Andy Leavine

Andy Leavine
Birth nameAndrew Leavine
Born (1987-12-27) December 27, 1987 (age 36)[1]
Brooksville, Florida, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Andrew Leavine[2]
Andy Leavine[2]
Kevin Hackman[2]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[3]
Billed weight290 lb (132 kg)
Billed fromTampa, Florida[3]
Trained byFlorida Championship Wrestling[2]
Booker T[2]
Bill DeMott[2]
Debut2010[2]
Retired2014

Andrew Leavine (born December 27, 1987) is an American retired professional wrestler. In 2011, Leavine won the Tough Enough contest to earn a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); he went on to wrestle for WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, under the ring name Kevin Hackman. He is also known for his appearances with World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship.[2]

Early life

Leavine initially attended Central High School, but transferred to Springstead High School in November 2005 for the remainder of his senior year.[4][5] Leavine was a two-sport athlete in high school, participating in scholastic wrestling and playing American football.[5] During high school, he also competed in track athletics and weightlifting.[6] At Central High, he played in all five offensive lineman positions.[7] Prior to transferring to Sprigstead, Leavine was the captain of the Central High School football team.[6] At Springstead, Leavine was part of the wrestling team that won the Hernando County Athletic Conference trophy in December 2005, and that same season had a record of 33 wins and 4 losses, with 23 pins.[8][9]

Leavine then attended Florida International University (FIU) on a scholarship, where he continued to play football as an offensive lineman.[6][10] He started all 12 FIU football games in his freshman year.[6] During his sophomore year in 2007, Leavine broke a bone in his hand in a match against Pennsylvania State University, but only missed one game the week following his injury, the only game he missed all season.[6] He returned in the following game against the University of Miami despite the injury.[11] During his junior year, Leavine suffered an early season injury, but returned to the team as the left guard.[6] He graduated from FIU in 2010, with a degree in Parks and Recreation.[8]

In April of that year, he was invited to rookie minicamp on a tryout basis with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.[12][13][14] Leavine has stated that he was misled by the Dolphins, and left the team soon after signing. Following this, he considered joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and playing in either the Arena Football League or the Canadian Football League, but decided against it for financial reasons.[8]

Professional wrestling career

In 2010, Leavine signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), belonging to WWE's developmental territory. Under the ring name of Kevin Hackman, Leavine only took part in a couple of matches before being released in February 2011 to participate in Tough Enough.[2]

In March 2011, Leavine was announced as one of the fourteen contestants for the revival of WWE Tough Enough.[15][16] Leavine was not regarded as one of the front runners at the beginning of the show but ended strongly and made it to the final two with Luke Robinson.[17] He was announced as the winner of Tough Enough on the June 6 episode of Raw by Stone Cold Steve Austin who gave him a Stone Cold Stunner after being slapped by Vince McMahon, as a welcoming gift from the WWE.[18] Leavine also appeared on Raw the following week, on June 13, in a backstage segment with Austin and CM Punk.[19] He then returned to FCW.[20]

Leavine confirmed in an interview on WWE's official website in June 2011 that he would be training in FCW.[20] In April 2012, Leavine was released from WWE.[21][22]

After his release, Leavine started working for World Wrestling Council (WWC), a wrestling territory in Puerto Rico owned by Carlos Colon. On September 8, 2012, Leavine defeated Apolo and Gilbert in a three-way match to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship. On October 26, 2012, he competed against Wes Brisco and Ray Fénix in a winning effort in a non-title match.[23] He wrestled a Loser Leaves WWC Match against Wes Brisco to a no-contest after Ray González interfered and attacked both of them at the same time. The following week, he lost to Brisco in an Anything Goes Loser Leaves WWC Match, which caused him to be kayfabe fired.

On April 27, 2013, Leavine and Samson Walker defeated Thunder & Lighting, winning the WWC Tag Team Championship. On June 29, 2013, at Summer Madness, Samson and Leavine lost the Tag Team titles to The Sons of Samoa (L.A. Smooth and Afa Jr.). At WWC 40 Aniversario, Leavine defeated Walker. Leavine retired from professional wrestling in 2014.

Personal life

Leavine is a cousin of Dan Spivey.[24][17] Leavine has practiced both jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts since his time attending FIU. He was married and has two children.[15]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ "#58 Andy Leavine". Florida International University. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kevin Hackman". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Kevin Hackman". Florida Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Thomas, Vincent (November 11, 2005). "Eagles gain heavyweight talent in transfer Leavine". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Murphy, David (December 21, 2005). "Rebirth of dominance". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "#58 Andy Leavine". Florida International University. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Murphy, David (August 31, 2006). "Leavine hits stride with FIU". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Bernhardt, Chris, Jr. (March 11, 2010). "Where Are They Now?". Hernando Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Thomas, Vincent (December 21, 2005). "Phase I in the bag for Springstead". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  10. ^ Murphy, David (January 24, 2007). "No sophomore slump expected". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "Hernando: News and notes". St. Petersburg Times. September 18, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  12. ^ "Andy the Dolphin". Miami Herald. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Salguero, Armando (April 25, 2010). "Undrafted free agents plus draft breakdown". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  14. ^ Reistetle, Matt (May 3, 2010). "Sentinel college football countdown: No. 119 Florida International". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Andy Leavine". USA Network. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  16. ^ Caldwell, James (March 15, 2011). "WWE News: Entire "Tough Enough" cast revealed - nine men, five women, independent wrestlers, MMA fighter, Alicia Fox's sister, Fairplay's wife". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Strum, Phil (June 9, 2011). "Andy Leavine is Tough Enough and Raw is run of the mill". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  18. ^ a b Adkins, Greg (June 6, 2011). "Raw results: Brew you!". WWE. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  19. ^ Bishop, Matt (June 14, 2011). "Raw: Austin, Piper headline 'All Star' night". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ a b Burdick, Michael (June 15, 2011). "Andy Leavine: "Raging" into the Machine". WWE. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  21. ^ "WWE reportedly cuts TE winner". Pro Wrestling Torch. April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  22. ^ "WWE releases Tough Enough winner". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  23. ^ a b Piñeiro, Anthony (September 9, 2012). "Resultados: Septiembre Negro 2012 – Carlito traiciona a Ray González – Andy Leavine Nuevo Campeón Universal" (in Spanish). Super Luchas Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  24. ^ "Kevin Hackman". Florida Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2012.