Duane Gill is a renowned American professional wrestler, best recognized for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWE) under the ring name Gillberg, a parody of World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) top star Goldberg. During his tenure in WWE, Gill made history by becoming the longest-reigning Light Heavyweight Champion, holding the title for an impressive 15 months.
Before his WWE stint, Gill made his debut on the American independent scene as part of a masked tag team called The Lords of Darkness, alongside Barry Hardy, billed as Agony and Pain, respectively. On August 2, 1991, they defeated Cream Team to become the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation's first-ever Tag Team Champions.
The Lords of Darkness went on to participate in two 40-man battle royals held in 1992, with the second battle royal taking place two months later. Later, they became the second version of The Executioners, taking part in another 40-man battle royal won by Tatanka. The Executioners then joined WWE, competing on its Monday Night Raw program against various other tag teams.
However, the tag team eventually disbanded in early 1994, with Hardy leaving the company on April 18. Gill began competing under his real name as an enhancement talent before also leaving the company soon after.
Gill returned to WWE in 1998, making his comeback at Survivor Series as Mankind's mystery opponent. Vince McMahon seemingly facilitated Mankind's route to victory in a tournament for the vacant WWE Championship, building up suspense by referring to Gill as a wrestler with an impressive win-loss record. Although the statement was thought to indicate Gill's winning streak, the exact opposite was true, and he was squashed by Mankind.
Gill later joined the J.O.B. Squad with Al Snow, Scorpio, and Bob Holly. During this time, he gained notoriety for "ending" Marc Mero's career when Mero challenged him to a match, announcing to the crowd that he would retire from wrestling if he could not beat Gill. Gill won the match with some help from the J.O.B. Squad, and Mero left WWE, although he did not legitimately retire as promised.
