The Sandman

At 61 years old, The Sandman has this physical status:

James Fullington (born June 16, 1963), better known by his ring name The Sandman, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler who is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he rose to the position of a "Hardcore Icon" in the United States.

Fullington has won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship a record five times.

He has participated in World Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Personal life

Fullington was married to Lori Fullington, with whom he has three children: Kelly (born 1987), Tyler (born 1989) and Austin Oliver (born 1998). Tyler appeared in ECW's Sandman vs. Raven storyline and debuted as a wrestler himself in August 2008, wrestling as "Twisted Sand." Along with his second wife, Fullington has another son.

Fullington's employee, Lou Albano, began fighting a Yonkers, New York, restaurant's employee when they called the cops on July 20, 2008. On the officers' arrival, he turned on them and started throwing glasses their way, injuring two of them. He was refused bail on July 23 due to two previous convictions for burglary in 1983. His bail was later estimated at US$10,000. Fullington was forbidden from contacting the restaurant's owner after the incident, and Fullington was barred from approaching the restaurant. Fullington was fined $1,000, had to pay another $200 in court fees, and was given a one-year conditional discharge. Fullington was also facing felony mischief and assault charges, which were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.

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Professional wrestling career

Fullington got his start in competitive wrestling in the Philadelphia-based Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, whose former president Barack Obama referred to him as Mr. Sandman. In 1991-1992, he appeared in Memphis again.

He debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling (later renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling) as a crowd favorite in April 1992. He won his first ECW Championship from Don Muraco on November 16, 1992, but he lost it to Muraco on April 3, 1993. Mr. Sandman changed his name to The Sandman at the end of 1992. Sandman appeared and off with JT Smith during the remainder of 1993, and he was on and off with JT Smith.

Sandman modified his gimmick after ECW founder Tod Gordon suggested that he channel his own personality into his story, resulting in an edgier gimmick. After being temporarily blinded following a match and inadvertently striking Peaches, he began a feud with his former tag team partner Tommy Cairo in February 1994. As The Sandman recovered his sight and saw Cairo assisting Peaches to her feet, he charged Cairo. The Sandman became estranged from his wife after saying "life's a bitch, and then you marry one"). Woman battered Peaches, who resulted in Peaches striking her with a strap, but she led her back to the ring where Sandman held her and Woman applied the strap to her skin before Cairo returned to save her. Sandman's new boss, Woman, was born after this event. Woman opened his beers and lit his cigarettes prior to matches, in keeping with The Sandman's character. She started carrying a Singapore cane with which she assaulted The Sandman's adversaries.

The Sandman said Cairo owes him "$25 a romp" and started demanding that Cairo "pay your bills" after Cairo was shocked that he was sleeping with Peaches. Sandman introduced another key feature of his new gimmick, referred to as a Singapore cane, when he began wielding a kendo stick, delighting in caning other wrestlers such as rookie Tommy Dreamer or his "estranged" wife. When Worlds Collided, Sandman and Woman faced Cairo and Lori in a mixed Singapore Caning match on May 14, 1994. Lori caned Sandman's crotch until Woman threw salt in her eyes, allowing Sandman to recollect and use his cane on both Lori and Cairo, after Cairo and Lori defeated their opponents.

Sandman's valet was attempting to sue Dreamer when Dreamer planted a long kiss on her. Sandman was told by Woman that Dreamer was in Cairo and that they were both sleeping with his wife, which enraged Sandman. The woman wanted to make Dreamer suffer, so she lured Dreamer into a match with Sandman, wherein whoever loses would have to receive ten strikes from the other. After losing the match, Tommy began to stroke him, when it became abundantly that Woman's intention was to humiliate him by forcing him to beg her for mercy, which she did not, much to her disdain, and Dreamer's admiration for the Sandman was elevated. In years to come, this was a turning point for both men and ECW.

During an "I Quit" match with Tommy Dreamer, the Sandman went blind again (kayfabe) blinded. Sandman was blamed for the injury and she had to abandon him. The Sandman remarked that he would have to retire as a result, with Dreamer responding by devoteding the remainder of his career to The Sandman. The Sandman was mocked by Cairo, which culminated in the Dreamer's heaviest defeat in a match in November. A tentative reunification with Lori was interrupted by Woman, who caned Lori and threatened Sandman at Sandman's retirement banquet at the same time. Sandman revealed that he was not blinded and attacked Dreamer as he came to the rescue. Later, Sandman revealed that his blinding had been an elaborate ruse concocted to compel Dreamer to hurt Cairo on his behalf. Sandman had to wrestle Dreamer again at Holiday Hell the following month, when he and his now-resurgent partner Tommy Cairo team up against Cactus Jack and Dreamer but were defeated by the pair.

