He was born Sidney Eudy but wrestling fans around the world simply knew him as Sycho Sid. Or Sid Justice. Most notably through, starting early in his career, he was feared as the monster known as Sid Vicious. And the name was apropos as the big man was vicious in the ring.
Sid got his start in Continental Wrestling Association, where he first debuted under the ring name Lord Humongous. The moniker is obviously a rip-off from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Though he dressed like the movie character, Sid’s stature and presence was palpable.
After Sid’s first couple of outings, he soon took on the name Sid Vicious. Maybe it was the name itself, or maybe it was the confidence of having his first few wrestling matches under his belt. Whatever the reason, the name Sid Vicious became synonymous with pain in the ring.
Sid would take on competitor after competitor while in the CWA before he moved on to the National Wrestling Alliance. It was there that Sid would take on the likes of Sting and Lex Luger. He would also form a tag team for a short time with Dan Spivey, where they would wrestler powerhouse tag teams like the Road Warriors and the Steiner Brothers. And it wasn’t long until Sid Vicious would show up in World Championship Wrestling.
WCW: The First Go-Around
Now, it can’t be glossed over that no one would claim Sid had five-star wrestling matches. He was a behemoth of a man and that’s what drew people to him. A walking mountain, the sheer visual of the wrestler kept fans transfixed. While Sid Vicious was coming up the ranks during his first few years in wrestling, superstars like Ric Flair and Randy Savage captivated audiences with their skills in the ring. And while Dusty Rhodes couldn’t be called a mat technician, the charisma of the American Dream mesmerized audiences everywhere.
It’s true Sid Vicious didn’t have the skills of those wrestlers, but there was something else about the man that fascinated wrestling fans wherever he went. He stood nearly seven feet tall. He was built like a brickhouse. But maybe more than either of those features, the eyes of Sid somehow told a story all by themselves.
With his eyes wide, staring at you through the camera, he held a sliver of a smile that told you this was a man to be feared. This was a man that did what he wanted, when he wanted to. I suppose that’s why one of his most famous phrases was that he was the “master and the ruler of the world.” Who would dare oppose a man who stood head and shoulders above you and looked like he could tear you apart without breaking a sweat?
Not only that, but Sid Vicious made a huge statement when he joined the Four Horsemen. Robocop was a huge movie at the time, and in association with the WCW, management agreed to present Robocop at a wrestling event. Of course, the Robocop persona was just a character from a movie, but the Four Horsemen wanted to make sure no actor came into the wrestling world and tried to make a mockery of them, so they recruited none other than Sid Vicious. He became the muscle of the supergroup for two years.
WWF: Welcome to the Federation
Because this was the Golden Age of WWF, Hulkamania was running wild, and eyeballs everywhere where on the World Wrestling Federation. This allowed Sid, now going by Sid Justice, to come into the Federation and gain even more attention.
His debut in WWF came when he faced off against Kato, and boy did the crowd let him know he was welcomed. He received a great ovation from everyone in attendance. Right from the start of his time in WWF, Sid, who was now going by Sid Justice, faced off against some of the biggest names in the company. From Jake Roberts and Undertaker, to being one of the final four wrestlers in the 1992 Royal Rumble, to fighting Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VIII.
Possibly one of the more frightening images of Sid was during his interview with Brutus Beefcake in the Barbershop. Sid would go on to demolish the barbershop with a steel chair. After destroying the window, and knocking down the set walls, he smashed the chair into a shelf on the wall and one of the barbershop items exploded in Sid’s face. The visual of a ferocious and chaotic Sid screaming was enough to put everyone on edge.
WCW: The Sequel
After his first stint in WWF, Sid would return to WCW, where he debuted at Slamboree 1993. His time in WCW the second time wasn’t very long, but he did battle at Fall Brawl: War Games of ’93, and he would fight against Sting at Halloween Havoc.
After WCW Sid would wrestler down south for the United States Wrestling Association. During his two years in the USWA Sid would battle the likes of Jerry “The King” Lawler and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. He would then go on to win the USWA championship before he returned to the WWF.
WWF: Return of the Federation
Sid came back to the WWF in 1995, but when he did the World Wrestling Federation had changed. He returned to be the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels after Michaels’ former bodyguard, Diesel, had turned his back on the Heartbreak Kid. Upon Sid’s return he looked even more unhinged. Even more psychotic. Which is probably why during this second return to the WWF, people started calling him Sycho Sid.
Sid would end up turning his back on the man he was hired to protect. He would then go on to join Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation. The mega-group, which at the time consisted of Kama, King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, IRS, and Bam Bam Bigelow.
