Wrestling legend Sullivan dead at 74

Longtime pro wrestler and booker Kevin Sullivan has died at the age of 74.

Sullivan's family announced last month that he had incurred an accident in May and had been in the ICU with complications arising from it.

A native of Cambridge, MA, Sullivan was best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling where he would go on to later become its booker.

Sullivan first achieved major fame in Championship Wrestling from Florida when he adopted a demonic cult leader gimmick to play upon the "Satanic panic" of the early 1980s as "The Prince of Darkness" Kevin Sullivan. During this time, Sullivan memorably feuded with the territory's top babyface, Dusty Rhodes.

Heading to Jim Crockett Promotions, the federation that would eventually become WCW, in 1987, Sullivan joined the Varsity Club, a group made of Rick Steiner and Mike Rotunda that drew on their shoot wresting backgrounds. He would later form an alliance with Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) and Bam Bam Bigelow. He would leave the promotion in 1991.

After two years in the fledgling Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion where he won the ECW World Tag Team Championships with the Tazmaniac (Taz), Sullivan returned to WCW in 1994. He began teaming with the Equalizer, who had been repackaged as Sullivan's kayfabe brother, Dave Sullivan, an avid Hulk Hogan fan. Hating Hogan, Sullivan brought in Ed Leslie and Avalanche (John Tenta), the former Earthquake in the World Wrestling Federation, to feud with Hogan as the "Three Faces of Fear."

By 1995, Sullivan reverted to a dark gimmick as "The Taskmaster" and led the Dungeon of Doom stable that featured the likes of Paul "The Giant" Wight, Konnan, Meng and the Barbarian.

In 1996, Sullivan began a feud with Chris Benoit that saw the valet Woman, his real-life wife Nancy Sullivan, begin a kayfabe relationship with Benoit. The on-screen relationship turned into a real one and Sullivan and Nancy divorced the following year with Nancy and Benoit marrying in 2000. Benoit would go on to murder his wife and son, Daniel, and then die by suicide in 2007.

After losing a retirement match to Benoit at Bash at the Beach 1997, Sullivan exited as a TV character outside of sporadic appearances to focus on his duties as part of the booking committee. Upon the firing of Vince Russo in 2000, Sullivan assumed the role of head booker. The move riled a number of talents within the company with Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn granted their releases to jump to the WWF. Sullivan's tenure as booker would not last long and neither did WCW, sold to Vince McMahon in March of 2001.

In the years after leaving WCW, Sullivan would make appearances at conventions and occasional appearances for independent promotions including a brief run in Ring of Honor in 2016 and 2017 where he was aligned with Punishment Martinez, who would go on to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest.

Word of Sullivan's passing elicited tributes from across the industry.

"Kevin Sullivan had one of the most unique minds in the history of our industry, pushing creative boundaries and developing some of the most intriguing characters to step into the ring," WWE chief operating officer and head booker Paul Levesque wrote. "He had an unwavering passion for what we do. My thoughts are with his family, friends and fans."

"I'm deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend, Kevin Sullivan," Jake "The Snake" Roberts wrote. "What an incredible mind for the business and an even greater person. Please say a prayer for his family."