Sid Eudy (1960–2024)

Sid Eudy was a professional wrestler who used the ring names Lord Humongous, Sid Justice, Sid Vicious, and Sycho Sid. He was the only Arkansan to win the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Championship and the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Heavyweight Championship.

Sidney Ray Eudy was born on December 16, 1960; according to some sources, his birthplace was West Memphis (Crittenden County). Eudy got started in the business with the help of professional wrestlers Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo. Eudy spent the beginning of his career wrestling in the southern United States as Lord Humongous, a persona who wore a hockey mask. In 1989, he signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia. He used the ring name Sid Vicious and soon formed a tag team known as the Skyscrapers with Dan Spivey. After the team disbanded, Eudy joined the Four Horsemen, one of the most famous groups in professional wrestling history, and competed in main event matches.

In 1991, Eudy left WCW to join the World Wrestling Federation—now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He changed his ring name to Sid Justice and wrestled as a babyface (“good guy”). He and Hulk Hogan were portrayed as friends until January 1992, when the storyline had Eudy become a heel (“bad guy”) by eliminating Hogan from a match. The two faced each other at WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992, and Eudy was disqualified when another wrestler interfered on his behalf.

Eudy returned to WCW to resume an old feud with the wrestler Sting. He spent much of 1993 with the company before he was released after a real-life altercation with fellow wrestler Arn Anderson. He next worked for the Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association. While there, he won the promotion’s top title by forfeit on July 16, 1994, and held it for more than six months.

Eudy next appeared with the WWF in 1995 under the name Sycho Sid as a bodyguard to wrestler Shawn Michaels. The partnership was short-lived, and Eudy began feuding with Michaels’s friend, WWF champion Diesel. Eudy also aligned himself with the Million Dollar Corporation, a group of wrestlers led by Ted DiBiase. He did not appear for the company between January and July 1996 but was pushed to main event matches upon his return. At the Survivor Series event in November 1996, he defeated Michaels to win the WWF Championship, the only Arkansan to have held this title. Michaels won the championship two months later but soon decided to take time off from competing. Bret Hart won a match to determine the new champion, and Eudy regained the title by defeating Hart the following night with help from Steve Austin.

Soon after losing the title to The Undertaker, Eudy left the WWF, as he was injured and the company had no plans for him in future storylines. His next appearance with a major company came in 1999, when he competed in mid-card matches for Extreme Championship Wrestling for several months before returning to WCW. He won the company’s United States Championship by defeating Chris Benoit but then lost the title during a feud with the wrestler Goldberg. On January 24, 2000, he defeated Kevin Nash to become the first Arkansan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Because of a storyline in which Nash was also the commissioner of WCW, Eudy was stripped of the title and forced to wrestle Nash again the following night. Eudy won the rematch to regain the championship. The company eventually decided to declare all of its championships vacant, ending Eudy’s reign.

On January 14, 2001, Eudy snapped his left tibia and fibula while performing a move off the corner turnbuckle. The injury required surgery to insert a seventeen-inch rod in his leg. After the injury, he made limited appearances for small promotions as both a bodyguard and wrestler.

Outside of wrestling, Eudy was an avid softball player and appeared in the films Ready to Rumble (2000) and River of Darkness (2011). Throughout his wrestling career, Eudy was billed as being from West Memphis, though he lived in Marion (Crittenden County) and also lived in Tennessee for many years.

Eudy died on August 26, 2024, after struggling with cancer for several years. He was survived by his wife, Sabrina, and his two sons, Frank and Gunnar.

For additional information:
Archer, Jeffrey, Rick Boucke, and Linda Carlson. Theater in a Squared Circle: The Mystique of Professional Wrestling. Lafayette, CO: White-Boucke, 1998.

Mitchell, Houston. “WWE Hall of Famer ‘Sycho Sid’ (Sid Vicious) Dies at 63.” Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2024. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2024-08-26/wwe-star-sycho-sid-sid-vicious-dies-at-63 (accessed August 27, 2024).

Moses, Claire. “Sid Eudy, Wrestler Known as ‘Sid Vicious’ and ‘Sycho Sid,’ Dies at 63.” New York Times, August 26, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/sports/sid-eudy-dead.html (accessed August 27, 2024).

Napolitano, George. This Is Wrestling!: Today’s Stars, Tomorrow’s Legends. New York: Smithmark, 1993.

Picarello, Robert. Rulers of the Ring: Wrestling’s Hottest Superstars. New York: Berkeley Boulevard Books, 2000.

Kevin Hogg
Cranbrook, British Columbia