Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Scott Peterson
Scott Peterson was trained for a career in pro wrestling by his uncle Daryl Peterson…better known as Maxx Payne in WCW and Man Mountain Rock in the WWF. Peterson made his debut in 1987 and was eventually paired with Steve Doll in the Pacific Northwest territory based in Portland, Oregon. The team of Peterson and Doll were called ‘The Southern Rockers.’
The team got its gimmick by trying to clone the success of the widely popular Rock N Roll Express in the Jim Crockett Jr territories. The Southern Rockers managed to win a total of seven Pacific Northwest tag team titles and were one of the most popular tag teams in that area.
The team would briefly split up and Peterson went on to capture the PNW heavyweight title. Despite all of their regional success, Peterson became frustrated with the wrestling business and retired to work in a mill. He would come out of retirement a couple of times to be reunited with Doll, but on July 25th, 1994…Scott Peterson was tragically killed when a car collided with his motorcycle. This incident is not to be confused with DJ Peterson another wrestler who met a similar fate. Steve Doll would partner with Rex King to form a new version of the Southern Rockers. That team ultimately ended up in the WWF as the tag team known as Well Dunn. Scott Peterson was only 31 years old at the time of his death.