Dangerous Danny Davis

For the former owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling, seeNightmare Danny Davis.For the curler, seeDan Marsh (curler).

Dangerous Danny Davis
Birth name	Daniel Davis
Born	(1956-03-28)March 28, 1956 Massachusetts
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Danny Davis Galaxian 1 The Nightmare Danny Littlewolf Mr. X
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Billed weight	230 lb (100 kg)
Billed from	Dover, New Hampshire
Debut	1981
Retired	1995

Daniel Davis(born March 28, 1956) is an American formerprofessional wrestlingrefereeandwrestlerbest known under thering name"Dangerous" Danny Daviswhen he worked for theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF). For years, he competed asMr. X,a masked wrestler while also working as a referee.

As a referee, Davis played the role of a crooked referee who showed blatant favoritism toward certain wrestlers, with the storyline that this eventually led to his removal as a referee. He then helpedmanageThe Hart Foundationand began wrestling as "Dangerous" Danny Davis. He competed at several major WWF events, during which his team won asix-manmatch atWrestleMania IIIand advanced to the semi-final round atKing of the Ring 1987.He was later reinstated as a referee and remained with the company until the mid-1990s.

Career

WWF referee (1981–1987)

Danny Davis started out in 1981 in theWorld Wrestling Federationas a referee under his birthnamering nameDanny Davis.He also wrestled from 1984 to 1986 as the masked Mr. X, working masked so that the fans did not realize it was a referee in the ring.The Mr. X character was ajobberwho won very few matches. He wrestled some of the WWF's top stars, including formerWWF ChampionsPedro MoralesandBruno Sammartino.He also participated in the1986 King of the Ringtournament. He was given abyeto the second round but lost his match toBilly Jack Haynes.His biggest win as Mr. X came on the October 28, 1986 episode ofWWF Prime Time Wrestlingwhen he defeated fellow jobber Rudy Diamond.

Starting in 1986, Davis was involved in a storyline that saw him act biased in some matches and had him involved in several controversial matches in which he was thought to favor theheel(villain) wrestlers. To push the idea that he was a crooked referee Davis would often make fastpinfallcounts in the side of heel wrestlers anddisqualifiedface(fan favorite) wrestlers with little or no provocation. WWF commentatorGorilla Monsoonaccused Davis of accepting bribes, pointing to Davis' wealth as evidence as a means to make the fans dislike Davis.Davis involved himself in asteel cage matchbetween face Hulk Hogan and heel Paul Orndorff. When both wrestlers escaped the cage at the same time, Davis declared Orndorff the winner, while refereeJoey Marellastated that Hogan won. As a result, the match had to be restarted, and Hogan eventually won.By acting as a biased referee many of the fan favorite wrestlers would attack him after the matches, using the attack as a way to give them a measure of revenge on the crooked referee after "unfairly" losing the matches. Davis would also overreact to wrestlers putting their hands on him, disqualifying them as part of the storyline. Davis also feuded withthe Killer Bees(a team composed ofJim BrunzellandB. Brian Blair) for a while, due to Davis disqualifying Brunzell and Blair in the matches that he refereed.

"Dangerous" Danny Davis (1987–1989)

On the January 26, 1987 edition ofSuperstars(aired February 7, 1987),The Hart FoundationdefeatedThe British Bulldogsto win theWWF Tag Team Championship.Danny Davis was the referee for the match and as part of the storyline, he allowed the Hart Foundation to use illegal double-team maneuvers in the match.As a result of the match,WWF presidentJack Tunneystripped Davis of his referee duties.That same night, Davis was approached by managerJimmy Hartabout joining hisstableof wrestlers. Davis joined up with Jimmy Hart and the Hart Foundation (Bret HartandJim Neidhart) and became known as "Dangerous" Danny Davis.He accompanied the Hart Foundation to the ring for their matches and often became involved by attacking the Hart Foundation's opponents from outside the ring or entering the ring to reverse pinfalls by placing Hart or Neidhart on top of their opponents.At the beginning of his suspension as a referee, Davis was involved in a scripted storyline in which he occasionally came to the ring and insisted that he would referee a match. This led to officials from the state athletic commission removing Davis from ringside.

Davis appeared onPiper's Pit,an interview segment hosted byRoddy Piperto discuss his decisions as a referee. Davis refused to admit to any wrongdoing and was confronted by Marella, who criticized him. The segment ended with Piper attacking Davis. AtWrestleMania III,Davis made his in-ring debut when he teamed up with the Hart Foundation to defeat the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy SmithandDynamite Kid) andTito Santana(Santana's inclusion was explained that Davis had been the referee when Tito had lost theIntercontinental Championshipto"Macho Man" Randy Savagewho had used a foreign object to get the win even though the heel gimmick had not actually started at that time). Davis got the pin on Smith after he hit him in the head with Jimmy Hart'smegaphone.His next major appearance was in the1987 King of the Ringtournament. Davis defeatedTito SantanaandJunkyard Dogbefore being eliminated in the third round byRandy Savage,who went on to win the tournament.During 1987, Davis was booked in several series of matches: againstKoko B. Ware,George Steele,andJake Roberts.The feud with Ware included a match televised on the April 13, 1987 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling,which ended in adraw.Ware won most of the matches, but Davis won several matches after using foreign objects to attack Ware.

