Dylan Miley is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Lars Sullivan. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the SmackDown brand where he is inactive due to a knee injury. Sullivan entered professional wrestling in 2013 upon signing with WWE, spending several years training at the WWE Performance Center before making his television debut in April 2017 on WWE's developmental brand, NXT. He was subsequently called up to the Raw brand in April 2019, before moving to the SmackDown brand later that month.
Professional wrestling career
WWE
Training (2013–2017)
Miley initially trained as a professional wrestler under Bobby Lashley, who recommended him to WWE. He signed with WWE in 2013 and by October 2014 had reported to the WWE Performance Center. He wrestled his first recorded match on March 29, 2015, defeating Marcus Louis in a showcase match at WrestleMania Axxess. He then made sporadic appearances at NXT live events over the following two years.
NXT (2017–2018)
Miley made his television debut on the April 12, 2017 episode of NXT under his real name, teaming with Michael Blais in a loss to DIY. Following the match, Miley attacked Blais. In May 2017, he adopted the ring name "Lars Sullivan". After several similar tag team appearances which resulted in him attacking his partner, Sullivan made his first appearance as a singles performer on the August 23 episode of NXT, attacking No Way Jose before a scheduled match. His first televised singles match and victory took place on the September 6 episode of NXT, defeating three jobbers in a three-on-one handicap match. Following weeks of squash matches, Sullivan defeated Kassius Ohno at on November 18, 2017. In December, he competed in a tournament to determine NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas' opponent for that was won by Johnny Gargano. At on April 7, 2018, Sullivan took part in a six-man ladder match for the NXT North American Championship, which was won by Adam Cole. On the May 16, 2018 episode of NXT, Sullivan interrupted a match between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream, attacking both; the following week, he defeated both men in a handicap match. Sullivan wrestled his final NXT match on June 16, 2018 at, unsuccessfully challenging NXT Champion Aleister Black; the loss marked his first televised pinfall defeat in NXT.
Main roster (2018–present)
In November 2018, vignettes began airing for Sullivan's main roster debut on both Raw and SmackDown. He was scheduled to appear on the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw but reportedly walked out due to an anxiety attack. Sullivan debuted on the main roster on the April 8, 2019, episode of Raw by attacking Kurt Angle, who had retired the previous night. Pushed as a monstrous heel by WWE, he went on to attack high-profile wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio and The Hardy Boyz. On April 16, he moved to the SmackDown brand during the Superstar Shake-up. He began feuding with the three members of Lucha House Party, defeating them via disqualification in a three-on-one handicap match at Super ShowDown on June 7, 2019. During a rematch with Lucha House Party on the June 10, 2019, episode of Raw, Sullivan sustained a severe knee injury with a predicted recovery time of six to nine months.
Personal life
In 2019, Miley was accused of running accounts on the Bodybuilding.com forum between 2007 and 2013 which Sports Illustrated described as having produced "a slew of racist, sexist, homophobic and otherwise offensive posts", some of them directed towards WWE employees. Paste wrote that the posts showed "a long history of repeated behavior" and additionally noted that some had insulted foreigners and people with mental disorders. In response to the accusations, Miley stated: "There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago. They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended." Miley was fined $100,000 by WWE and required to complete sensitivity training. On December 28 of that year it was revealed that Miley, years earlier, had performed in homo pornographic films as Mitch Bennett.
