GravediggerPersonal
Nickname: The Graveyard Monster Height: 6'11" Weight: 340 Home: Unknown Current Status Brand: Raw Theme Music: "To Victory" by Tyler Bates Fan Reaction: Heel Event Role: Upper Mid-carder Moveset Finisher: Cemetery Slam (Full-Nelson Slam) Signature Moves: Eternal Sleeper (Full Nelson), Devil's Cross (Brain Chop), Buried Body (Full-Nelson Bulldog) Other Significant Moves: Chokeslam, Powerbomb Career Accomplishments 1x World Heavyweight Champion 2x Intercontinental Champion 1x ECW Champion 1x Slammy Award Winner (Year 3 - Most Shocking Moment) Personal Background The story behind Gravedigger is both creepy yet vague in the details. According to sources, 'Digger was abandoned by his parents when he was only 2 years old. He was left at the doorstep of a local funeral home, where the old funeral director discovered him sleeping in a blanket late at night. The funeral director brought him in and raised him like a son. 'Digger participated in all the funeral home activities - digging graves, cleaning corpses, etc. - and developed a very weird connection to the dead. His indifference to death and his orphan status affected him very deeply and made him a very distraught young man, despite the care of the old funeral director. When he was 13 he attempted to help the funeral director perform a cremation when an accident occurred, leaving him with a serious burns to his face, neck and chest. He began to wear a mask to hide his scars and requested duties away from the sight of visitors. As he got older, he got taller and the physical labor he performed regularly made him strong. He received multiple tattoos to signify multiple events and feelings from his life and became a very scary and menacing figure. The funeral director tried to encourage him to participate in regular activities away from the funeral home, but 'Digger refused, afraid of the reactions from normal people. The old funeral director's health began to diminish, and 'Digger tried his best to care for him in his final days. One late afternoon, the funeral director was gasping for breath and called 'Digger over to his bedside. He told 'Digger that he loved him deeply and thanked him for his dedication, and told him to leave the funeral home and begin a new life. The director's final words touched 'Digger on a level he had never felt before, and after he laid the funeral director to rest in a private ceremony, he packed his things and left. He traveled around but couldn't find a place to live and work where he felt comfortable, and his masked, tattooed appearance scared off many employers. During his travels, he caught wind of a local pro wrestling event and decided to attend. The drama, the aggressive action and the hardcore violence was extremely appealing to 'Digger and he decided then and there that wrestling was going to be his ticket to social acceptance. As it turned out, the decision was correct. His scary figure was perfect as a character alone, and his natural aggression due to his past personal conflicts led him to be a natural in the ring. It didn't take long for 'Digger to make a name for himself on the independent scene, and WWE was very quickly intrigued by him. They offered him a contract which he very quickly agreed to. The strange origins and his weird social interactions make him both a sympathetic and frightening character at the same time, which drives fans to watch his every action closely... just the way he wants it. Career Overview Year 1: Began the year as an interesting and intriguing character and slowly began to make an impact... In May, he formed the odd team with Zach Wesley... Despite multiple disagreements and the always-possible threat of imploding, the team quickly rose up the Tag Team division ranks... They earned a Tag Team title match at The Bash PPV against the Hell United team of DMK and Shawn Midnight, but failed to capture the titles... Their failure quickly led to their breakup and eventual feud... In August, Gravedigger earned a shot at the ECW Title and won the belt at the Summerslam PPV... His reign was unfortunately short-lived, as Travis Roarke upset him at the Hell in a Cell PPV the following month to win the title... In October, he was part of the "Good" team of World Heavyweight champ Carson Pain, Antonio Jordan and himself against the "Evil" team of Eric Executioner, Ace and Big Mutha Trucker in a 6-man tag match at the Bragging Rights PPV, in which the "Good" team won... 'Digger's rivalry with Intercontinental champ Eric began to grow and he earned a title shot at the Survivor Series PPV while Eric also became #1 contender for the World Title... At the Survivor Series PPV, he beat Eric in the show-opening match to win his 1st Intercontinental Title... In December, former partner Zach came back into the picture wanting a shot at 'Digger's new title, and their feud blended with the Ace/Travis Roarke rivalry to create a Fatal 4-Way title match at the TLC PPV... Zach surprised all by winning the match, eliminating Gravedigger last, to win the title... Ace won the title from Zach only a few weeks later, and 'Digger evoked his rematch clause in order to get a shot at reclaiming the title at the Royal Rumble PPV... Gravedigger failed to win back the title and also was unsuccessful in the 30-man Royal Rumble match later that night... In February, Gravedigger continued his feud with Ace over the title but also saw Joseph T. Lutte get involved, leading to a Triple Threat title match at the Elimination Chamber PPV... 