Drew Hankinson

Drew Hankinson
Hankinson in August 2009
Birth name	Andrew Hankinson
Born	(1983-12-22) December 22, 1983 Cumberland, Maryland
Residence	Monroe, Georgia
Spouse(s)	Amber O'Neal (m. 2014)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	The Big LG Big XLG Deacon Deville Director of Chaos Doc Gallows Dorian Deville Festus Festus Dalton Freakin' Deacon Impostor Kane Isaiah Cash Johnny 99 Justice Dalton Keith Hanson Luke Gallows The Masked Assassin The New Millennium Assassin
Billed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Billed weight	304 lb (138 kg)
Billed from	Chicago, Illinois
Trained by	Bill DeMott Deep South Wrestling
Debut	January 22, 2005

Andrew "Drew" Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Doc Gallows. He is also known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he appeared under the ring names Festus and Luke Gallows, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performed as a member of the Aces & Eights under the ring name D.O.C. (Director of Chaos).

Hankinson was also known for his appearances as an impostor of the wrestler Kane, and the tag team partner of Jesse while they were part of the tag team Jesse and Festus on the SmackDown brand. After a few months, he reappeared as the enforcer and "disciple" of CM Punk, sporting a cleaner, militant look, with the Festus character's "real identity" revealed as Luke Gallows.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Hankinson began his career in West Virginia with Mason Dixon Wrestling and in Pennsylvania with the World Star Wrestling Federation (AWA/World Star Wrestling), Summit Wrestling Association of Southern Pennsylvania, and Maryland-based promotions National Wrestling League and the Eastern Wrestling Alliance, wrestling as Dorian Deville, and for West Virginia's Championship Pro Wrestling as the masked wrestler, Dargon.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Deep South Wrestling; Impostor Kane (2005–2007)

In April 2005, despite failing to make it as one of the final ten contestants on the $1,000,000 Tough Enough, he was signed to a contract by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to the Deep South Wrestling (DSW) developmental territory where he formed a partnership with Palmer Cannon. Hankinson wrestled in DSW as Deacon Deville before changing his ring name to The Freakin' Deacon.

On May 29, 2006, Hankinson debuted on Raw as an Impostor Kane; wearing Kane's old mask and ring attire, he chokeslammed Kane during his match against Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Championship. Subsequently, Hankinson would repeatedly attack the real Kane during or after his matches. The pair finally faced off in a match at the WWE Vengeance Pay-Per-View, with Hankinson winning using one of Kane's trademark moves. One night later, however, the storyline was abruptly ended when the original Kane attacked the Impostor Kane, removed his mask, and threw him out of the building.

Hankinson returned to Deep South Wrestling, in addition to appearing at SmackDown! house shows as "The Freakin' Deacon". In late January, he formed a tag team with G-Rilla.

In March 2015, Devon Nicholson described an incident from 2006 that Bill DeMott was involved with while he was head trainer for the WWE's Deep South Wrestling developmental territory. Nicholson described an incident where Hankinson was completely naked in the ring for a long period of time and gave naked stinkfaces to Zack Ryder and Melissa Coates while DeMott held jelly donuts over their faces. The wrestlers agreed to do this (with the other talent encouraging them) to get out of regular training for that day. DeMott refuted the notion that it was his idea, stating that the other trainees came up with because they wanted to skip the session.

Festus (2007–2009)

Main article: Jesse and Festus

Drew Hankinson as the Festus character

On the May 11, 2007, episode of SmackDown!, a vignette aired suggesting that Hankinson would be repackaged as "Festus Dalton" as part of a tag team using a Southern gimmick, alongside fellow WWE developmental talent Ray Gordy. On June 2, 2007, however, it was reported that WWE was dropping the "Dalton Boys" gimmick. The explanation for them not showing up on SmackDown was that they got lost on their way to the arena. Hankinson and Gordy had actually been sent back to OVW, where Hankinson changed his name to "Justice Dalton".

Hankinson was then renamed "Festus" while Gordy was dubbed "Jesse", and on the June 29, 2007 episode of SmackDown!, vignettes hyping Jesse and Festus began to air. For weeks, Jesse would be presented as the mouth-piece of the tandem, who was in awe of his tag team partner. Hankinson, however, played a character that was mentally challenged and unresponsive. In spite of Festus' dimwitted nature, Jesse kept claiming that Festus was an emotionally driven and physically unstoppable giant. On the September 7, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, there was a segment featuring Jesse and Festus now actually in the arena rather than in a studio. On October 5, Hankinson won his debut match on SmackDown! with Jesse. When the opening bell rang, Festus' personality changed into a very focused and angry competitor as compared to the mentally challenged character he had portrayed. When the bell rang to signify the end of the match, Festus returned to his docile self. On the December 21 episode of SmackDown!, Festus defeated Deuce in a Santa Match, with both of them wearing Santa Claus outfits. On the January 25 episode of SmackDown!, Jesse explained the reason that they had not been on television was because Festus has been seeing doctors about his "problems".

