News broke on Friday morning that “The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan had died. He was 74.
Long-time Florida wrestling personality Barry Rose confirmed the death of his long-time friend: “With the heaviest of hearts, we are devastated to have to report the passing of the legendary Kevin Sullivan. May he RIP and his family, friends and fans find comfort in how much he was loved.”
Friends, colleagues and fans rallied around Sullivan and the campaign quickly reached far beyond it’s goal.
Over the last few days, a number of “Thank you Kevin” and “Get well Kevin” videos and posts were created for Sullivan to see.
Ric Flair wrote on X: “Kevin Sullivan Has Been One Of My Closest Friends In The Business. His Knowledge Of All Sports, Not Just Wrestling, Is Unparalleled. He Is One Of The Most Brilliant Minds In The History Of Our Business. Kevin Led WCW To A Year And A Half Victory Over WWE, And Dealt With So Many Personalities Like Hall, Nash, The NWO, Eric Bischoff, The Nature Boy Ric Flair, And Hulk Hogan! Stay Strong Kevin!!!! We Need You”
Kevin Francis Sullivan was born on October 26, 1949, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At age eight, he rheumatic fever. “I was in bed for a year, I didn’t walk for a year. I actually started in my basement, I found a set of weights. We lived in a four decker and I found a set of weights and that’s how I started working out.”
His wrestling school was really the television, and each Saturday, he’d take over the family’s TV in their Cambridge tenement. Soon, he wrestling around the northeast and into Quebec, having not really “officially” trained. Sullivan proved to be a sponge, though, and soaked up knowledge.
Heading to Florida in 1972, after 13 months in Tennessee, proved to be the jumpstart his career needed, and he studied under the learning tree of promoter Eddie Graham.
“Eddie Graham used to say it takes five years to understand what you’re doing. For me, it was about five years or maybe a little earlier because I had some great teachers,” Sullivan told Alex Marvez of the Wrestling Observer. “When I first came down here, me and Mike (Graham) were partners. The other day, someone told me they remembered when me and Mike Graham won our first titles. I couldn’t even remember who we beat. I got to wrestle Bobby Shane, which was like wrestling a guy with Brian Pillman’s talent. I got to wrestle against Dory and Terry Funk. I wrestled guys who used to use me as a punching bag. There was Jack and Jerry Brisco, Danny Hodge … I was very lucky to have that opportunity.”
At only 5-foot-9, but solidly built, wrestling at around 250 pounds, Sullivan made it work against bigger opponents. Superstar Billy Graham saw that often. “He was a tremendous talent, especially for his stature. He could make people forget the difference in size, especially when wrestling [Blackjack Mulligan],” Graham (Wayne Coleman) told journalist Scott Williams in 2004. “Mulligan would have to get on his knees, and he was still bigger than Kevin, but Kevin Sullivan, he was able to carry it with guys twice his height. Very, very intense and a lot of believability, and personally, a great friend.