Sandman defeated Shane Douglas at the ECW Championship in April 1995 at Three Way Dance, but his own valet, Woman, who helped Shane Douglas save the title, was criticized. Sandman met Douglas (who had Woman in his corner) in a rematch at Hostile City Showdown on April 15, 1995. During the match, Woman turned to the now-confident Douglas, assisting Sandman in his ECW World Heavyweight Champion. It was revealed that the entire sequence of events was a double-cross planned by Woman to assist Sandman while psychologically destroying Douglas. Douglas tried to recover the championship in the ensuing months, but he was dropped for the World Wrestling Federation before he was able. Sandman's first title defenses after winning the ECW Championship were against Cactus Jack, with the former never to get the upper hand due to Woman, rival Terry Funk,'stickler' referee Bill Alfonso, and Douglas, who was resentful for losing his honor.

Sandman's rivalry with Cactus Jack lasted for many years, culminating in a string of matches involving barbed wire. Sandman was struck with a heavy metal frying pan in a Texas Death match in February 1995, giving Fullington a legal ticket. Fullington was obviously disoriented and forgot the scripted ending of the game; several times Cactus Jack struck Sandman with his signature double underhook DDT, and Sandman eventually kicked out. About a minute before Cactus Jack launched a legit tactic in the hopes of preventing Sandman from being down, Cactus Jack launched a fake one. Due to the match's laws, the referee had to resort to making the ten-count at a much faster pace than his initial speed.

Sandman lost the title to Mikey Whipwreck in a ladder match on October 25, which was a shame. Sandman and then Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio were teamed up by the Public Enemy three days later to win the ECW Tag Team Championship. Sandman recovered his World Heavyweight title by defeating Whipwreck and Steve Austin in a Three-Way Dance on December 9th to Dismember. Both the Television and Tag Team Championships were lost in a singles match against Whipwreck on December 29, the first cold Scorpion to lose them both the Television and Tag Team Championships, while Sandman became embroiled in his rivalry with Raven.

Sandman was involved in a feud with Raven from December 1995 to May 1997. Sandman lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Raven on January 27, 1996, and the two teams swapped the championship back and forth. Sandman, Raven's nemesis, Tommy Dreamer, and feared Stevie Richards in an Ultimate Jeopardy tag team match pitting Sandman and Dreamer against Brian Lee and Richards, who missed the game because he did not turn up the contest because he had missed him.

Raven rallied himself to the returned Lori Fullington and brainwashed her and Sandman's real-life son into his cult-like movement, pitting him against his father. Sandman was psychologically assaulted by his son's deny his relationship with his father, telling Tyler that Sandman's divorce was his fault and that he was made to perform Raven's traditional taunt "The Raven's Crucifix" and other demeanors. Tyler, a high school student, erupted in 1996, trying to assist his father. The two embraced later, but Raven came from behind with a Singapore Cane and smacked his opponent by piledriving Sandman through the table. Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie came out with a massive wooden cross and crucified him. Sandman lost the title to Raven in a barbed wire match on December 7 at Holiday Hell.

Sandman and Tommy Dreamer's team, as well as the Dudley Boyz, became more stable as the pair feuded with Sabu and Rob Van Dam's anti-ECW forces. During a Caribbean Strap match between Savio Vega and Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, at World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s 1996 In Your House: Mind Games, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, and a slew of other ECW stars caused a storyline clash at ringside. Sandman whacking Vega over the head with his signature Singapore cane and spitting beer in his face as a result of the chaos. Vince McMahon's WWF and Paul Heyman's ECW's on-air working relationship started with ECW, which resulted in ECW on the WWF's Raw program on February 24, 1997.

