman gave Droese an option: Keep the title, or be stripped of it and be entered in a #1 contenders match for the WWF Title. Droese would choose the second option. Drose would then win the #1 contenders match at WWF Summerslam for Man Mountain Rock's WWF Championship, last eliminating Chris Benoit in a 10 man over the top battle royal. Leading up to the show, Rock cut an insulting promo on Droese which led to Droese attacking Rock with Rock's old signature weapon, the guitar, on the following RAW. At Summerslam 2: We Comin For You, Droese would defeat then Rock to win his second WWF Title, ending Rock's second title reign as well as the undefeated streak that Rock had since Wrestlemania 12. He would sucesfully defend it at the World War 3 PPV against Rock in a 2/3 falls match, with Rock winning the first fall and Droese winning the next two.

On the September 12th edition of RAW, Undertaker earned a shot at the WWF Title by beating Spooky Steve Austin. Droese would be attacked by a mystery man on the same show. On the next edition of RAW, Taker announced on an episode of Kwang TV that he attacked Droese and he was coming for the WWF Championship. Droese then defeated Taker at Spooky Slam. On the October 12th edition of RAW, a match was announced, a fatal four way between Undertaker, Diesel, Scotty 3 Hotty 5 Me, and a mystery opponent would take place with the winner getting a shot at Duke's title at Survivor Series. Former WCW Wrestler Cactus Jack would be the surprise entrant and eventually win. Cactus would make himself known by powerbombing Duke onto a pile of thumbtacks the following RAW. Jack would lose to Droese at Survivor Series. Droese would then turn heel for the first time in his career by aligning with the returning Paul Heyman. Drose would attack Cactus Jack with Diesel coming out to make the save. Diesel would defeat Droese in a non title match on the next main event to get a title shot at In Your House: Papa Johns.com. Duke would win by interference from Paul Heyman. Diesel would put Paul Heyman through a table the following RAW and demanded a title shot with Heyman banned from ringside at the 1997 Royal Rumble show. The match was made official by Sgt. Slaughter two RAWs before the Royal Rumble.

## 1997

At the Royal Rumble, Diesel after being pinned by Droese following a Dumpster Drive. At Filler PPV before Wrestlemania, Droese attacked Royal Rumble Winner Steve Austin after his match, starting the feud between the two that would main event Wrestlemania 13. Also at the show, Shawn Michaels beat Madden Mojo Jojo to get into the main event of Wrestlemania, making the match a triple threat. Leading up to the show, Droese's manager Paul Heyman cut promos on Austin. Austin cut promos on his own against Droese and beat down Heyman backstage. 2 RAWs before Wrestlemania Droese faced Michaels and the match went to a no contest due to interference from Steve Austin. At the RAW before Wrestlemania Droese faced Austin in the main event, with Droese winning by cheating. At Wrestlemania, Austin pinned Michaels to win the WWF Title, ending Droese's reign at a record long 222 days.

## Post Wrestlemania and Face Turn

On the RAW after Wrestlemania, Droese demanded his rematch clause for the show's main event. His request was granted. The match went to a no contest after Rhyno made his debut by attacking Droese. After the beatdown Rhyno shook hands with Droese's manager Paul Heyman after beating down Droese. The betrayal led to a face turn from Droese. Rhyno made his wrestling debut in the WWF the next RAW, beating Dude Love. Rhyno attacked Love after the match and Droese made the save by pummeling Rhyno. Droese set his sights on Heyman but Heyman fled before he could be attacked.

## Acomplishments

2x WWF Champion

 Reign 1: 3/27/96-5/16/96 (50 Days)

Reign 2: 8/14/96-3/24/97 (222 Days)

1x S'BradBradShaw Champion

Reign 1: 10/5/95-10/19/95 (14 Days)

1x European Champion

Reign 1: 7/4/95-7/4/95 (<1 Day)

15x WWF Tag Team Champion

Winner of the 1996 Royal Rumble

Main Evented Wrestlemania 12 and 13