Acrylic and spray paint on 24″ x 24″ wood
Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn is what’s known as a legit tough guy. A two-time NWA World Champion, Severn is likely more well-known in the Mixed Martial Arts world as one of the early stars of the UFC. He’s an Arizona State University wrestling Hall of Famer, a three-time Olympic Team alternate, and has won thirteen National AAU wrestling championships. In MMA, he has won championships for four different promotions and is a UFC Hall of Famer, where he won the UFC 5 Tournament, the Ultimate Ultimate 1195 Tournament, and the UFC Superfight Championship. He held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the same time as winning the UFC Superfight Heavyweight Championship in 1995, making him the first man to hold both a professional wrestling and an MMA title simultaneously.
This past weekend he was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, where I had the pleasure of debuting this painting. For such a legitimate bad-ass, Dan was an incredible gentleman and made time to talk with everyone who came to see him, including myself. He really dug the painting and talked to me several times about how much he liked it. Not only is he a champion in multiple disciplines, but he has great taste in art to boot!