10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe
9. School Bullying Could’ve Led To His Style
Summers admitted that the level of bullying he faced at school was torturous.
He was routinely punched, kicked, had his head flushed down toilets and more, but he always told himself “not to let them know they were hurting me”. That had to be psychologically damaging, and it might’ve fed into the deathmatch style that he worked inside (and outside) of rings as a wrestler. That's something Dylan actually broached when appearing on VICE as a talking head, and parts of it sound similar to Mick Foley's mindset.
“I can take incredible amounts of punishment. When I flip that switch, you can’t hurt me - you can’t hurt me no matter what you do”. Yikes. Taking damage became a personal badge of honour for the guy. He flashed a grin at the cameras whilst brushing off painful bumps in various hardcore matches as something only he and a handful of others could sustain.
Most people? Most people would physically crumble and beg for mercy, but he refused to give in and do that. It's easy to spot that 'never say die' attitude building during his agonising formative years. It's almost unbelievable to imagine that this kid was motoring towards becoming the Necro Butcher even before he'd ever stepped foot inside a ring.
Bullying put Dylan on a blood-soaked path towards hardcore independent wrestling, no doubt. Lord only knows which path he would've taken had he been accepted by his peers at school, or if his father had still been around to help guide him into adulthood.
What a story. A painful one though.