Wrestling With Sin: 549

Brian Damage

This is the 549th 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.

Getting Cocky

Dr. Jerry Graham was once a big box office attraction for Vince McMahon Sr in the WWWF. He was also Vince Jr’s favorite wrestler. So much so, he tried to emulate his hero by dying his hair blonde and wearing the same type of outfits Graham wore. All of that combined made Vince Sr have a soft spot for the wrestler who battled both alcoholism and mental illness. Dr Jerry Graham was arrested numerous times during his wrestling career, with perhaps his most infamous arrest involving his dead mother.

Despite all of the baggage, headaches and legal troubles that Vince Sr. endure while employing Graham, he continued to keep the wrestler employed giving him chance after chance. Vince Sr. finally cracked and fired Graham after an incident on a flight where Graham became intoxicated and broke into the cockpit. Graham allegedly defecated inside the cockpit and harassed the pilots to the point where an emergency landing was made.

Once the plane landed, Graham was arrested by Federal authorities. The incident made headlines and Vince Sr. felt that Graham had become too much of a liability to his promotion and severed ties with Graham once and for all.

Boom Goes the Dynamite

Britt Baker was suspended by All Elite Wrestling in the late Summer of 2024. The reasoning for the suspension was a confrontation that took place backstage at AEW’s 250th episode of Dynamite. The situation allegedly developed during the hour long match between MJF and Will Ospreay. Baker supposedly began complaining about the two wrestlers eating up too much TV time, etc. MJF’s girlfriend Alicia Atout was in the room when Baker made the alleged disparaging comments and started texting MJF what was being said.

The text message got back to Ospreay, who confronted Baker first about the comments. Baker then called Atout ‘A stupid f-ing bitch’ for violating locker room protocol and going back and telling MJF. The situation continued to escalate, when MJF approached Baker about her comments by entering the women’s locker room. Initial reports said that he simply barged in, but was later amended to state that MJF knocked on the door first. Baker and MJF had a verbal spat and when MJF walked away, he punched a wall in disgust.

AEW’s disciplinary committee reviewed the incident and determined that Britt Baker was the instigator and was suspended for approximately ‘one to two weeks’ for her actions. MJF, Alicia Atout and Will Ospreay were not disciplined at all in the situation. After the incident went public, anonymous sources claimed that this wasn’t an isolated incident with Baker. She allegedly had run ins with other women on the roster including Mariah May, who she felt was using maneuvers that Baker used in matches. None of those incidents got physical in any way and were supposedly “swept under a rug.”

Don’t Sheik Out!

After wrestling a match against Sting at WCW’s pay per view Wrestle War in May of 1989, the Iron Sheik ran into a bit of trouble at the airport in Nashville, Tennessee. Airport security requested that they look in his luggage. When the Iron Sheik refused, an argument broke out in the middle of the airport between Sheik and security. Police were called to the scene, but no arrests were made.

When word got back to WCW management, the Iron Sheik was fired from the company. The Iron Sheik vowed to fight against his termination and hired a lawyer to sue the company. After WCW’s legal team looked at the case, they recommended that WCW rehire the Iron Sheik in July of that same year. WCW bookers were allegedly told by management to “job” the Iron Sheik for the remainder of his contract. Incidentally, because the Iron Sheik was infrequently used after the incident, the company forgot to terminate Sheik after his contract expired and it rolled over for another year.

Khan Job

In October of 2020, former pro wrestler turned restauranteur…Masashi Ozawa better known to wrestling fans as ‘Killer Khan’ was involved in a hit and run incident in Japan. Ozawa struck a bicyclist in the town of Shinjuku and then fled the scene before police could arrive. The 20 year old woman who was struck suffered a number of non life threatening injuries. Police were able to track Ozawa down by reviewing security camera footage in that area.

When police arrived at a restaurant owned by Ozawa, he confessed to being the driver in the incident. He stated…“I know that I struck the woman, but I had to go to my nearby restaurant,” Ozawa told police at the time. “I am sorry for injuring her.” In July of 2021, prosecutors decided not to prosecute the then 74 year old Ozawa in the case. No reasons were ever given why they decided to drop the charges against him. Masashi Ozawa would pass away two years later at the age of 76.

You can read all previous ‘Wrestling with Sin’ pieces here.