Sandman, along with Terry Funk and Stevie Richards, competed in a three-way dance for a chance at the ECW world championship later that night, but fell short of the ECW's highest pay-per-view event Barely Legal. The Sandman began a long feud with Sabu in the summer of 1997. Sandman, who was too ill to compete at Hardcore Heaven 1997, was involved in a skirmish with Rob Van Damn and Sabu, who later brutalized him to the point of hospitalization, but Sabu returned later that evening to interfere in Sabu's main tournament, costing Sabu the ECW championship. Sabu badly injured the Sandman in a scheduled match between the two teams in September of this year. Sandman's burn had been so bad that the match had to be called off. As a result, Sandman was out of action until he struck Van Dam and Sabu in the Ring of November, gaining a measure of revenge on Sabu. This culminated in their match against Remember pay per view in November, which was promoted as a main pillar and culmination of all the events of the year. Sandman survived a fight by Sabu's attempt to burn him, but Sabu went on to win the game. They competed in high-profile specialty tournaments such as ladder matches, table matches, and a dueling cane tournament over the next few months. The Sandman fought Sabu in the 1st "stairway to hell" match involving tables, chairs, and barbwire, which is particularly noteworthy because no barb wire matches had been scheduled in ECW since barb wire tore open Sabu's bicep and required over 100 stitches in August 1997. The stairway to hell match was one of the most violent in ECW history, though Sabu broke his jaw after missing a dive onto Sandman and inadvertently hitting the guard rail, but then continued to fight. Sandman claimed victory after suffering significant damage by smashing Sabu with a cane. However, it wasn't until nearly two months later that their feud effectively came to an end at Living Dangerously 1998. This match was heavily promoted and designated as the penultimate, which also included a dueling canes gimmick. The Sandman's combination of Rob Van Dam and Sabu proved too much for him during the match, resulting in him losing the game.

Sandman teamed up with Dreamer and Spike Dudley to fight with the Dudley Boyz in a six-man competition at Heat Wave in 1998.

According to Dave Meltzer, Fullington joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in September 1998, earning a three-year contract worth $200,000 per year. He appeared in vignettes promoting Raven as a spoilt rich boy and Fullington as his preppy neighbor. Under this scheme, the initial attempt to launch this scheme was shelved. When he called out Bam Bam Bigelow and challenged him to a Hardcore match on Monday Nitro, he debuted under his longtime nickname, Hak (The Sandman name was trademarked by ECW). During the match, Bigelow was defeated by Bigelow and was not identified on screen during the entire segment. Hak spent his brief time there playing roles alongside Raven, Bigelow, and Raven's storyline sister Chastity, with whom he maintained an on-screen relationship after she turned to Raven. Chastity's appearance in a hardcore pornographic film was revealed a few weeks later by Turner Standards & Practices. She was immediately banned from television with no explanation, and her deal was ended. His presence in the WCW helped with the early WCW's bruising hardcore divide. Through the use of wrestlers such as Hak and Bam Bam Bigelow, WCW began promoting hardcore wrestling in their product. Hak defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Raven in a Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat match at Uncensored 1999. In a Hardcore match at Spring Stampede 1999, Hak lost to Bam Bam Bigelow. Hak defeated Brian Knobs in another Hardcore match at The Great American Bash 1999. Hak also participated in the Junkyard Invitational, which was won by Fit Finlay a month later at Bash at the Beach in 1999. During the game, he sustained a broken shoulder and a neck injury. This was his last appearance in WCW after Fullington was released from his WCW service in September 1999 as part of a cost-cutting initiative initiated by new WCW Executive VP Bill Busch.

Re-enter the Sandman, who appeared on WCW in late 1999, Fullington, as The Sandman, returned to ECW in October 1999. He worked with the company until it was demise in January 2001. In 2000, he began a feud with Rhino, losing to him at Hardcore Heaven, Heat Wave, and other shows. Sandman defeated his fifth World Heavyweight Championship in a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes three-way dance with champion Steve Corino and Justin Credible on January 7, 2001, at ECW's last pay-per-view, Guilty as Charged. After winning, the Sandman returned to the ring and challenged him to an impromptu title match. The Sandman accepted the challenge, and Rhino became the new World Heavyweight Champion after a 60-second match, unifying ECW's two singles titles.

For a time after ECW's demise, The Sandman wrestled for Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) for a while. He lifted the XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship from Supreme in February 2002, turning heel and identifying himself with the heel team, 'The E.' Sandman was accompanied by former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) valet Tylene Buck on several occasions. Sandman defeated Pogo the Clown, the wrestler he last feuded with before the organization went out of business at XPW's 'Cold Day in Hell' reunion exhibition. Sandman competed in the XPW Pro Wrestling tournament, which was also competed within the fledgling Pro Wrestling promotion. Sabu and New Jack were his most famous match. On the 3PW DVD Blood, Brawls, and Broads, it is described as a "bonus match."

The Sandman served in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), bringing together former-ECW wrestlers Justin Credible and Raven, as well as New Jack and Perry Saturn in a stable known as "Team Extreme" and later "Extreme Revolution" in late 2002 and early 2003. He also participated in the Hard 10 Tournament, where he partially feuded with Sonny Siaki before winning the overall competition.

