Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 521st installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involve such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series, I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
A Tiger’s Tale
Satoru Sayama aka the original ‘Tiger Mask’ had become a very big star while wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling in the early 1980’s. His lightning quick speed and awe inspiring high flying style became a favorite with New Japan fans. So much so, Tiger Mask was considered one, if not the most popular stars of the promotion. That popularity, eventually led to professional jealousy between Sayama and New Japan’s owner and top wrestler Antonio Inoki.
Inoki was rumored to have a great resentment towards Sayama and his popularity, as it rivaled and in many cases surpassed his own within the company. Tensions between the two stars reached a boiling point and differences in philosophies led Satoru Sayama to quit New Japan in the late Summer of 1983. Sayama would later go public and explain why he walked away from the company while at the very top of his game. He accused Inoki and other top NJPW officials of being corrupt and misusing funds. Sayama believed that Inoki was working with the Japanese mob (Yakuza) and his interests were not with seeing the company be successful, but rather line his own pockets with dirty money.
Sayama would retire from wrestling, only to return and compete in several other promotions including the UWF and Inoki’s top rival All Japan Pro Wrestling. Sayama would eventually return to New Japan several years later and actually faced Inoki in a tag team match.
Stand Back!
When Vince McMahon Jr was breaking into the wrestling business working for his father Vince Sr, the elder McMahon assigned manager and confidant Ernie ‘The Grand Wizard’ Roth to accompany Vince Jr everywhere he went to teach him the ins and outs of the business and “smarten him up.” In the beginning, many of the wrestlers looked down on Vince Jr, as they felt it was another classic example of nepotism. The wrestlers would often abuse Vince Jr calling him names and playing mean ribs on him. Despite that, Vince Jr was enamored with the wrestlers and wanted to be treated just like one of the boys and be accepted by all of them. It was Roth who helped guide McMahon through the tough times early on and tried to teach Vince Jr that he wasn’t a friend to the wrestlers, but needed to act more like their boss.
George ‘the Animal’ Steele recalled the moment things turned around between Vince and the wrestlers. The wrestlers (both heels and babyfaces) were gathered in a hotel room drinking and playing cards. A member of the hotel staff entered the room, saw this and began calling wrestling fixed. That is when Vince Jr punched the man, grabbed him and was about to toss him off a second floor balcony onto some parked cars below. If it weren’t for Ken Patera holding back Vince from doing it…things might very well be different today. Regardless, Steele said that is when Vince Jr earned the respect of the locker room and was accepted as one of their own.
The Old Switcha-wooo!
In March of 1996, ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was charged with allowing an underage female to get behind the wheel of his car and drive a drunken Flair while being drunk herself. The underaged female named Collette Eileen McCune …who was 20 years old at the time of the incident (21 was the legal age for drinking alcohol in the state of North Carolina) was pulled over by police.
McCune registered a blood alcohol level of 0.15, compared to the legal limit of 0.08. Flair had his driver’s license suspended and paid a fine in the case.
Nyx the Idea
Independent wrestler Ariela Nyx revealed that back in August of 2013, her and a friend flew to Los Angeles to attend SummerSlam. Nyx said that at the time, she was not in the business…just a huge wrestling fan. She stated that her and her friend went to the hotel that the WWE wrestlers were staying at and met some of them at the hotel bar. One of those wrestlers (which she did not name) was drunk and continuously made passes at her. While flattered, she realized that this wrestler was married and wanted no part of having a one night fling with him. She said she politely turned him down, but the wrestler in question was very persistent.
After things cooled down, Nyx and her friend asked that wrestler to take a picture with them and he agreed. That is when the unnamed wrestler began groping Nyx and her friend and then allegedly grabbed both of them and dragged them into a nearby elevator. Nyx claimed that this wrestler threw her against the elevator wall and began forcibly kissing her. Once they reached his floor, the wrestler allegedly begged for them to come to his room and stay for just a few minutes. Both ladies turned him down and left the elevator, only to have the wrestler grab and pull down Nyx’s shirt.
Nyx never revealed the wrestler’s name, because she insists that while a scary situation for her and her friend, she did not want to be responsible for ruining his marriage and career. Nyx did say that this wrestler was no longer employed with WWE and is currently (as of 2020) on the AEW roster.