'Digger won the match to win back the title and began an intense feud with Lutte... The two faced off at WrestleMania in a cage match, which saw 'Digger outlast his French rival to retain the title Year 2: In April, Lutte continued to challenge him and they had a rematch for the Intercontinental Title at the Backlash PPV in which Lutte won in narrow fashion... He challenged Joseph to a rematch at the Extreme Rules PPV, but failed to reclaim the belt... 'Digger slowly rose the ranks throughout June and July and in August, he won a #1 contender's match to become the direct threat to Eric Executioner's World Title reign and their past rivalry was renewed... At the Summerslam PPV, 'Digger defeated Eric to earn his 1st World Heavyweight Title... In September, Eric won a 6-man battle royal to earn his rematch but Gravedigger was able to retain his title at the Hell in a Cell PPV... In October, he participated in the 6-man Hell in a Cell match at the Bragging Right PPV but was not involved in the finish, despite Ace winning and earning a World Title shot... 'Digger and Ace had an intense feud and Ace defeated him at the Survivor Series PPV to win the World Title... 'Digger was unsuccessful in his attempts to win back the title at the TLC PPV and the Royal Rumble PPV, with the latter also involving Eric Executioner and Mack Wheeler... In February, he competed in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Title but again fell short... A change in demeanor for Eric led to a brutal renewal of their feud, which culminated in a No DQ, Loser Leaves the Brand match at WrestleMania... Eric won the match in shockingly brutal fashion and forced 'Digger to leave the Smackdown brand Year 3: Gravedigger's whereabouts were unknown for the beginning part of the year, as he remained unreachable and planned his Raw debut... A video vignette about him caused an distraction in the WWE Title match at the Backlash PPV, which allowed Carson Pain to retain, and 'Digger himself appeared at the Extreme Rules PPV to attack DMK and caused a DQ finish... 'Digger began an intense feud with both DMK and Carson, and faced DMK in a main event match at the King of the Ring PPV... He defeated DMK cleanly but their feud was far from over as DMK embraced the fans' support and turned face after their match... Gravedigger turned his attention towards the WWE Title and feuded with both champ Carson Pain and DMK... A Triple Threat match was made for the Night of Champions PPV, but Gravedigger took the losing pinfall as Carson retained... Gravedigger continued to pursue the WWE Title, but another man entered the picture thanks to Mr. McMahon's involvement - David Degenerate!... A Fatal 4-Way Elimination match was made for the Summerslam PPV, but Gravedigger and DMK were controversially eliminated due to a double countout and David went on to win the title... 'Digger and DMK continued to feud but their issues worsened, and several physical brawls occurred... Raw GM Stephanie McMahon intervened and offered a possible solution - the Hell in a Cell match!... At the Hell in a Cell PPV, he battled DMK in a brutal main-event match but suffered a tough loss... In October, his feud with DMK continued and they agreed to a Last Man Standing match... During a Raw segment, Gravedigger shocked everyone by attempting to burn DMK alive in a casket... At the Judgment Day PPV, DMK defeated Gravedigger to essentially end their long, violent rivalry... Gravedigger disappeared for a month, but returned in December during a #1 contender's match between Carson Pain and Mack Wheeler... He attacked Carson and helped Mack win the match, re-igniting the feud between himself and "The Original"... It led to a First Blood match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV, where Gravedigger busted Carson open to win... In January, Gravedigger vowed to win the Royal Rumble match and defeated challengers from both Raw & Smackdown in a series of 4-man battle royals... A returning Carson Pain upset him in the final battle royal just days before the PPV... At the Royal Rumble, he entered the 30-man bout at #23 but did not claim victory, getting eliminated by Carson Pain & Lee Money... In February, he was chosen to compete in an Elimination Chamber match with DMK's WrestleMania WWE Title shot on the line and looked impressive each week on Raw, winning 3 matches total... At the PPV, he eliminated Big Juan Santos but finished runner-up to DMK in the Chamber match... He became increasingly frustrated by falling short of his goals and challenged David Degenerate directly for a WWE Title match on Raw, which he won by countout when the "Dangerous Genius" purposefully left the match... 'Digger then turned his attention to Carson Pain and brutally attacked him backstage multiple times, leading to them agreeing to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania... Mr. McMahon took an interest in their match and added a stipulation that could have guaranteed Gravedigger a WWE Title match at the next Backlash PPV... Unfortunately, Carson won the WrestleMania bout but Gravedigger got a little payback by attacking him after the match, eventually leaving him a bloody mess on the ramp before exiting |
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