| Drew Hankinson | |
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| Ring name(s) | Deacon Deville[1] Dorian Deville[1] Festus[1] Festus Dalton[1] Freakin' Deacon[1] Imposter Kane[1] Justice Dalton[1] The Masked Assassin[1] Luke Gallows[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 302 lb (137 kg)[2] |
| Born | December 22, 1983 [3] Cumberland, Maryland |
| Billed from | Purgatory (as Freakin' Deacon) North Carolina (as Festus) |
| Trained by | Justin Kace[1] Jim Hawkins[1] Bill DeMott DSW Training staff |
| Debut | 2005 |
Andrew William "Drew" Hankinson (born December 22, 1983)[3] is an American professional wrestler currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) appearing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Luke Gallows, where he is aligned with CM Punk as part of The Straight Edge Society.[2]
Hankinson is also known for his appearances as the "fake" Kane, and as Festus, the tag team partner of Jesse (Ray Gordy), while they were part of the tag team Jesse and Festus on the SmackDown brand, from June 2007 until the WWE's annual draft saw the team separated during the spring of 2009.
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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 National Wrestling League, wrestling as Dorian Deville. In April 2005, he was signed to a contract by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and assigned to the Deep South Wrestling (DSW) developmental territory, where he formed a partnership with Palmer Cannon.[1] Hankinson wrestled in DSW as Deacon Deville before changing his ring name to The Freakin' Deacon.[1]
Hankinson first appeared on the main WWE roster as the impostor Kane, chokeslamming the real Kane during his match against Shelton Benjamin. The two continued to battle one another over subsequent weeks, even when Hankinson's tag team match debut alongside Kane where Kane hit the "Big Boot" and cost them the match,afterword the impostor chokeslamed Kane and then it issued a fight in the parking lot. The impersonator continually gaining the upper hand; this led to a match being scheduled for Vengeance.[4][5] Hankinson went on to defeat Kane at Vengeance with a chokeslam.[6] On the following episode of Raw, Hankinson was beaten down by the real Kane, who then dragged him to the backstage area, tore the mask (along with a wig) from his face and threw him out of the arena, claiming that it belonged to him.[7] This marked Hankinson's last appearance on Raw. Neither Hankinson's face nor his true identity were ever revealed by WWE during this feud.
Following his feud with Kane, 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.
On the May 11, 2007 edition 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.[8] 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 because they got lost on their way to the arena. Hankinson and Gordy had actually been sent back to OVW and Hankinson changed his name to Justice Dalton. It marked the second time Hankinson had been dropped from the main roster.
Hankinson was then renamed "Festus", while Gordy was dubbed "Jesse", and on the June 29, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, vignettes hyping Jesse and Festus began to air. 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.[9] On October 5, Hankinson won his debut match on SmackDown with his partner Jesse.[10] When the opening bell rang, Festus' persona changed into a very focused competitor as compared to the mentally retarded character he had portrayed.[10] When the bell rang signifying the end of the match, Festus returned to his "normal" docile self.[10] On the December 21, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, Festus defeated Deuce in a Santa Match with both of them wearing Santa Claus outfits.[11] On the January 25 edition of SmackDown!, Jesse explained the reason that they hadn't been on television since the new year was because Festus has been seeing doctors about his "problems".[12]
In 2008, Jesse and Festus came out and 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, 2008 edition 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 in this match.[13] Festus received his first loss when he wrestled against World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker on the April 11, 2008 edition of SmackDown after passing out while in the Hell's Gate.[14]
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.[15]
After a six month hiatus from television, Hankinson returned on the November 27, 2009 edition of SmackDown, repackaged as a villain under the name Luke Gallows, sporting 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 drug use, which led to him being in the mental state he was in as Festus, before stating that Gallows was cured due to Punk showing him the straight-edge lifestyle.[2] On the December 11 episode of SmackDown, Gallows made his in-ring redebut for the brand as he and Punk defeated Hardy and R-Truth after Gallows pinned Hardy with his new finishing move, the "Twelve Steps".[16] On the January 8, 2010 episode of SmackDown, Gallows defeated Hardy in his redebut singles match.[17] 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 #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. On the February 8, 2010 episode of Raw, The Straight Edge Society was eliminated in an Triple Treat 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.
[[File:|thumb|Drew Hankinson as Festus]] Drew Hankinson (born December 22, 1983 in Cumberland, Maryland), better known by his ring name Luke Gallows is a professional wrestler that works for WWE on the SmackDown brand. His height is 6 ft 8, and his weight is 291 lb. He formerly wrestled as Festus, one half of Jesse and Festus with Ray Gordy as Jesse.
   | The NWL Heavyweight Championship at the Wrestling Information Archive - Wrestling Information Archive - National Wrestling League / House of Pain Wrestling Federation Title Histories |
| | ''The fake Kane is...'' - Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online -- WWE, TNA, UFC and International Wrestling and MMA Headlines - Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online |
| | Drew Hankinson at Cagematch.net - CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database |
| | Saint Nick slugfest - WWE: TV Shows > SmackDown > Archive > 12/21/2007 |
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