Jacob Southwick (April 2, 1990) is an American professional wrestler previously signed to Impact Wrestling under the ring name Madman Fulton. He is also known for his five-year tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), appearing on the NXT brand under the ring name Sawyer Fulton from 2012-2017. While in NXT, Fulton was a member of the stable known as SAnitY.
In his career, Fulton is a former one-time Mid-Ohio Wrestling Tag Team Champion, former one-time Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling Tag Team Champion and a former one-time American States Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion.
Early life[]
Southwick was born in 1990 in Toledo, Ohio. He later became a Greco-Roman All-American wrestler and a two-time NCAA All-American.
Professional wrestling career[]
Mid-Ohio Wrestling (2010-2012)[]
Southwick made his in-ring debut in 2010 as Jake South on October 16, when he defeated Izzy Lambert. He competed in the Mid-Ohio Heavyweight title tournament but was eliminated in the semifinals by Patrick Hayes. He then challenged for the Tri-County Heavyweight title twice but was unsuccessful in both attempts. He later with Cyrus Poe, won the Mid-Ohio Tag Team titles after defeating Axel and The Bouncer. They kept the titles until they lost to The Black Irish Saints (Damien Kass and Devlin Anderson). He later challenged Bane for the World Title but was defeated.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2012-2017)[]
NXT (2012–2017)[]
Fulton debuted on October 18, 2012, in a house show teaming with Chad Baxter, Chase Donovan and Nick Rogers in a tag match won by Briley Pierce, Jake Carter, Mike Dalton & Oliver Grey. On November 30, Fulton wrestled his first singles match against Travis Tyler. He won his first singles match, defeating Angelo Dawkins.
Fulton's first televised match was on May 2, 2013, where he competed in tag match with Travis Tyler against The Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan & Luke Harper). On June 28, Fulton competed in a 12-Man Battle Royal to determine the new Number One Contender for the NXT Championship. Throughout the course of 2013, Fulton competed in numerous tag matches; along with some singles matches mostly against Kassius Ohno. He finished out his debut year on December 20 in a tag match teaming with Cal Bishop against Aiden English & Slate Randall.
Returning in 2014, Fulton teamed with Baron Corbin on March 21 to challenge for the NXT Tag Team Championship in a three-way tag team match against Jason Jordan & Oliver Grey and the defending champions The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor). During the course of 2014, Fulton appeared in more singles matches, wrestling against trainees including Colin Cassady, Steve Cutler, Mojo Rawley, Bull Dempsey, Jason Jordan and Kalisto. Joining the stable known as The Shoot Nation, Fulton teamed with Angelo Dawkins to wrestle Cal Bishop & Digg Rawlis during the month of December 2014. Fulton finished out 2014 with a victory on December 20 with Angelo Dawkins against The Mechanics (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson).
On July 30, 2015 Fulton wrestled in a 20-Man Battle Royal to determine the new Number One Contender to the NXT Championship. On August 28, Fulton and Angelo Dawkins participated in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they were eliminated in the first round by Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore. He wrestled his first mixed tag match on September 24, teaming with Solomon Crowe and Nia Jax against Billie Kay, Bull Dempsey & Hugo Knox. His last match of 2015 was a tag team match with Marcus Louis against Levis Valenzuela Jr. & Rich Swann.
During the April 14, 2016 edition of NXT Fulton teamed with Alexander Wolfe to challenge for the NXT Tag Team titles held by American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan). They had a series of title rematches against American Alpha on May 5-May 7, but were not successful in winning the tag titles during these three consecutive rematch dates. Fulton and Wolfe's last title rematch against American Alpha was on May 20, where they were once more defeated. On September 15, during the second Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament, Fulton and Wolfe as members of team SAnitY eliminated the Canadian tag team of Bobby Roode & Tye Dillinger in the first round. During the quarter finals held on October 13, team SAnitY eliminated Kota Ibushi & TJ Perkins. On October 30, Fulton and Wolfe were eliminated in the semi final by TM-61 (Nick Miller & Shane Thorne). He wrestled his last match of 2016 on November 17, teaming with SAnitY members Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young against No Way Jose & TM-61.
The following year, Fulton returned on May 5, 2017 to defeat Brennan Williams. For most of mid-2017, Fulton wrestled in singles matches against newcomers such as Demitrius Bronson, Babatunde Aiyegbusi, Nick Miller, Roderick Strong, Danny Burch and Lio Rush. He wrestled his last NXT match on October 21 losing to newcomer Tian Bing.
On November 3, 2017 Fulton was released from his WWE contract.
Return to the Independent circuit (2017-present)[]
After his release from WWE, Southwick changed his ring name to Madman Fulton. He made his American States Wrestling Alliance (ASWA) return on December 9 at ASWA Winter Reunion, where he and wrestlers Ethan Wright and JJ DeVille won the Winter Reunion Battle Royal. He later met Wright and DeVille in a three-way match to crown the new ASWA Universal Champion however, did not succeed in winning the title. This was his first ASWA event in six years since making his ASWA debut in 2011.