Davis initiated a feud with Steele when Steele was facingRandy Savagein alumberjack match,which is a match where the ring is surrounded by other wrestlers. Davis, one of the "lumberjacks" at ringside to ensure that neither competitor could escape, attacked Steele with the timekeeper's bell and helped Savage with the match atSaturday Night's Main Event XI.This feud culminated in a match on the November 28, 1987 episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XIII,in which Steele defeated Davis by disqualification after Davis kicked refereeJoey Marella.Davis' feud with Roberts began when Davis showed up unexpectedly on the Snake Pit, Roberts' interview segment, while Roberts was interviewingMr. T.Davis ran away after Roberts brought out Damien, his pet python. On the September 19, 1987 episode ofWWF Superstars of Wrestling,Davis attempted to steal Damien during one of Roberts' matches, but Roberts chased him away again. Davis also had a rivalry with Mr. T, who was booked to enforce the rules during matches and thwarted Davis' attempts to interfere.At the inauguralSurvivor Series,Davis participated in the opening contest, joiningThe Honky Tonk Man,Hercules,Ron BassandHarley Race,facingRandy Savage,Jake Roberts,Ricky Steamboat,Brutus BeefcakeandJim Duggan.Davis was the third man eliminated on his team, after Roberts performed aDDTon him.Roberts and Davis had a singles match the following month onPrime Time Wrestling.Roberts beat Davis quickly, placed Damien on Davis, and left the ring.

As Davis' feuds were winding down, he entered into a new feud withSam Houston.Houston defeated Davis in their first encounter, but Davis was upset because his foot was on the ropes and the referee should not have counted the pinfall. This disagreement led to a series of angrypromotional interviewsand fights, as well as a series of matches that lasted several months and saw the two trade victories.The following year, he competed in thebattle royalmain event atRoyal Rumble 1988.He was in the ring for the fourth-longest time but was eliminated by eventual winnerJim Dugganwhen Davis was thrown over the top ring rope to the floor.He also competed in the 20-man battle royal atWrestleMania IV.He was thrown over the top rope byPaul Romato be eliminated from the match.

WWF referee (1989–1995)

The "Dangerous" Danny Davis persona was eventually phased out, and on April 22, 1989, Davis was reinstated as a "probationary" referee. From this point on, his officiating style became objective, and the crooked referee gimmick was dropped completely.Following his return to refereeing, his highest profile appearance was after a match atWrestleMania IXwhereHulk Hoganused aforeign objectto attack his opponents in a tag team contest. Davis came to the ring from backstage and disqualified Hogan overturning the victory for Hulk Hogan.He worked for the WWF until October 1995.

World Wrestling Alliance (2002–2010)

Following eleven years of inactivity as a wrestler, Danny Davis made a return to the ring forJersey All Pro Wrestlingon October 26, 2001. On the "JAPW Class of 2001" event, he was defeated by Mafia (Dan Maff).Davis then joined the World Wrestling Alliance in November 2002. On January 10, 2003, at a WWA card in Norwood, MA Davis defeatedFred Curry Jr.to win the WWA Heavyweight Championship.After successfully defending the title against Curry,Josh Daniels,andKurt Adonis,Davis finally lost the title to Aaron Stevens on May 23, 2003. Danny Davis would continue to appear in the promotion for the remainder of the decade and won their championship on two other occasions.Following the cessation of World Wrestling Stars (the final name for the WWA),Davis wrestled a handful of times for other promotions. His final match came on September 28, 2013, at theNECW Throwback Throwdownevent held by New England Championship Wrestling. There, Danny Davis wrestledJohnny Idolto a time-limit draw.

Legacy

Although Davis was not the first person to portray the crooked wrestling referee character, he is often mentioned as a prototype of a corrupt official, which is a storyline that has been used by several wrestling promotions. One year after Davis was banned from referee duties, the twin Hebner brothers (DaveandEarl) were involved in a controversy when Earl took Dave's place and showed favoritism toAndré the Giant,helping him to win the WWF Championship. WCW would later useNick Patrickas a heel referee, who sided with the NWO faction and eventually joined the NWO himself. TNA would use the gimmick with Earl Hebner, who would show favoritism towards Madison Rayne, with whom he was having an implied relationship. In a similar manner,Eric BischoffandVince McMahon,the heads of World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, respectively, have used the gimmick of evil owners in storylines.

Davis's time as a wrestler and referee led to him appearing in the 1989 line of Classic WWF trading cards. Davis has continued to wrestle occasionally and currently wrestles on the Massachusettsindependentwrestling scene. He competed for theWorld Wrestling Alliance,where he was the WWA Champion. He also occasionally performs as a referee for wrestling matches in Massachusetts.At WWE'sWrestleMania XXXevent, Davis made his first appearance in the company since 1995, appearing in a backstage segment with WWE legendsSgt. Slaughter,"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan,Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat,"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase,andRon Simmons.Davis was wearing a referee shirt in the cameo.

Championships and accomplishments

• New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2010
• World Wrestling Alliance
  • WWA Heavyweight Championship(2 times)
  • WWA United States Championship (1 time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1987) vs.George Steele

Published works

• Davis, Danny; Casanova, Kenny (March 22, 2018).Mr. X – The Life Story of Dangerous Danny Davis.ISBN9781941356067.