In 2008, before the bell rang, Jesse explained that Festus had changed. However, Festus did not change and continued to make a determined and monstrous face after the bell had rung. On the March 21 episode of SmackDown, Jesse and Festus had a chance to face John Morrison and The Miz for the Tag Team Championship, although Morrison and The Miz retained their titles. Festus received his first loss when he wrestled against World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker on the April 11 episode of SmackDown!, after passing out while in the Hell's Gate.

On April 15, 2009, Festus was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft and, as a result, was separated from his tag team partner Jesse, who remained on SmackDown.

Luke Gallows (2009–2010)

Main article: Straight Edge Society

Luke Gallows (right) with fellow Straight Edge Society members Serena (left) and CM Punk (center)

After a three-month hiatus from television, Hankinson returned on the November 27, 2009 edition of SmackDown!, repackaged as a villain under the name "Luke Gallows", sporting a new attire with a goatee, shaved head, and having lost a considerable amount of weight. After accompanying CM Punk to the ring for his match with Matt Hardy, Punk revealed that Gallows was actually Festus' true identity and claimed that Gallows' family and friends enabled his alcoholic inclination, which led to the mental state he was in as Festus, before stating that Gallows was cured due to Punk showing him the straight edge lifestyle. On the December 11 episode of SmackDown!, Gallows made his re-debut as he and Punk defeated Hardy and R-Truth, after Gallows pinned Hardy with his new finishing move, the Twelfth Step. On the January 8, 2010 episode of SmackDown, Gallows defeated Hardy in his re-debut singles match. The next week, Gallows and Punk defeated Matt Hardy and The Great Khali, The Hart Dynasty, and Cryme Tyme in a fatal four-way match to become the number one contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.

On the February 10, 2010 episode of Raw, The Straight Edge Society was eliminated in an Triple Threat Elimination Tag Match between them, The Miz and The Big Show and DX for the Unified Tag Team Championship. The Miz and The Big Show became the new Unified Tag Team Champions. At WrestleMania XXVI Luke Gallows competed in a dark 30-man battle royal to open Wrestlemania which was won by Yoshi Tatsu. On the April 13 episode of WWE NXT, he challenged CM Punk's rookie Darren Young and the stipulation, if Young loses, he will have to surrender his hair to Punk and have it shaved bald. Gallows came close to getting the victory when Young came up with a roll-up and saved his hair, with Punk showing some favor to his rookie and Gallows seeming unhappy. At Extreme Rules, during Punk's Hair match against Rey Mysterio, Gallows and Serena helped Punk throughout the match until they were banned from ringside.

On the July 2 tapings of SmackDown, after a match between Luke Gallows and Kane, a security video was shown by Serena of her being caught drinking in a bar by Punk on the same day of The Undertaker's attack proving The Straight Edge Society's innocence in order to save Punk. Serena begged for forgiveness even after Punk warned her not to, but the Straight Edge Society simply left without her. The following week, however, Serena was forgiven by Punk for her actions, as they embraced, but Gallows did not approve. The following week Gallows was set to fight Big Show but gave the match to the SES Masked Man, who was unmasked as Joey Mercury during the match. On the September 3 episode of SmackDown, Gallows and Punk faced The Big Show in a two-on-one handicap match, which Gallows and Punk lost. After the match Punk delivered the GTS on Gallows.

On the September 16 episode of WWE Superstars, before a match with MVP, Gallows cut a promo announcing that he was no longer part of the Society by proclaiming he was his own man. Gallows went on to lose the match. On the September 21 taping of SmackDown, Gallows began a slow face turn when he confronted CM Punk in a backstage segment stating that after defeating him, he would have a beer, but lost a match to Punk later in the night.

Gallows, now officially established as a face, defeated Vance Archer on the November 4 airing of Superstars. His final TV appearance was during a backstage segment in which Kane was looking for his father, on the November 19, episode of SmackDown. Hankinson was released from his WWE contract on the same day, along with several other superstars.

