The Sandman Competes In Final Match Before Reitrement

The Sandman has officially retired. It was announced ahead of time that The Sandman’s match with The Invisible Man at Joey Janela’s Spring Break X would be the ECW legend’s final showing before hanging up the kendo stick for good, and he did so by putting over his invisible foe. 

In an absolutely bizarre match (as most Invisible Man matches are), The Sandman came out to his iconic ‘Enter Sandman’ theme, was accompanied to the ring by adult film star Kendra Lust (who later turned hee; and aligned with The Invisible Man), had Missy Hyatt appear to save him, plus cameos from the likes of Mick Foley, Invisible Stan, ECW Zombie, Vampiro, 2 Tuff Toniy, Early Morning Guy Steele, Richard Holliday, and a whole bunch of other shenanigans, before he was rolled up and was defeated. 

The Sandman began his pro wrestling career in 1989 and is most popularly known for his stint in ECW between 1992 and 2001, broken up by a one-year run in World Championship Wrestling. James Fullington initially joined the then-Eastern Championship Wrestling company as Mr. Sandman, but he was soon repackaged as The Sandman at the beginning of 1993.

Sandman initially portrayed a cheerful beach bum, complete with a wetsuit and surfboard, before a heel turn in 1994 resulted in Fullington becoming a hardcore icon who openly smoke and drank in a gimmick he would use for the rest of his career. During his time with what became Extreme Championship Wrestling in August 1994, The Sandman had five reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion, including a legendary rivalry with Raven over the belt, and one reign as ECW World Tag Team Champions with 2 Cold Scorpio.

Following the closure of ECW, The Sandman would wrestle for TNA and XPW, as well as on the indies, before he signed with WWE to be part of the company’s infamous relaunch of ECW in 2006. Sandman competed on the side of the ECW originals during their feud with the New Breed, before he was bizarrely drafted to Monday Night Raw in 2007. During his three-month long stint on the show, Sandman had an equally-bizarre tag team with Hacksaw Jim Duggan prior to Fullington’s release from the organisation in September 2007.

Since his WWE release, The Sandman has remained active on the independent wrestling scene, having 126 matches before his retirement. He has also been the host of his own podcast since 2024.