Duane Gill

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Duane Gill
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Gillberg Lord of Discipline Pain
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight	227 lb (107 kg)
Born	Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Resides	Baltimore, Maryland
Billed from	Atlanta, Georgia
Trained by	Larry Sharpe
Debut	1989

Duane Gill, better known by his ring name Gillberg, is an American professional wrestler. He is a former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the belt for 15 months, making him the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion in WWE history.^[1]

1 Career
2 In wrestling
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Career

Duane Gill was a WWF jobber in the 1990s and made his return to the WWF in the 1998 Survivor Series as Mankind's mystery opponent. Before Gill made his entrance, Vince McMahon built up the suspense by referring to him as a great wrestler with a win/loss record that no other wrestler could match. He was quickly defeated by Mankind and later joined the J.O.B. Squad with Al Snow, Scorpio, and Bob Holly.

Gillberg was also responsible for (supposedly) ending Marc Mero's career (Kayfabe) when the latter challenged him to a match, announcing to the crowd that he would retire from wrestling if he could not beat him. Gill won the match with some help from the J.O.B. Squad, and Mero left the WWF, although he did not legitimately retire as promised.

On November 17, 1998, he became the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Christian on RAW is WAR.^[1] Shortly thereafter, Gill was given his most well-known gimmick: Gillberg, a parody of rival promotion World Championship Wrestling's top star Goldberg.^[1] When he became "Gillberg", the reported original plan was to have him lose 173 consecutive matches (parodying Goldberg's winning streak of 173 matches). His entrance included stage hands holding up sparklers (parodying Goldberg's pyrotechnics) and spraying the entranceway with fire extinguishers. His entrance was also accompanied by fake sound of a crowd chanting "Gillberg." This was likely put in as a reference to the controversy over Goldberg's WCW entrance, wherein there was always a "Goldberg" chant. This chant was often thought to be piped in, though some fans at shows said it was real. Gill also had a dotted line "tattoo" on his right arm (parodying Goldberg's tribal tattoo). In addition, Gill would use the catchphrase "Who's First?", a reference to not only Goldberg's "Who's Next?" but the fact that Gill continuously lost match after match. His only victory as Gillberg came on a February 13th, 1999 taping of Raw is War from Toronto's SkyDome, defeating Goldust with help from former J.O.B. Squad member The Blue Meanie, then known as Bluedust. After leaving the WWF, Gill continued to portray the Gillberg gimmick in some independent promotions.

While he still came to the ring with the belt, the Light Heavyweight Championship was basically forgotten, as Gill did not defend the title a single time on WWF television as Gillberg. After disappearing for over a year, Gill returned to the WWF for one match, losing the championship to the debuting Essa Rios, accompanied by Lita on a February 2000 edition of Sunday Night HEAT. He held the belt for 15 months, making him the longest reigning WWF Light Heavyweight Champion in history.^[1]

When Goldberg came to WWE in 2003, his first feud was against The Rock. During the April 21, 2003 edition of RAW, Gillberg was brought out by The Rock to mock Goldberg.

On the 15th Anniversary of RAW Gillberg returned and participated in the Legend Battle Royal, but was eliminated almost immediately by every superstar in the match.

[edit] In wrestling

Finishing and signature moves

To fit in with his imitation Goldberg gimmick, Gill would often finish matches with Goldberg's signature moves, as well as dropping many of the generic light-heavyweight maneuvers. Prior to becoming Gillberg, Gill would often use sneaky roll-up pins to pick up a victory.