Before he was tearing it up in Bullet Club or collecting tag team titles across the world, Doc Gallows was just another hopeful trying to break out in WWE’s developmental system. Back in the Deep South Wrestling days, Gallows went to extreme and bizarre lengths to stand out , and some of those choices led to unforgettable (and painful) consequences. Appearing on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, Gallows told a pair of wild tales from those early years, including one that ended with a live tarantula attack and an emergency room visit.

In a bid to get noticed as a “green” rookie, Gallows developed a character that involved using a real spider in his promos. “I went and I bought this big Mexican red leg tarantula at the pet store,” he said. “I got used to this spider, and I would talk in these different voices with the spider, and cut these promos.”

Wanting to go even further with the gimmick, Gallows made a bold choice during a promo class. “I get this idea I’m going to put him in my mouth,” he explained. “Open my mouth. He’ll crawl out, and I’ll cut the promo… I go, ‘This will get me called up. I think it’s fucking genius.’” Instead, the spider bit down hard on his tongue and unleashed irritating hairs into his throat. “All of a sudden I realized my fucking throat’s closed.” Still in full wrestling gear, Gallows had to rush himself to urgent care to deal with the allergic reaction.

That was not the only insane story from his time in Deep South Wrestling. Gallows also looked back on what he called the “Donut Day” incident. To avoid a grueling Friday training session, Matt Cardona (then known as Zack Ryder) volunteered to take a running stinkface from a naked wrestler while holding donuts in his mouth , and Gallows ended up being the volunteer for the nude role. “Somehow I, the spider-eating freaking Deacon, got volunteered to be the nude man,” Gallows said. “But you know, I figured it was better to be the guy given’ than the guy sitting in the corner with the donuts in his mouth.”

Armed with only a Texas Longhorns hat to maintain some modesty, Gallows went through with it. “Twenty times, bam, wham, wham, wham, every time they’re feeding him another donut, smash. We didn’t have to practice, though.”

Though those early characters never caught on, Gallows would eventually rise to prominence as Festus in WWE, a member of the Straight Edge Society, and later as one-half of The Good Brothers with Karl Anderson. Today, the team remains a force in the tag division and continues to work high-profile matches across the independent and international scenes.