Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 504th 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 Crack in the System
WWE wrestler/manager MVP recalled starting out his career on the Florida independents. MVP always had a burning desire to wrestle overseas in Japan and made it known tat was one of his prime objectives. Veteran wrestler Pat Tanaka offered his help to MVP to get him to wrestle in Japan. According to MVP, Tanaka asked MVP to wire him 300 dollars to obtain a Japanese wrestling license.
Tanaka promised MVP that after paying for a license, MVP would be in line for so many perks. MVP was suspicious and called one of his mentors Steve Keirn for guidance. As MVP was explaining the offer to purchase a Japanese wrestling license, before even mentioning his name…Keirn replied…”You’ve been talking to Pat Tanaka haven’t you?” Apparently, it was a long running scheme Tanaka used to prey on young, naive talent wanting to compete in Japan. Keirn said that Tanaka scammed plenty of wrestlers out of money to but crack cocaine.
Thankfully for MVP, he didn’t get suckered into sending Tanaka any money. MVP did eventually fulfill a career dream and wrestled in Japan in 2011…without help.
Livin the High Life
WWE star Liv Morgan has been acting as an ambassador for the company appearing at movie premiers and other various events while she has been recuperating from an injury. On December 14, 2023…a sheriff’s deputy noticed the vehicle Liv Morgan was driving cross over a double line on a Florida county road. After the deputy pulled Morgan over, he smelled the scent of marijuana in her car. After a search of the vehicle, discovered marijuana and a vape pen containing an oil-like substance.
The oil tested positive for marijuana. She was arrested and charged with marijuana possession not more than 20 grams and possession of a synthetic cannabinoid. She was released from custody after she posted a $3,000 bond. WWE reportedly will not punish Liv Morgan for the incident. The charges were ultimately dropped.
Judge, Jury and an Executioner
Jim Asbell began his pro wrestling career in 1908 and wrestled under different aliases including ‘Ott Briley’ and ‘Jack O’Neal’ Asbell was most notable for being one of the great Frank Gotch’s trainers, who helped Gotch prepare for his match against rival Georg Hackenschmidt in 1911. Asbell remained an active wrestler himself for over 16 years.
In October of 1924, Asbell was in court answering to the charges of harassing a waitress at an eatery in Arkansas. While he took the stand, the waitresses husband named Rufe Adair stood up out of his seat and fired his revolver hitting Asbell in the chest multiple times, killing him instantly. Adair was arrested and charged with first degree murder. No other details were made available about this case. Jim Asbell was just 43 years old at the time of his murder.
Drive Bye
Retired 25 year veteran wrestler Kintaro Kanemura was arrested on October 14, 2023 in Chiba, Japan. Kanemura was accused of a hit and run accident. According to Japanese news outlets, Kanemura hit a woman with his car while she was riding her bicycle. Instead of stopping, Kanemura sped off and just minutes later, rear ended a car stopped at a traffic light. Kanemura again tried to flee, but was stopped by good Samaritans until police arrived.
Once questioned, Kanemura admitted to hitting both the female bicyclist and the other car and was subsequently arrested. Thankfully, all those hit by Kanemura only suffered minor injuries. The vehicle Kanemura was driving actually belonged to a wrestler named Yuji Hino who competes for DDT Pro. Kanemura borrowed the car in question the day before. Hino responded to Kintaro Kanemura’s arrest by saying he was sorry for the victims and would not defend the actions of Kanemura. No word from the media if Kanemura was intoxicated at the time of the accidents.