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PWInsider.com is sad to report the passing of former WWF and ECW star Darren "Droz" Drozdov at the age of 54. We are told an official statement is forthcoming.
Drozdov, who was born in Mays Landing, NJ was a high school and college football and track and field star for Oakcrest High School. He played for three seasons with the NFL for The Philadelphia Eagles, The New York Jets and The Denver Broncos.
Drozdov found his way to professional wrestling in the late 1990s, where he was signed to the WWF and fielded out to Extreme Championship Wrestling to get additional experience, usually presented as a younger talent on the undercard or a WWF interloper out to help destroy the promotion.
He officially debuted for the WWF in 1998 and the following year was seen in Barry Blaustein’s Beyond the Mat documentary, where he was showcased as an up and coming star. In one memorable scene, Drozdov is seen meeting with Vince McMahon at McMahon’s Titan Tower office and showcasing his ability to vomit on demand with the idea of being a character named “Puke.” That scene is followed by Drozdov calling his mother to share the name of his character. If there was ever a moment to show someone from outside of the pro wrestling bubble how insane this world can be, that's probably high on the list.
Using the “Puke” nickname, Drozdov was positioned as a member of The Legion of Doom alongside Hawk and Animal with the storyline being that he was undermining the team as a way to replace Hawk. The idea was that Droz was enabling Hawk’s personal issues, leading to a scene where it appeared an inebriated Hawk jumped off the Titantron. It was later revealed Droz purposely pushed him off. This all climaxed with a moment at the Capital Carnage PPV where Drozdov called an LOD loss to the Headbangers.
From that point, WWF moved to re-brand him with a series of vignettes titled Droz’s World and they began to build him as a singles star with names like Matt Bloom (as Prince Albert) as his personal body piercer.
Unfortunately a tragic accident on 10/5/99 changed Droz’s life and ended his career forever. While wrestling D’Lo Brown at a WWF taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, NY, Droz slipped during a powerbomb sequence, fell and fractured two vertebrae in his neck. He never walked again, losing most of the movement below his neck, although some movement in his arms and upper body later returned.
It was one of those awful moments that reminded everyone, wrestlers and fans alike, how truly dangerous performances always are. There was nothing malicious or erroneous about what happened, it was an awful twist of fate that everyone wish hadn't happened - but it did - with Drozdov’s life changed forever, something that undoubtedly has weighed heavily on the minds of Brown, Drozdov's family and friends and every fan who cares about professional wrestling.
Backstage, while on a stretcher waiting to be taken to a hospital, Drozdov told Brown not to blame himself, a moment recounted in one of Mick Foley's memoirs.
In a 2014 interview with FOX Sports. Drozdov commented, "I have no hard feelings toward D’Lo because shit happens and everyone who gets involved in athletics, including WWE, knows the risks that exist. It was an accident."
In 2015, Brown discussed the incident with the Pancakes and Powerslams podcast with Chris Featherstone, noting, "As a performer, I was never the same. There was a time after that when I quit wrestling. Luckily, Jim Ross called me and talked me out of that. There's no hatred from Droz toward me. We both understand the risks we take when we go in the ring, and it's dangerous in there. Just because it's predetermined, that's why they have the PSAs of 'Kids, don't try this at home.' But as far as Droz and I are concerned, we're boys, we're good, we've talked throughout the years. He has a place in my heart. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him. There's no blame on either side from either person."
Brown later stated that for the next year, he questioned everything he did in the ring during an interview with Title Match Wrestling, noting that the Drozdov incident was the worst day of his life, personally and professionally:
"[Droz] and I, we were never close before the accident and, um, I don’t know how an accident can draw two people closer. And then, there’s heat with his wife and me for some reason; I don’t know. You know, she puts a lot of blame on things. Droz and I have talked about it on several occasions. We don’t know what went wrong. Out of respect, we don’t watch the tape. I can clear up a few misconceptions. It wasn’t a fan throwing ice in the ring, throwing garbage in the ring, and I didn’t slip. It was just, and it could’ve been anybody in the ring with him that night. It just happened to be me. It happened to be my sad misfortune to be in the ring, and because of that, you know, a man’s paralyzed. People ask me all the time, does that affect me? Hell yeah. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be human. For probably about a year, I wrestled differently. I second-guessed everything I did and that, that-that was probably- I should’ve just taken- I mean, I should’ve taken time off. And if it hadn’t been for Jim Ross really talking to me, I was gonna quit the business. I was done. I was this close to saying, "The hell with it." I couldn’t- ’cause no one ever got hurt on my watch. No one has since, you know? And someone is trusting me to give me their body. I want them to walk out of the ring in the same condition they came in, and that’s one thing I prided myself on. Really, I was really close to quitting. As I said, Jim Ross sat down with me. We had a long, long, probably three-hour conversation full of football references, and how we all know the risks going into the game, how it could’ve been anybody. He eventually turned me around and made me want to continue wrestling. But that accident not only affected me professionally but personally. I mean, I was a whole different person. You know, I almost separated from my fiancé during that time. I’m not a party guy, but all of a sudden, I was just living life like there was no tomorrow, ass wide open. Just gone. Because I didn’t know what to do and that was my way of- I was depressed, and I didn’t know it. So my way of trying to get rid of my depression was to party. That took about a year, where I didn’t know really what was going on."
Drozdov remained with WWE for many years, appearing on their then-Internet broadcast Byte This and working as a writer and columnist for their website and now-defunct magazines, including PPV predictions. Drozdov never went after the company for damages, but they did approach and come to a settlement with him to assist him financially.
After the injury, Drozdov continued to live with his sister and required 24 hour medical care in Southern New Jersey and dealt with numerous medical issues, including bad battles with pneumonia and long periods of time where he would have to lie and remain flat. Drozdov was a college friend of Kevin Plank, who founded Under Armor. Plank helped design and finance a customized wheelchair that allowed him to travel and even continue some of the activities he loved while having the best quality of life possible after a truly horrible twist of fate.
Droz would make rare appearances at conventions and did interviews for several wrestling-related projects, including a WWE Road Warriors DVD and Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring. He was always liked among the talents and was always greeted warmly when they saw him.
In the aforementioned interview with Jim Ross, Drozdov stated, "No matter what puts you down, in my eyes and in my mind, there is always another day. Just because I’m paralyzed and stuck in a wheelchair doesn’t mean my life is over. I’ve learned to live again, and my life is far from over."
Darren Drozdov's strength and dignity in the wake of the in-ring accident that robbed him of the life he once knew should be seen as nothing but inspiration for those of us dealing with any sort of adversity in our lives. He was one of the toughest men who ever walked the fact of this planet, period.
Everyone at PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to the Drozdov family, his friends and fans.
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