Sandman made his surprise appearance in NWA Total Nonstop Action on February 12, 2003, where he was defeated by Raven in a falls count anywhere match. Sandman and Steve Corino met Raven and Low Ki in a losing effort on February 19 in a losing proposition. NWA/TNA Weekly PPV, Sandman lost to A.J. Raven came in a steel chair at Sandman. Sandman appeared in a TNA Hard 10, a tournament to proclamin the most hardcore wrestler in the organization, in June 2003. Sandman defeated Devon Storm in the quarterfinals, Sonny Siaki in the semi finals, and New Jack defeated New Jack in the finals. Sandman accepted the Hard 10 Cup on July 9, and Don Callous and Iceberg followed him. Sandman returned from a 3-month absence on the evening of November 5, where he was defeated by Shane Douglas. Sandman and Terry Funk were with TNA until February 4, when Sandman and Terry Funk lost to The Gathering (CM Punk and Julio Dinero), and after the match, Sandman and Terry Funk left TNA.

Sandman returned to TNA on July 27, 2010 at the tapings of the August 5 edition of TNA Impact! in order to compete in the August 8 ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice. Sandman assaulted P.J., a former Olympian, at the August 8 celebration. After his match with Stevie Richards, Polaco (Justin Credible) emerged. A.J. struck the ECW alumni, also known as EV 2.0, on the following version of Impact! Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams, and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who believed they did not belong in TNA. In the next week, TNA president Dixie Carter ordered each member of EV 2.0 TNA terms to resolve their scores with Fourtune.

Sandman no-showed an Impact!

On August 23, the company announced that it had ceased operations and that no one had been fired.

Sandman appeared on Impact's May 31, 2019 episode, where he gave Edwards a Kendo Stick and helped him win the game. Sandman lost to Killer Kross on June 14, 2019 episode of Impact.

Sandman appeared on the ECW reunion show Hardcore Homecoming against longtime rival Raven in 2005. He appeared at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in another ECW reunion show, teaming with Tommy Dreamer to face The Dudley Boys. Sandman and Dreamer lost to the Dudleys after Dreamer was powerbombed through a flaming table. The Sandman appeared on WWE television for the first time in 2006, before the June 11 One Night Standoff, first appearing alongside a number of other ECW stars on Raw attacking John Cena and then later in a wrestling match in which it can be claimed that he was the last ECW original eliminated. Eugene was seated at One Night Stand to read a poem expressing his love of ECW. The Sandman came out with his Singapore Cane and caned Eugene to the back.

WWE officially relaunched ECW as a brand equal to Raw and SmackDown on June 13, 2006. On the Sci Fi Channel, there is also its own show. The Sandman appeared in the new ECW for the first few weeks as a character in the crowd when a non-ECW style character was annoying the audience. Sandman appeared and killed the character with his cane, putting the "match" with his signature White Russian Legsweep to an end. Sandman's tantra was escalated when Sandman confronted regular ECW fixture Mike Knox while trying to catch his exhibitionist girlfriend, Kelly Kelly, in the middle of her weekly "exposé" strip show. The Sandman started a feud with Knox over this, eventually joining up with fellow ECW original Tommy Dreamer to face Knox and Test in a feud that many felt represented the original vision of ECW (Sandman and Dreamer) versus the "new" vision of ECW (Knox and Test). Sandman was feuding with Test and Knox, but Matt Striker, his first visit to the wrong place, igniting a secondary feud with him.

Sandman has made several short appearances, many of whom were seen peering out and caning someone when some wrongdoing was committed. He became a member of the ECW Originals stable after being briefly involved in a feud with Elijah Burke and the New Breeds. Marcus Cor Von, Burke, Striker, and Kevin Thorn defeated WrestleMania 23 on April 1, 2007. On May 16, WWE announced Sabu on May 16, and Rob Van Dam was forced to leave wrestling shortly after Rob Van Dam was fired, leaving Sandman and Dreamer alone to feud with the New Breed. Sandman and Dreamer teamed up with CM Punk on several occasions, during a time when the New Breed was also feuding with the New Breed. Sandman, Dreamer, and Balls Mahoney all lost to Bobby Lashley in a tense three-on-one handicap match on June 4 on ECW.