Independent circuit (2010–present)

Hankinson wrestled on December 3, 2010 as "Keith Hanson", at an Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) event, where he defeated The Predator. On January 29, 2011, he lost to ECW Original Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match at a National Wrestling Superstars (NWS) event in New Jersey. On March 25, 2011, Hankinson, working as Luke Gallows, made an appearance for the Japanese Apache Pro-Wrestling Army promotion, defeating Makoto Hashi. On May 29, 2011, Gallows debuted for NWA Rampage in Warner Robins, Georgia. Gallows defeated former Ring of Honor and TNA star by DQ after Rave's group, Jimmy Rave Approved, interfered. Afterwards an 8-man tag took place in which Gallows teamed with Kyle Matthews, J-Rod, & Frankie Valentine to defeat Rave, Sal Rinauro, Chip Day and Corey Hollis. On June 5 Gallows returned to NWA Rampage and lost to Heavyweight Champion Bull Buchanan. In August 2011, Hankinson and Cliff Compton traveled to wrestle in Nigeria. He was defeated by The Great Power Uti of Nigeria who took his belt.

Hankinson appeared on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012, where he wrestled under the name Luke Gallow (using his heel S.E.S. gimmick) in a losing effort to Rhyno. He also appeared at Wrestlerama in Georgetown, Guyana. On October 6, 2012, he was defeated by Scott Steiner in the House of Hardcore's first show. On September 22, 2012 Luke Gallows would debut for Dynamite Championship Wrestling at their Annual Breast Cancer Benefit Event. He won the American Pro Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship in 2012 with Knux, but they were later stripped of the titles, as they were made inactive, on March 1, 2013. He appeared for Pro Wrestling Syndicate on May 18, 2013 along with Knux and D'Lo Brown. From June 3 to 13, Hankinson, as Luke Gallows, worked a tour with the Japanese Pro Wrestling Noah promotion, during which he often teamed with Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2011–2013)

Main article: Aces & Eights

D.O.C. representing Aces & Eights alongside Devon

On June 14, 2011, Hankinson wrestled a tryout dark match for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), in which he was defeated by Gunner. In December 2011, Hankinson took part in TNA's India project, Ring Ka King, under the ring name "The Outlaw" Isaiah Cash. On June 21, 2012, Hankinson wrestled another tryout dark match for TNA.

Hankinson began working TNA house shows as a masked member of the Aces & Eights stable in September 2012. On September 4, Hankinson confirmed that he had signed a contract with the promotion. Hankinson was unmasked and revealed as a member of the Aces & Eights on the November 1 episode of Impact Wrestling. The following week, Hankinson, billed as D.O.C., teamed with stablemate Devon in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Kurt Angle and Sting via disqualification. Having been told to show why he deserved a spot in Aces & Eights, D.O.C. afterwards put Sting through a table, before beating him with a ball-peen hammer. DOC made his TNA pay-per-view debut three days later at Turning Point, defeating Joseph Park in a singles match.

On December 9 at Final Resolution, D.O.C. teamed with Devon and two masked members of Aces & Eights in a losing effort to Kurt Angle, Garett Bischoff, Samoa Joe, and Wes Brisco. On January 13, 2013, at Genesis, D.O.C. was defeated by Sting in a singles match. On the February 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, D.O.C. and Devon were defeated by Bully Ray and Sting in a Tables match. On March 10 at Lockdown, Aces & Eights, consisting of D.O.C., Devon, Garett Bischoff, Knux, and Mr. Anderson were defeated by Team TNA, consisting of Eric Young, James Storm, Magnus, Samoa Joe, and Sting in a Lethal Lockdown match. On the June 13th edition of Impact Wrestling, D.O.C. participated in an Aces & Eights battle royal match for a spot in the 2013 Bound for Glory Series, but ended up being thrown out by Mr. Anderson after refusing to get out of the ring, though not turning face. On the July 11 Impact, D.O.C. lost his bid to become the vice president of Aces and Eights as Knux gave his deciding vote to Mr. Anderson, to D.O.C.'s disgust On July 12, Hankinson's contract expired. Four days later, he announced he and TNA had officially parted ways. His departure was explained on screen as having turned in his kutte after losing the bid of Vice President to Mr. Anderson.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2013–present)

