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William Murray Happer (born October 4, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and Personal trainer, best known by his ring name Otto Schwanz. He competed primarily in the Carolinas since the mid-2000s, and has wrestled for many promotions including CWF Mid-Atlantic, Cueball Carmichael's Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance, OMEGA, and Southern Championship Wrestling.
From 1998 to 2003, Happer was also a member of The Dupps, along with kayfabe "cousins" Mike Maverick and Marty Garner, wrestling as Bo DuppPro Wrestling Illustrated. "Statistics for Professional Wrestlers." PWI 2001 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts. Vol. IV. No. 1. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Co., 2001. (pg. 41) in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. While under a developmental contract with WWE, Happer also competed under his real name until being released in 2001.
Outside of pro wrestling, Happer is an educator and instructor in Amateur sports. He was a co-captain of the Georgetown Hoyas football team while attending Georgetown University and, in 2003, became head coach of South Johnston High School's Trojans wrestling team in addition to teaching civics and history.
Happer spent much of his early career wrestling for numerous regional promotions in the Southeastern United States. These included the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance, Live Action Wrestling, NWA 2000, New Dimension Wrestling, and Southern Championship Wrestling. He also had a brief stint in Southern States Wrestling where, on September 1, 1997, he was pinned by Johnny Thunder in a tag team match for the vacant SSW Heavyweight Championship in Fall Branch, Tennessee.
Throughout his time in SCW, Happer was associated with its top "heel" stable, The Brotherhood, led by Count Grog. Grog later listed Happer as his second favorite wrestler to manage, after Major DeBeers, commenting "this big German has the most potential of anyone I've ever managed. He's big, mean, and insane, all qualities I look for in a wrestler".
Happer feuded with Jason Arhndt during this time which saw Count Grog betraying him and siding with Venom. With the help of his former House of Pain tag team partner Marty Garner, Happer defeated Jason Arhndt to win the SCW Heavyweight Championship in Raleigh on February 25, 1999. Shortly after his title victory, Happer was voted by fans as "SCW Wrestler of the Year"."The PWI 500." Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (Holiday 1999): pg. 64, 65. Coincidentally Happer's former trainer, Cueball Carmichael, had been the previous SCW champion before being forced to vacate the title. Happer, having been trained at Carmichael's IPWA Training Center, continued wrestling for the promotion up until the spring of 1999 at which time he was interviewed by the Washington City Paper. He won the heavyweight title two more times before leaving SCW near the end of 1999.
By the end of OMEGA's three-year run, Happer was among the promotion's stars that went on to join the "mainstream" wrestling organizations including Venom, C. W. Anderson, Steve Corino, Gregory Helms, Shannon Moore, Amy Dumas, and The Bad Street Boys (Adam Birch and Christian York). Happer was featured in the 2009 documentary "OMEGA: Uncommon Passion" and several former OMEGA alumni, including former co-owner Thomas Simpson, spoke highly of him. Corino, in particular, voiced his wish that "Vince McMahon would take another look at him because he's got that old school vibe and he's funny without even trying".
It was during this period that Happer, along with Maverick and Cham Pain, sent a tape to Extreme Championship Wrestling which introduced themselves as "a family of from Lizard Lick, North Carolina, named 'The Dupps'". They received a call from Tommy Dreamer who invited them to the Asylum Arena for a tryout match. Dreamer later told them that their video was "one of the funniest, most original tapes they had ever received". On October 29, 1999, The Dupps wrestled Kid Kash and Mike Bucci at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. The trio eventually forfeited the SCW tag team belts, and Happer the heavyweight title, and left for ECW a month later.
One of their first matches for the WWF was against Rob Conway and Danny Dominion, who they defeated, at the sold-out All-State Arena in Chicago on March 20, 2000. They returned to the All-State Arena six months later where they defeated the Texas Hangmen.