On January 20, 2018, Madman Fulton made his Pro Wrestling Magic (PWM) debut at PWM Domino, in a title match for the PWM Heavyweight Championship held by EC Negro.
On February 10, Fulton returned to American States Wrestling Alliance, at ASWA Saturday Night Slam where he won his second title after he defeated Toby Cline to win the ASWA Heavyweight Championship.
Fulton made his Atomic Wrestling Entertainment debut on March 16 at AWE Shamrock N Brawl where he teamed with Vertigo Rivera to challenge for the AWE Tag Team Championship held by the defending champions Jason Dugan & Rey Xion. Their match resulted in both teams being disqualified, allowing for Dugan and Xion to retain their tag titles. The following night on March 17, Fulton debuted in All Pro Wrestling at APW Kick Rocks where he teamed with Kal Jak to defeat The Classic Connection (Buddy Royal & Levi Shapiro) in a tag match. On the following night, Fulton debuted in Supreme Pro Wrestling, teaming with Sledge to defeat Alexander G. Bernard & Dreamy Drew in a tag match. On April 20, Fulton returned to Atomic Wrestling Entertainment at AWE V For Victory 2 in a three-way tag match, teaming with Vertigo Rivera in defeating James Storm & Jesse Neal and the defending AWE Tag Team Champions Jason Dugan & Rey Xion to win the AWE Tag Team titles. Fulton made his Heroes And Legends Wrestling debut on April 21 at HLW Heroes & Legends X in a match lost to Russ Jones. On May 25 at AWE Malice & Mayhem Fulton & Vertigo Rivera defeated Jason Dugan & Rey Xion in a title rematch. On July 19, Fulton returned to the ring to compete at the MLW Fusion - Battle Riot Special as one of 40 wrestlers in a battle royal won by Tom Lawlor. On July 27, Fulton debuted in the newly-renamed Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling (previously Atomic Wrestling Entertainment) at ARW Wham Bam Slam! Round 2, where he and Vertigo Rivera defeated Alex Todd & Apolo Jr to retain the ARW Tag Team titles. On August 15, Fulton debuted in Rockstar Pro Wrestling in a match lost to Aaron Williams.
Fulton made his Major League Wrestling (MLW) debut on September 6 at MLW Wargames. There, Fulton and his tag partner Leon Scott as team Death Machines joined forces with Abyss, Jimmy Havoc & Sami Callihan in a War Games tag match lost to Tommy Dreamer, John Hennigan, Kotto Brazil, Shane Strickland & Barrington Hughes. Nine days later on September 15, Fulton made his Revolution Championship Wrestling debut in match lost to Brutus Dylan. Seven nights later on September 22, Fulton debuted in New Generation Championship Wrestling (NGCW) at NGCW Lucha Conquest 3, defeating Anubis by disqualification. Four nights later, Fulton returned to his home state of Ohio, making his debut in Rockstar Pro Wrestling during the September 26 Rockstar Pro Amped event, defeating Kobain. The following month on October 7, Fulton debuted in Border City Wrestling (BCW) at the 2018 BCW Motown Showdown event, defeating The Mysterious Movado. Eleven nights later on October 18, Fulton returned to Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling at ARW Extreme Takeover 2 Fulton teamed with Vertigo in a tag match lost to Raven & Tommy Dreamer. Two nights later on October 20, Fulton debuted in The Wrestling Revolver at REVOLVER Tales From The Ring 2 where he competed in a gauntlet match for the PWR Scramble Championship, but did not succeed in winning the title. On November 3, Fulton debuted in Revive Pro Wrestling at in a three-way match against Brett Ison defeats Matt Gilbert.
On November 17, Fulton returned home to Ohio to once more appear in Mid-Ohio Wrestling, where he defeated Beastman. On December 6, Fulton returned to Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling at ARW Reindeer Games, where he and Vertigo Rivera lost the ARW Tag Team Championship to Garett Bischoff & Wes Brisco. On December 8, Fulton returned to Mid-Ohio Wrestling where he defeated Ethan Wright. During the final month of 2018, Fulton represented his home state promotion Rockstar Pro Wrestling at the Impact Wrestling/Rockstar Pro: "Ohio Versus Everything" event on December 14. There, he was defeated by Impact Wrestling's Moose. On December 28 at REVOLVER Holiday Hangover, Fulton challenged for the PWR Scramble Championship in a Six-Way match against Ace Romero, Andy Dalton, Jake Manning, Kimber Lee and the reigning champion Caleb Konley.
