Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 271st 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.
Neid and Seek
In 1991, Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart had formed a tag team with Owen Hart called ‘The New Foundation.’ While the team was gaining traction within the WWF, it hit a roadblock in 1992. While at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York…it was announced to the roster that there was going to be a drug test conducted. Jim Neidhart made the decision to skip the random test and sneaked out of the arena.
The next night, The Anvil showed up for work and was immediately summoned to management’s office and was fired on the spot. As Neidhart was getting his belongings to leave, he spotted WWF road agent ‘Chief’ Jay Strongbow. Evidently, it was Strongbow who informed Vince McMahon that Neidhart had skipped the previous night’s drug test. Neidhart proceeded to grab a television monitor and hurled it at Strongbow.
Chief Jay was able to get out of the way of the flying monitor, but it did strike a member of the production team and broke their ankle. It was reported later by WWF that Jim Neidhart was let go from the company for “unprofessional conduct.”
All Aboard The Ho Train!
Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis was a very successful wrestler during his day. Lewis was averaging 25,000 dollars a year (Which is roughly about 200,000 dollars nowadays) On one occasion, Ed Lewis decided to rent a train in Los Angeles and take it from L.A. to New York City with stops in various cities for Lewis to work in. According to friend and NWA legend Lou Thesz, Lewis took roughly fifteen hookers with him for company on the long trip.
Thesz claimed that by the time Lewis’ train reached New York City, he was completely broke and the prostitutes had robbed him of every cent he had for the trip. Allegedly, Lewis actually had to have a family member wire him money so he could return home.
Things Done in Jess
Former MMA fighter and current wrestler with WWE’s NXT brand Jessamyn Duke…was another victim of a cell phone hack. Over thirty pictures of Jessamyn were leaked of her in various states of undress. Some more revealing than others. The FBI were contacted and an investigation into who hacked her phone and leaked the pictures was underway.
The Strife of Mike
Mike Marcello was an independent pro wrestler from Florida. He would occasionally work as a preliminary wrestler for WCW TV tapings when they were in town. When Marcello wasn’t wrestling, he was a convenience store manager. He had five children from different relationships. Sadly, Mike Marcello took his own life on August 13th, 2000. No other details were made available as to why he took his own life. Mike Marcello was just 33 years old.