Athletes - Duane Gill

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	Athletes - Duane Gill

Duane Gill, best known as the Goldberg imitator Gillberg, is a former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, holding the belt for 15 months. In the WWF (now WWE), he was a comedic jobber whose catchphrase was "Who's first?", a parody of Goldberg's "Who's next?".

Originally, Duane Gill was a WWF jobber in the 1980s, so it came as a surprise to wrestling fans when he made his return to the WWF in the 1998 Survivor Series pay-per-view 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 won/loss record that no other wrestler could match (which was technically true, as Gill had probably lost more matches than anyone else). He was quickly defeated by Mankind, and later joined the J.O.B. Squad with Al Snow, Scorpio, and Bob Holly.

Gill was also responsible for (supposedly) ending Marc Mero's career 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.

Shortly after his match with Mero, Gill was given his most well-known gimmick: Gillberg, a parody of rival promotion WCW's top star Goldberg. His entrance included stage hands holding up sparklers (parodying Goldberg's pyrotechnics) and spraying the entranceway with fire extinguishers. He then continued to portray that gimmick in some independent promotions.

After dissapearing from television and working the independent scene for over a year, Gill was asked back by the WWF to drop the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Since Gill's departure, no mention had been made of the title, however the creative team were keen to re-introduce it to the mix of championships. Gill made a one-off appearance using the "Gillberg" gimmick on a February 2000 edition of Sunday Night HEAT, dropping the title to Essa Rios in a very short match. After his victory, Rios signaled his partner Lita (in her television debut) to hit a moonsault on the prone Gill.

Gill was scheduled to participate in the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania X-Seven in 2001, but was not used in the match for fear that the crowd would begin to chant for Goldberg as the WWF had just acquired WCW the preceeding Monday, and fans were anticipating appearances by WCW wrestlers during the event.

Duane Gill would later make an appearance on the April 21, 2003 edition of RAW during The Rock's "The Rock Concert II" segment. Gillberg was brought out by The Rock to mock Goldberg, who The Rock was in the middle of a feud with.

Profile

Hometown: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Other Gimmicks: Gillberg, Lords of Discipline Pain
Trainer: Larry Sharpe
Debut 1989

Championships and accomplishments

1-Time WWF Light Heavyweight Champion
1-Time WWA Tag Team Champion (with Wayne Gill)
1-Time NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time ECPW Tag Team Champion (with Lords of Discipline Agony)
1-Time NWA New Jersey Junior Heavyweight Champion
1-Time ASWA Tag Team Champion (with Wayne Gill)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Duane Gill ]

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