The Dupps also faced teams such as Spellbinder and Bulldog Raines, Alan Steel and Blade Boudreaux, and Joey Abs and Lance Cade. They briefly regained the tag titles from Spanky and Shooter Schultz, the latter taking the place of The American Dragon, in Corinth, Mississippi, on January 13, 2001. The following night, they appeared at a WWF house show in Madison, Wisconsin, against The Acolytes (John Layfield and Ron Simmons). Happer also made three appearances in singles competition wrestling Joey Abs at Chicago's All-State Arena (January 16), Eddie Guerrero in Evansville, Indiana (February 18), and The Drill Instructor in St. Louis, Missouri (February 19) which he won. He made a fourth and final appearance in a dark match prior to a television taping for the February 20 edition of SmackDown! as the opponent for fellow ECW star Rhyno in what would be his second "unofficial" WWF debut.Picarello, Robert. Monsters of the Mat. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 2002. They dropped the belts to The Haas Brothers (Charlie Haas and Russ Haas) on February 21, 2001, in Jonesboro. Happer's final match for MCW was against Spellbinder on March 10, 2001. Jonathan Coachman was the guest commentator.
Bo and Stan Dupp would team together only twice more after their TNA debut. The first was against Jorge Estrada (Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki) at the City Auditorium on July 10 and the second defeating Mike Rapada and Big Bully Douglas a week later at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Nashville. While The Dupps were only together for an eight-week period, they had a notable impact during the first year of the promotion. On the July 24 edition of TNA Impact, Happer's "bumping" into Ian Harrison set up an impromptu match ending in a disqualification when Stan Dupp interfered on Bo Dupp's behalf. Another storyline involving The Dupp's was the so-called "Dupp Cup" which Happer defended in "hardcore" matches, most notably against Ed Ferrara, during his last two months with TNA. On August 14, 2002, in what would be his final appearance with the company, Happer was defeated by Teo in a "hardcore" match at Nashville's Fairgrounds Coliseum to win the NWA Dupp Cup. Blade Braxton of Wrestlecrap.com briefly touched on their career during the first year of the company. In 2007, R. D. Reynolds ranked Happer's ring name "Bo Dupp" 7 of the top 8 "Stupidest Ring Names In Wrestling History" in Wrestlecrap.R. D. Reynolds and Blade Braxton. The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!. Toronto: ECW Press, 2007. (pg. 16)
Happer also came back to Southern Championship Wrestling where, on January 31, 2002, he defeated Kross a tournament final to win the then vacant heavyweight title. At a benefit show for SCW wrestler Josh "Tears" Duke, who was left paralyzed following a car accident, he successfully defended his title against TNA's Lazz. He held the title for six months before surrendering the title in June 2002. Elsewhere on the "indy circuit" Happer also faced another former ECW star, Roadkill, at a show for Wrestle Force of America in Richmond, Virginia, on February 2, 2002. That summer, he was invited by Phoenix Championship Wrestling to participate in the 12-team Invitational Tag Team Tournament for the Russ Haas Memorial Cup being held in Toms River, New Jersey. He was originally scheduled to team with Pete Gas, however, he was paired with Matt Vandal when Gas was not able to make it to the event. The team was eliminated in the opening rounds by The United Nations (Prophet and Tiger Khan) in a three-way match also involving Lance Cade and Nick Dinsmore. Back in FWA-Carolinas, he defeated Brown for the promotion's heavyweight title at the June 29 supercard "Hostile Intentions" in Graham, North Carolina. He defended the title for over three months before his defeat by Corey Edsel at FWA's "The Next Level" on November 2, 2002.
He and Cusick continued teaming for another month wrestling dark matches against Spanky and Paul London on WWE Velocity (November 1, 2003). and World Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz on WWE Raw (November 2, 2003) in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Happer had one more appearance on the Fourth of July edition of WWE Heat against Val Venis.
During the first half of 2006, he scored victories over Jake Manning, Xsiris, Sonny Blaze, T.J. Mack,"Results From CWF Mid-Atlantic TV Taping Held On June 10 In Burlington, North Carolina." Declarationofindependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Jun. 2005. Web. Mar. 27, 2011.
