Mideon

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Mideon
Birth nameDennis Knight
Born (1968-12-26) December 26, 1968 (age 55)[1]
Clearwater, Florida, U.S.[2]
FamilyRon Slinker (stepfather)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dennis Knight
Leatherface[2]
Mideon[1]
Midian
Naked Mideon[1]
Phineas I. Godwinn[1]
Tex Slazenger[1]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[3]
Billed weight288 lb (131 kg)[3]
Billed from"Bitters, Arkansas"
(as Phineas I. Godwinn)[1]
Trained bySteve Keirn[2]
DebutJuly 23, 1989
RetiredDecember 1, 2012

Dennis Knight (born December 26, 1968) is an American chef and retired

World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) between 1996 and 2001 under the ring names Phineas I. Godwinn and Mideon, as well as his real name.[2][1][4]

Early life

Knight grew up in the

bouncer.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1989–1992)

While working as a bouncer in Clearwater, Florida, Knight was introduced to Steve Keirn, who trained him as a professional wrestler.[2] He debuted in 1989 under the ring name "Tex Slazenger", facing his stepfather, Ron Slinker, in his first match. Knight went on to wrestle on the independent circuit in the Carolinas.[2]

In 1991, Knight joined the

Mark Canterbury
who wrestled as the masked "Master Blaster".

After leaving the USWA, Knight wrestled in Florida, Puerto Rico and Japan before receiving a tryout with World Championship Wrestling in 1992.[2]

World Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)

In 1992, Knight was hired by World Championship Wrestling, where he was renamed "Tex Slazenger" and given the character of an "ornery Texas outlaw". Knight formed a tag team with Shanghai Pierce. Knight and Pierce left WCW in 1994.[2]

United States Wrestling Association (1995–1996)

When both men left WCW, Canterbury signed with the

Brian Christopher both times.[6]

World Wrestling Federation (1996–2001)

The Godwinns and Southern Justice (1996–1998)

Main article:
The Godwinns

In 1996, Knight signed with the WWF and was therefore reunited with Canterbury and renamed "Phineas I. Godwinn" (abbreviated to

The Smoking Gunns
.

In 1997, in a match between The Godwinns and the

Doomsday Device. He was advised by doctors to rest for 15 weeks, but returned to the ring in less than eight weeks.[7] In early 1998, the Godwinns dropped their pig farmer gimmicks and became "Southern Justice", the bodyguards of Tennessee Lee, using their real names.[8] Six months later, Canterbury herniated his C7 vertebra and pinched a spinal nerve, necessitating spinal fusion surgery. This came as a result of him returning to the ring too early after his neck injury. He eventually left the WWF and retired, due to the neck injury suffered in 1998 leaving Knight without a partner.[7]

The Ministry of Darkness (1999)

See also:
The Corporate Ministry

In late 1998, Knight returned to the WWF after a brief hiatus, and in a short time, was kidnapped by the

WWF European Championship in this time when he found it in Shane McMahon's bag.[6] Mideon held the belt for over a month until losing it to D'Lo Brown at Fully Loaded
. When The Undertaker was injured in late 1999, the Ministry disbanded, however, Mideon continued the gimmick and union with Viscera, including doing The Undertaker's biddings in matches well after The Ministry had dissolved, although no clear stable was ever established again.

Various storylines (2000–2001)

In early 2000, Knight appeared briefly as a Mankind imitator.

Knight returned in a limited capacity in mid-2000 as "Naked Mideon", a persona who ran around arenas wearing only a

moniker
Tex Slazenger, but was released in January 2001.

Later career and retirement (2001–present)

Following his run with the WWF, Knight returned to his home in Tampa, Florida and spent time training students at Steve Keirn's Pro Wrestling school. During this time he also continued to wrestle for several Florida independent promotions such as IPW and the FSPW, as well as touring Europe.

From 2003 to 2004, Knight returned for several dark matches for

World Wrestling Entertainment
under his own name.

Knight appeared at the

NWA Total Nonstop Action event TNA Destination X 2005 on March 13, 2005 during the scheduled match between Monty Brown and Trytan. In the course of the match, the lights went off and Trytan vanished from the ring. When the lights came on, a masked Knight was in his place and was quickly pinned by Brown. TNA never revealed on air who was under the mask and released Knight the following day.[10]

Knight retired from professional wrestling in 2006. He wrestled several matches for Great Lakes Championship Wrestling in 2011 and 2012. On November 22, 2020, Knight returned to WWE together with

The Godwinns, to take part in The Undertaker's retirement ceremony at Survivor Series. Several other members of the Bone Street Krew
also appeared to pay tribute.

Personal life

After retiring from professional wrestling, Knight began working as a chef in Clearwater, Florida.[2][11]

Knight has an

eyeball tattooed on the back of his head and a tattoo of Doc Holliday
on his left arm.

In 2023, Knight lost all of the toes in his right foot after developing an infection which caused for them to be amputed.[12]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

  • The Corporate Ministry
  • The Godwinns
  • The Ministry of Darkness

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Mideon Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Melok, Bobby (July 31, 2013). "Where Are They Now?: Mideon". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0
    .
  4. ^ "Mideon". WWF.com (via Wayback Machine). World Wrestling Federation. 2000. Archived from the original on May 10, 2000. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  5. ISBN 9780743457682
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  7. ^ a b "O Henry!". WWE. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  8. ^ Graham Cawthon. "WWF Show Results 1998". Retrieved April 16, 2007. (June 1, 1998) Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee & Southern Justice) pinned Faarooq after hitting him with Lee's belt buckle as Southern Justice distracted the referee; prior to the bout Tennessee Lee introduced the repackaged Godwinns as Southern Justice
  9. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "WWF No Mercy Results (2000)". Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  10. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "TNA No Mercy Results (2005)". Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  11. ^ Marvez, Alex (April 16, 2004). "Ravens must make QB beat them". SunSentinel.com. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  12. ^ "Former WWE Star Says Half of His Foot Was Cut off Months Ago". October 30, 2023.
  13. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - April 2003". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved July 5, 2008.

External links

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