Main article: Bullet Club

Gallows in June 2014

On November 11, 2013, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced Hankinson as a participant in the 2013 World Tag League, where he would be teaming with Karl Anderson as part of Bullet Club. Gallows made his New Japan debut on November 23, when he and Anderson defeated Bushi and Kota Ibushi in a non-tournament match, with Gallows pinning Bushi for the win. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, which ran from November 24 to December 7, Gallows and Anderson finished with a record of four wins and two losses, winning their block and advancing to the semifinals. On December 8, Gallows and Anderson first defeated G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) in the semifinals and then Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) in the finals to win the 2013 World Tag League and earn a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Gallows returned to New Japan on January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, where he and Anderson defeated K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. and Lance Archer) to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. Gallows and Anderson made their first successful title defense on February 9 at The New Beginning in Hiroshima, defeating K.E.S. in a rematch. Their second defense took place on April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, where they defeated Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata. Gallows and Anderson's third successful defense took place just seven days later, during New Japan's trip to Taiwan, when they defeated Hirooki Goto and Captain Taiwan. On May 17, Gallows and Anderson made their fourth successful title defense against The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) at a NJPW and Ring of Honor (ROH) co-produced event, War of the Worlds, in New York City. On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Gallows and Anderson made their fifth successful defense against Ace to King (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe). From July 21 to August 8, Gallows took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he finished ninth out of the eleven wrestlers in his block with a record of four wins and six losses. On September 21 at Destruction in Kobe, Gallows and Anderson made their sixth successful title defense against Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi. In December, Gallows and Anderson made it to the finals of the 2014 World Tag League, after winning their block with a record of five wins and two losses. On December 7, Gallows and Anderson were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata. Gallows and Anderson's year-long reign as the IWGP Tag Team Champions came to an end on January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where they were defeated by Goto and Shibata. Gallows and Anderson regained the title from Goto and Shibata on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka. They lost the title to The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) on April 5 at Invasion Attack 2015. They regained the title from The Kingdom on July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall. From July 20 to August 14, Gallows took part in the 2015 G1 Climax, where he finished last in his block with a record of three wins and six losses. On January 4, 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Gallows and Anderson lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. Hours after the event, it was reported that both Gallows and Anderson had given their notice to NJPW on the morning of January 4, announcing that they were leaving the promotion for WWE. Though not under contract, Gallows is expected to honor previously booked dates through February.

Global Force Wrestling (2015)

On May 6, 2015, Global Force Wrestling (GFW) announced Gallows as part of their roster. Gallows and Karl Anderson main evented the first-ever GFW show on June 12, defeating the New Heavenly Bodies (Dustin and Justin) in a tag team match.

Personal life

Hankinson married fellow professional wrestler Kimberly Davis in May 2014.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • As Doc Gallows
    • Gallows Pole / Hangman's Noose (Chokebomb, sometimes from the top rope)
  • As Luke Gallows
    • Gallows Pole / 12th Step (Reverse Full nelson slam)
  • As D.O.C.
    • Chokeslam
  • As Keith Hanson
    • Blockbuster (Fireman's carry facebuster)
  • As Festus
    • Fireman's carry gutbuster
    • Pumphandle drop
  • As (The) Freakin' Deacon
    • Deacon Bomb (Chokebomb)
    • Deacon Death Drop (Lifting reverse DDT)
    • Spinning side slam

• Signature moves
  • Belly-to-back suplex
  • Big boot
  • Body avalanche
  • Fallaway slam
  • Flying Biscuit (Running seated senton) – 2007–2009
  • Headbutt
  • Leaping shoulder block
  • Running splash

• With Karl Anderson
  • Double-team finishing moves
    • Magic Killer (Aided snap swinging neckbreaker)

• With Jesse
  • Double-team finishing moves
    • Aided diving shoulder block

• Managers
  • The Bag Lady
  • Jesse
  • CM Punk
  • Amber O'Neal/Gallows

• Nicknames
  • "The Corn-Fed Colossus"
  • "The Detoxified Disciple"
  • "The Sin-Free Soldier"
  • "The Outlaw"
  • "The Suntan Biker Man"

• Entrance themes
  • "Biscuits & Gravy" by Jim Johnston (2007–2009; used while teaming with Jesse)
  • "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (2009–2010; used while a part of the Straight Edge Society)
  • "Massacre" by Jim Johnston (2009–2010)
  • "St. Anger" by Metallica (2010–2011)
  • "Deadman's Hand (Instrumental)" by Dale Oliver (November 8, 2012–July 11, 2013)
  • "Bad Company" by Five Finger Death Punch (August 30, 2013–present)
  • "Last Chance Saloon" by Deviant and Naive Ted (November 23, 2013–2014; used while a part of Bullet Club)
  • "Shot'Em" by [Q]Brick (2014; used while a part of Bullet Club)
  • "Baz" by Yonosuke Kitamura

Championships and accomplishments

Gallows is a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion

• American Pro Wrestling Alliance
  • APWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Knux

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Iceberg

• National Wrestling League
  • NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Karl Anderson
  • World Tag League (2013) – with Karl Anderson

• Rampage Pro Wrestling
  • RPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #69 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013

• River City Wrestling
  • RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Knux

• Vanguard Championship Wrestling
  • VCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Gimmick (2012, 2013) Aces & Eights

References

• GFW Profile
• Inoki Genome Federation profile (Japanese)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling profile (Japanese)
• TNA alumni profile