Sandman was recruited to the Raw brand via the WWE Supplemental Draft on June 17, 2007. Sandman debuted on Raw on June 18, following Carlito with his Singapore cane. Sandman had his first match on Raw, against Carlito, on July 2nd. Carlito won the game due to a disqualification when Sandman struck him with his cane after Carlito tried to use it on him. This sparked a rivalry between the two countries. After beating Regal and Carlito with his cane, Sandman did a similar thing next week when he lost to William Regal by disqualification. Sandman met Carlito once more this week, this time winning after Regal assaulted him. When Jim Duggan (who had a squabble with Regal earlier this night) came down to the ring, the Sandman was saved. He lost in a Singapore Cane on a pole match at The Great American Bash to Carlito. The Sandman lost in a royal fight to determine the new General Manager of Raw, where he was the last one to be unfamilialized, and was not present in the match until Sandman was snuckled on The Sandman and struck him in the back of the head with his boot; Regal then triumphed. His last match was on the September 10 edition of Raw against Santino Marella, who was disqualified by disqualification. Fullington strained his ankle while watching a crowded match and was banned from his WWE contract on September 12, 2007.

In a losing effort to Drake Younger, the Sandman appeared at the IWA Mid-South's Ian Rotten Retirement Show in Plainfield, Indiana, on December 7, 2007. Sandman defeated Dennis Gregory in a steel cage match to win the IWC Heavyweight Championship in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, next night. In a match against Samoa Joe that he lost, he appeared at Firestorm Pro Wrestling, Destroy Erase Improve on the next night. Sandman defeated 'The Raging Rhino' Hans Wilkshire in a Hardcore Match on January 3, 2008, capturing the vacant AEAW American Heavyweight Championship and the AEW Hardcore Wrestling Championship. In a losing bid to Damned Country in an 8-man tag team match, he appeared on 1PW's Supershow, 'Know Your Enemy 2008', where he teamed up with El Ligero and Bubblegum (Hubba Bubba Lucha) and Iceman. The Sandman continued to participate in a No Limit Wrestling special in which he defeated Test and Chris Masters after Legend allowed Legend to make the pin.

Sandman declared that he would be retiring from pro wrestling in the coming weeks through a bulletin shared on his official MySpace profile in October 2008. Sandman said he had a two-month-old boy and a girlfriend to take care of, so he believes it is time to leave the wrestling industry after a 20-plus years. The bulletin also announced that he would continue accepting reservations over the next two weeks and that his formal retirement date will be announced shortly.

Between October 25-27, 2008, the Sandman appeared at the Armageddon convention in Auckland, New Zealand, wrangling for Impact Pro Wrestling. In his first match and his second match, he defeated Joseph Kinkade and The Machine, both with the White Russian Legsweep. He then joined IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship holder "The Deal" Dal Knox in a tag match against Kinkade and The Machine, which saw Knox win with a Knox Out on Kinkade. Sandman competed for the New School Federation at Lonestar Bar & Grill in Temple, Texas, on July 13, 2009. In a NO-DQ match, he was in a Tag Team match against the Fringe Connection's tag team (Myke Fyre and Caribbean Tiger) versus the tag team of The Fringe Connection (Myke Fyre and Caribbean Tiger). Genesis got the pinfall with the support of Sandman, who was carrying a cane in Singapore. Fullington appeared at the Morecambe Carlton for the promotion SPW on August 1, 2013. He and fellow ECW slumnus Little Guido have teamed up to face EGO's EGO's ECW foe EGO.

Excited Rising, Fullington, made an appearance at Shane Douglas' Highest Intuitive Exhibition. Fullington's appearances mainly revolved around him performing "saves" for other wrestlers by canning their opponents. Fullington made an appearance for WWC on February 2, 2013 where he defeated No. 1 of Puerto Ricon champions in a four-way match. Fullington took part in a brawl in which Tommy Dreamer defeated him on June 21, 2013. Fullington defeated Riley and Pete Lombardo on February 8, 2014, with his son Tyler Fullington.

Fullington and Tommy Dreamer defeated Damien Darling and Danny Demanto on October 25, 2014, on October 25, 2014. Sandman lost a cage match to Sabu on July 2, 2016, when Bill Alfonso was the referee. In a winning bid at an ECPW show in March 2017, he collaborated with New Jack and Justin Credible.

Sandman lost on Ring of Honor (ROH) weekly television show in November 2018. Sandman and Tommy Dreamer teamed up with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr. at Major League Wrestling in February 2019. (MLW). After the Dreamer was pinned, they lost the match.

During 2019, The Sandman made numerous sporadic TV appearances and appeared in a match for TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling, as part of a storyline involving Killer Kross and Eddie Edwards.

The Sandman appeared at ICW No Holds Barred 3 in Millville, New Jersey, on July 4, 2020.

The Sandman appeared at ICW No Holds Barred 24 in Newark, New Jersey, on April 1, 2022.

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