Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 11th installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. It focuses on the darker, seedier events that have taken place…whether inside the ring or behind the scenes. As with every one of these pieces, I do not condone nor do I condemn the alleged participants.
Kerry Von Erich’s Struggles
The Modern Day Warrior was no stranger to the law. He was once arrested for drug possession and put on 10 years probation. He was arrested again in 1993, for several counts of prescription forgery and possession of cocaine. It was this last arrest that put Kerry into a tailspin. With the thought of facing years in jail after violating his probation…Kerry committed suicide. He stole a 44-caliber Magnum handgun that he personally bought his father. He then drove deep in to the woods on his family’s ranch and shot himself in the chest. Kerry was only 33 years old.
Wahoo McDaniel Walks Into A Bar…
As the story goes…a group of wrestlers were at a bar with their girlfriends and wives. The group consisted of Wahoo McDaniel, Andre the Giant, Tommy Rich and Dick Slater. During the course of the night, another patron not affiliated with the wrestlers made an insult to Tommy Rich’s wife. A confrontation and then a fight ensued.
The brawl spilled out into the parking lot of the bar between Tommy Rich, Wahoo McDaniel and the man who made the insults. The bar patron pulled out a knife…that led Wahoo to brandish a gun. Dick Slater and Andre went into the lot to see what was happening. They witnessed Wahoo allegedly pistol whipping the man with the butt of his gun. In doing so, the gun accidently fired one round which hit Slater in the leg. When police arrived Dick told them that a sniper took a shot at him. No charges were ever filed.
Dick Murdoch and Ku Klux Klan
Whether in books or shoot interviews, several wrestlers have come out and accused the late Dick Murdoch of being a racist. Not only a racist, but a card carrying member of the KKK. (Ku Klux Klan) Wrestlers like Dusty Rhodes, Tito Santana and Rocky Johnson have come out accusing Murdoch of being racist. One such wrestler went as far as to say that Murdoch was extra stiff on black wrestlers inside the ring.
Rocky Johnson (Father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) made those accusations. According to Johnson, while in a match against Murdoch…Dick didn’t pull back on his kicks and punches. Rocky told Murdoch to start taking it easy or he would have to retaliate. Dick Murdoch continued wis assault on Johnson and as a result, the former boxer who sparred with the likes of George Foreman and Muhammad Ali..punched Murdoch knocking him out cold in the ring.
Dusty Rhodes, a friend and frequent tag team partner of Murdoch made a claim that Murdoch had once taken him to a Klan meeting without prior knowledge. Others have claimed that Rhodes was a member of the KKK along with Murdoch. None of that has been officially proven.
Playboy Buddy Rose
Former AWA world tag team champion and territorial wrestler…the late ‘Playboy’ Buddy Rose was arrested and jailed in 1999 for putting a knife to the throat of his ex wife threatening to kill her and then himself. Rose was charged with a felony and spent over 100 days in prison.
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin…What?
In the summer of 2002, Steve Austin was arrested for beating his then wife former WWE diva Debra Marshall. According to Debra, Austin pinned Debra to the ground with his knee and repeatedly punched the back of her head. Debra claimed it wasn’t the first time Austin had beat….claiming there were a total of three beatings. She attributed Austin’s violence to his abuse of steroids.
Austin plead no contest and received a fine of $1,000…..80 hours of community service and one year of probation. The two would finalize their divorce a year later.