At the end of 1995, Sid left the WWF due to a neck injury. But he returned to the company six months later and he was more psychotic than ever. This part of his second run in WWF would prove to be his most successful. He would go on to win the WWF championship not once, but twice.
First, Sid had renewed a rivalry with Shawn Michaels. At Survivor Series 1996, Sid not only attacked Michaels’ manager, José Lothario, with a camera but the Heartbreak Kid himself. This allowed Sid to powerbomb Michaels and capture the WWF championship. He would go on to defend his title against the likes of Mankind, Undertaker, and Goldust. He held the championship until the 1997 Royal Rumble, where Shawn Michaels would reclaim the title.
But Shawn Michaels had to relinquish the championship soon after. That left Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vader, and the Undertaker to battle for it in a four-way match at In Your House: Final Four. With the Hitman coming out on top, he would go on to face Sycho Sid the following night on Monday Night Raw.
Though Hart did have Sid in his clutches, locking the big man in a Sharpshooter, Stone Cold came out and attacked Bret Hart with a steel chair while the referee wasn’t looking. The Hitman and the Rattlesnake had been battling back and forth. The WWF championship became a casualty of that feud, and fell into the hands of Sid, who powerbombed the Hitman to win the title for a second time.
Unfortunately, only a month later at WrestleMania 13, Sid would lose the title to the Undertaker, after interference from Bret Hart. Sid would stay in the WWF for four more months, where he would battle The Hart Foundation, before taking a leave from wrestling for another six months to help his neck recover once more.
When Sid would return to wrestling, he would show up in smaller, independent promotions, before wrestling for ECW. Though he would fight the likes of The Dudley Boyz and Justin Credible, Sid would only stay in Extreme Championship Wrestling for a few months before returning to World Championship Wrestling for a third time, at The Great American Bash in 1999.
WCW: The Third Time’s The Charm
Upon his return to WCW, the company decided to bill Sid as “The Millenium Man,” but he was as unhinged as ever. Wrestlers feared him, and he would go on a tear through the entire roster of wrestlers, powerbombing one after another after another.
In his psychotic demeanor, every time Sid would powerbomb an opponent, he claimed it a victory for himself. And because he was practically powerbombing anyone and everyone, he soon accumulated a “winning streak” of sorts. Not only did this “undefeated” streak lead to Sid capturing the United States title, but it also led to the monstrous showdown between Sid Vicious and Goldberg.
At Halloween Havoc the two men would be scheduled to compete in a match. But before the match they were involved in a backstage altercation that resulted in Sid getting busted open. Sid, being the mad man he was, refused medical personnel to stich him up. This would be the undoing of not only his U.S. title run, but his “undefeated streak,” as when he faced off against Goldberg he started suffering from excessive bleeding. The end result was Sid losing the match and his U.S. title.
The following year, in 2000, Sid lost in a championship match against Chris Benoit at Souled Out for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. But the following night Arn Anderson, who was special guest referee in the match, admitted that he made a mistake and declared Benoit the winner of the match when he shouldn’t have because Sid’s leg was under the rope.
One week later, Sid defeated the Harris Brothers for the right to fight Kevin Nash for the championship. Vicious was able to overcome the odds, went on to face Nash, and win the title. Kevin Nash was the new commissioner of WCW at the time though, and said Sid had pinned the wrong Harris brother earlier in the night, so he stripped Sid of the title. He then put himself in a steel cage match, along with one of the Harris brothers, and fought Sid. Sid Vicious overcame the odds yet again and finally won the championship.
Sid, unfortunately, lost the title through no fault of his own. In April of 2000, new management took over WCW, and with it they wanted to establish new blood throughout the company. In an effort to do so, they stripped every champion in the company of their title and held matches to crown new champions. It was the dark days of WCW. Less than one year later, the company would be purchased by WWF.
The Millionaires Club versus the supposed New Blood was the talk of the company as the viewership dwindled. Sid would continue to wrestle before finally competing against Scott Steiner, Road Warrior Animal, and Jeff Jarrett for the world title. Not only would Sid lose the match, but it would also have disastrous consequences for his career.
As he performed a move off the second rope, he landed awkwardly and resulted in completely breaking his leg in a gruesome injury. Doctors feared Sid would never be able to do more than walk again, but he proved them wrong by rehabbing and returning to the ring periodically, before making his final televised match, when he defeated Heath Slater on Monday Night Raw in 2012.
It didn’t matter if you called him Sid Vicious, Sid Justice, or Sycho Sid. Sid was a bruising powerhouse in the world of pro wrestling. He commanded attention both in the ring and out. Unfortunately Sid passed away in 2024 after battling cancer, but the legend of Sid will remain forever.