Happer mostly wrestled in tag team matches for the remainder of the year. He and Las Chivas NumΓ©ro Dos defeated Marcellus King and Michael McAllister on October 28 and beat Gregory Vercetti and Jerry Wayne with Cham Pain on November 4. He and Brass Munkey, however, lost to Joey Silvia and Steve Greene (with Ty Dillinger) on December 2. At BattleCade 7, Happer defeated Damien Wayne at the Carolina Sports Arena on December 30, 2006.
On March 31, 2007, Happer and Tennessee Ernie Nord lost a tag team match to The Urban Legends (Cowboy Willie Watts & Leroy Zbyszko) at "March Mayhem" in Stem, North Carolina. A few days later at "The Final Count Down", he was involved in a four-way match with King Fβn Chilly Willy, C.W. Anderson, and Trailer Park Heat for the GOUGE Heavyweight Championship. He continued teaming with Tennessee Ernie Nord and Seymour Snott during the summer as well as winning a number of singles matches against Damien Wayne, Cowboy Willie Watts, Leroy Zbyszko, and Ravishing Rico Rage. On August 25, 2007, Happer wrestled Snott for a GOUGE fundraiser to benefit the FVAA 93 Flash White soccer team. This show also marked the promotion's first-ever show in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina."Gimmicks Only Underground Grappling Entertainment (GOUGE) makes its first appearance in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina on Sat August 25. Doors open at 6PM and the show starts at 7PM. Proceeds Benefit the FVAA 93 Flash White Soccer team." Declarationofindependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Aug. 2007. Web. Jan. 27, 2012.
He continued wrestling in tag teams over the summer. He and King lost to Donnie Dollars and Mitch Connor at "Absolute Justice" in Burlington on June 16 and, later that month, with Derek Ryze against Kirby Mack (Kirby Mack and T.J. Mack). On the August 11 edition of CWF Championship Wrestling, Happer battled Mid-Atlantic Television Champion "Simply" Steve Greene (with Ty Dillinger) to a time limit draw. He followed this up with a victory over Jerry Wayne at A Date With Destiny on October 20, 2007. Happer was also involved as an instructor with the promotion training, most notably, female wrestler Kristin Eubanks.
Several months later, he defeated Marcellus King on the March 15, 2008 edition of CWF Championship Wrestling. He also defeated Evan Banks at Absolute Justice 2008 (June 21), "Big" Ray Kandrick at Valediction (July 19), teamed with Chase Dakota to defeat Wallabee Joe and Ray Kandrack at the 2008 Johnny Weaver Memorial Tournament (August 16). On October 18, 2008, at 8th annual CWF Rumble, Happer unsuccessfully challenged Ric Converse (with William L. Cross) for the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.
On May 3, Happer defeated Luther Thesz and Chris Phoenix in a three-way dance at Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Fundraiser at The Iron Horse in Apex, North Carolina. At the end of the month, he wrestled Cowboy Willie Watts and Blackjack Billy Watts in a tag team match with Johnny Atlas. During the last half of 2008 he won matches against El Mariachi, Vinnie Damooche, Prince Kofi Jabba, Nicky Richards, The Taker, and Damien Wayne. He also wrestled in a three-way tag team match with Seymour Snott against Cowboy Willie Watts & Blackjack Billy Watts, The Trailer Park Model & Frankie Fontaine, and the Krazy Killer Klowns. The latter match was held at "Maul-O-Ween" in Youngsville, North Carolina, with Baby Doll in his opponent's corner, and ended in a disqualification.