The following year on January 12, 2019, Fulton debuted in TRUE Wrestling at Beginnings. There he teamed with Pav City & Will The Thrill in a tag match with lost to Christian Kobain, Dan Champion & Danny Enfuego. Six days later on January 18, Fulton debuted in PCW ULTRA at A2K19. There he and fellow WWE alumnus Sami Callihan as team Death Machines challenged reigning champions team Warbeast (Jacob Fatu & Josef) in a tag match for the PCW ULTRA Tag Team Championship but did not succeed in winning the titles.
Impact Wrestling (2018-2022)[]
On December 14, 2018 Fulton made his televised debut during the co-produced event Impact Wrestling-Rockstar Pro Ohio Versus Everything. Representing his home state promotion of Rockstar Pro, Fulton wrestled and lost a singles match to Impact Wrestling's Moose. He returned the following year on March 1, 2019 at Impact Wrestling-Rockstar Pro Opening Day, teaming with fellow Rockstar Pro roster member and o.V.e team member Dave Crist in a Four-Way tag match. Together, Fulton and Crist defeated rival teams Austin Manix & Jake Something, team Grits And Gravy (Bruce Grey & Jon Murray) and Pompano Joe & Steve Manders. The following night on March 2 at Impact Wrestling-OVW One Night Only: Clash In The Bluegrass, where he teamed with Rohit Raju and oVe members Dave Crist and Jake Crist. They met Ohio Valley Wrestling members Dustin Jackson, Melvin Maximus, Sam Thompson & Shiloh Jonze in a tag match that ended in a draw. During the March 22 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling, Fulton appeared during a post-match ambush between Sami Callihan and Rich Swann. During the post-match attack, Fulton proceeded to assault Swann with a chokeslam before lifting Callihan to his feet, and revealing his allegiance to oVe. Upon the arrival of Swann's best friend and tag team ally Willie Mack, Fulton subdued Mack with a modified slam. This allowed Fulton to hold a weakened Swann at bay for Callihan to further assault with a blow from his baseball bat. This post-match assault solidified Fulton's place in the oVe ranks as well as his status as a heel. During the April 5 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling, Fulton teamed with Sami Callihan in a tag match defeating Rich Swann & Willie Mack. Two weeks later, on April 19 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling Fulton defeated hardcore wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer. The following month on the May 10 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling, Fulton and team oVe defeated a team of iMPACT! Wrestling babyfaces including Fallah Bahh, Rich Swann, Tommy Dreamer & Willie Mack in an eight-man No Disqualification tag match. On June 8 at A Night You Can't Mist, co-produced by Impact Wrestling and House Of Hardcore, Fulton and oVe lost a six-man tag match against tag team rivals The Rascalz. On the following night at Digital Destruction, Fulton wrestled against Ace Romero in a No-Contest finish. On the June 21 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling, Fulton won a match against oVe rival Eddie Edwards. The following month in on July 5 at Bash At The Brewery, Fulton and team oVe lost a tag match against their rivals Rich Swann, Tessa Blanchard & Willie Mack. The following night at Deep Impact, Fulton competed in the Twelve-Way Elimination match for Reality of Wrestling's Television Championship. On the September 20 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling, Fulton and oVe lost a eight-man tag team Street Fight against Rhino, Rob Van Dam, Tessa Blanchard & Tommy Dreamer. Fulton wrestled his first singles intergender match on the December 10 episode of iMPACT!, losing to oVe rival Tessa Blanchard. He finished the year with a pay-per-view match against Eddie Edwards at Motown Showdown.
On January 12, 2020 Fulton returned to pay-per-view at Hard To Kill in a match against Ken Shamrock. On the May 5 episode of iMPACT! Fulton competed in a Number One Contender Tournament for the Impact World Championship, during which he was eliminated in the first round by Hernandez. During the June and July episode of iMPACT! and Xplosion, Fulton was undefeated in singles matches. During July and August, Fulton appeared in tag matches with Ace Austin including wrestling together on the opening night of Impact Wrestling's Emergence television special, in a tag match against the debuting Good Brothers. Fulton and Austin remained a tag team during the months of September and October. At Bound for Glory XVI, Fulton and Austin challenged for the Impact World Tag Team Championship in a four-way match won by The North.
Wrestling facts[]
- Finishing and signature moves
- Powerslam
- Running Splash
- Spinning Gutwrench Suplex
- STO Backbreaker
- swinging slam to Complete Shot
- Chokeslam
- Tag teams and stables
- Shoot Nation (w/ Chad Gable, Jason Jordan, Angelo Dawkins & Tucker Knight)
- SAnitY (w/ Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young & Nikki Cross)
- Death Machines (w/ Leon Scott) (MLW)
- Ohio Versus Everything (w/ Sami Callihan, Dave Crist & Jake Crist)
- Nicknames
- "Big"
Championships and accomplishments[]
- ASWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- AWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - w/ Vertigo Rivera
- Mid-Ohio Tag Team Championship (1 time) - w/ Cyrus Poe