DeWayne Bruce

DeWayne Bruce[3] (born August 2, 1962) is an American former professional wrestler, best known by his ring name, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker and his nickname Sarge. Bruce was a trainer at the WCW Power Plant wrestling school, and worked primarily for World Championship Wrestling.

DeWayne Bruce
Born (1962-08-02) August 2, 1962
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
ResidenceVilla Rica, Georgia,
United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Braun the Leprechaun[1]
DeWayne Bruce
Jack Boot
The Leprechaun[2]
Sarge[1]
Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker[1]
Billed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
DebutNovember 12, 1987
Retired2011

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1989-2001)

Bruce debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1989, using his real name as a preliminary wrestler, then earned some undercard notoriety as Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, competing in a tag-team with partner Lt. James Earl Wright, as The State Patrol.[4] He later became a member of the Dungeon of Doom, under the short-lived identity of Braun The Leprechaun[1] before again being repackaged as "Military Man" Jack Boot.[5]

Boot only lasted a short time before Buddy Lee Parker returned, but this time as a Military Sergeant. This was Bruce's final wrestling persona, later simply going by Sarge. After his semiretirement, he became the head trainer at the official WCW wrestling school, the Power Plant.[1] He would occasionally pop up on WCW Saturday Night as a jobber during the end of his career, but he received praise by WCW commentators crediting him for training many of the highly popular superstars of WCW, most notably Bill Goldberg. Despite losing most of his televised matches, Bruce scored a few notable victories throughout his career (although mostly against other jobbers). Bruce had respect from his peers, and was known to lose matches against newcomers to help elevate younger talent. Towards the very end of WCW, Bruce was involved in a somewhat major match, in which he teamed with his former trainee, Bill Goldberg, to face the team of Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell (then known as Totally Buffed). This would end up being Bruce's final WCW appearance.

Bruce was also notable for being the first wrestler to lose to newcomers (to WCW) such as "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Jr (who had an almost unbeaten streak in the company around the time) and The Iron Sheik.

All Japan Pro Wrestling

During 1991 and 1992, Bruce traveled to Japan to compete for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), while still under contract with WCW. Bruce teamed with a variety of tag-team partners in AJPW, however, much like in WCW, AJPW used Bruce as "enhancement talent" (jobber). Despite being used as a jobber, Bruce did have some notable moments in his AJPW tenure. Bruce stopped competing for AJPW in March 1992, and returned to Atlanta, to again work for WCW.

Retirement

DeWayne would once again portray the Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker gimmick to wrestle for Xcitement Wrestling Federation in 2001 at their first tapings, losing to Jimmy Snuka Jr. After not performing for nearly 3 years, DeWayne defeated Steve Sellars at UCW Clash Of Champions. He then finally wrestled his last match in 2011 on the losing end of a 6-man tag team match on a show called A Night To Remember.

Other media

Bruce also made an appearance on Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. When Theroux asked him about the use of storylines in wrestling, Bruce felt deeply insecure. Bruce then decided to force Theroux to exercise until he got physically sick.

Batista recounted his encounter with Bruce in his WWE-produced DVD, Batista Unleashed. Batista claims that, when he went for an open tryout at the WCW Power Plant, Bruce drilled him into the ground with an intensely-grueling workout regimen, causing him to throw up viciously. Despite his resistance, Bruce reportedly demanded he continue the tryout due to his look and size, which he did.[6]

WCW Power Plant

Bruce was the head trainer at WCW's developmental school, the WCW Power Plant. While Bruce has been criticized for his intense workout sessions while in charge of the WCW Power Plant, he is also remembered in a positive light, especially when recounting many of the notable performers he trained during his tenure in WCW, such as Bill Goldberg, Big Show, Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, Mike Sanders, Stacy Keibler, Daffney, Louis Theroux and Torrie Wilson.

Championships and accomplishments
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References
  1. "Dwayne Bruce profile". OWOW. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. "WCW Monday Nitro". WCW Monday Nitro. 1996-07-22. TNT (TV channel).
  3. "Buddy Lee Parker - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  4. Online World of Wrestling
  5. Online World of Wrestling
  6. Batista, Dave. Batista Unleashed. WWE Books. 2007.
  7. http://www.profightdb.com/pwi-500/1991.html
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