At a special fundraiser co-promoted by Alternative Championship Wrestling and GOUGE, the 7th Annual Seagrove SuperShow, Happer wrestled Jerry Lawler in the main event with Jimmy Valiant as the special guest referee. The event was held to raise money for Seagrove Elementary School. At the end of the match, when his manager Count Grog climbed into the ring to interfere on Happer's behalf, he was put in the sleeper hold by Valiant and by Lawler over the top rope. He also wrestled The Mommas Boy at the "Redneck Rumble" (March 7), a three-way match against Trailer Park Heat and Cueball Carmichael at GOUGE's "3rd Anniversary Show" (April 25), beat William Alexander Huckabee at "Showdown" (May 30), and another three-way match with Rob McBride and the Goat at "Super Summer Sizzler" (June 27). On August 15, he teamed with Bill Eadie and Rob McBride (with Count Grog) in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Cueball Carmichael, Wrestling Superstar, and Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. (with Smart Mark Greene) at "August Armageddon" in Wake Forest, North Carolina; after the match, Grog put a dress on Greene.
That fall, he also defeated Andrea the Giant at "Fallout" (September 19) and The Mamas Boy at "Eruption" (October 10). On November 7, 2009, Happer lost a three-way "I Quit" match at "Maul-O-Ween 2009" in Youngsville, North Carolina, when Jimmy Cicero (with Brian Perry) made the third participant Broderick McQueen "quit".
On September 5, a match between Happer and Jaxson Dane (with William L. Cross) at "Fatback Rising 2" ended in a 10-minute time limit draw. Similarly, his match with Chase Dakota at the 9th annual CWF Rumble also ended in a draw. On November 14, 2009 he beat Shane Phoenix in a Five Minute Challenge match at an interpromotional "Pro Wrestling International" event co-hosted by CWF Mid-Atlantic, Premier Wrestling Showcase, and Rider's Championship Wrestling.
He would appear twice more in CWF Mid Atlantic during the next year. The first being New Year's Knockout on January 16, 2010, defeating T.J. Mack, and CWF Rumble on October 16, 2010, where he and Jimmy Parker fought to a no-contest.
At Cincon De Mayhem on May 15, Happer teamed with The Mommas Boy to defeat Paco Loco & Rev Jimmy Swagger once again. The following month, he and Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. (with Count Grog) beat Frank Stalletto and Mickey Gambino (with Phildel Castra (the former Smart Mark Greene)) at the Cherry Bounce Festival in Raleigh. It was at this same event that Happer won a battle royal to become GOUGE's Raleigh Heavyweight Champion."July 31, 2010 Raleigh, NC - outdoors downtown at Cherry Bounce." Declarationofindependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Jul. 2010. Web. Jan. 27, 2012.
Happer continued to appear for G.O.U.G.E. throughout 2011. He defeated Lou Marconi at Redneck Rumble (January 8), Sean Van Halen at Winter Wars (February 19), and Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. at G.O.U.G.E's 5th Year Anniversary Show (April 9). On April 14, at the Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo, a rematch with Funk (with Admir Al Akbar, Greene in another gimmick) ended in a double-disqualification due to outside interference from Count Grog, Mickey Gambino, Seymour Snott and Rob McBride; he and Gambino lost to Seymour Snott and Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. in a tag team match later that night. That summer, he travelled to Florida where he appeared on Florida Underground Wrestling's debut show in Ybor City.
Five months later, this time with Admir Al Akbar in his corner, Happer returned to the Food Truck Rodeo where he successfully defended the GOUGE Raleigh Championship against Seymour Snott. Later on, he wrestled against Snott, Rob McBride, Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. in a 6-man tag team match with Mikey Gambino and Lou Marconi. Happer also beat Mike West at the September 24 "Fallout in Butner" show. On October 8, he defeated Lou Marconi (with Count Grog) at Bud Light Concert Series in Raleigh. During the show, Happer attacked Jimmy Jack Funk, Jr. following his match with Gluteus Maximus. At Maul-O-Ween 2011, he beat Leatherface to retain the Raleigh Championship.
On November 5, 2011, Happer made a surprise appearance at CWF Mid-Atlantic's home arena, the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium in Burlington, during its "Settling the Score" supercard demanding a match on the card. His challenge was accepted by Chase Dakota, a two-time CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion, with their match nearly ending in a time-limit draw. Happer was able to pin Dakota only two seconds before the 10 min. time limit was to expire.
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