Wrestling With Sin: 558

Brian Damage

This is the 558th 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.

Poof Go the Poffos

In March of 1976, while wrestling for the Gulf Coast territory, the Poffo brothers of Randy and Lanny feuded with the team of Lord Jonathan Foley and Sir Edward Heath. Their feud was so heated, that the four men legitimately hated one another. During a match in Mobile, Alabama, Randy Poffo snuck in a blackjack to use against Foley and Heath. The referee noticed the weapon of Randy and was able to grab it from him and call for a double disqualification in the match.

When the Poffos returned to the locker room, they were met by the booker Rip Tyler. Tyler shouted at the Poffos for ruining the match and Randy cursed out Tyler. That led to Rip slapping Randy repeatedly and throwing him to the floor. Randy’s manager and father Angelo Poffo saw this and went into his duffle bag to grab his pistol. Before Angelo could get his gun out, another wrestler named Eddie Sullivan grabbed his gun and pointed at the Poffos.

Rip Tyler fired the Poffo family on the spot and chased them out of the dressing room at gunpoint. Word got out about the incident in Mobile and the Poffos were blackballed from a few territories. With work drying up, a couple of years later, Angelo Poffo ended up creating an outlaw promotion based out of Kentucky called the ICW (International Championship Wrestling) to ensure his family always had work.

Fantasy Meets Reality

A former trainee of WWE Hall of Famer Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling (ROW) school was let go after an incident at a bar in December of 2022. Wrestler Raychell Rose claimed that she was being stalked by a fellow trainee named Shawn Reed for several months. Despite letting Reed know that she wasn’t interested in any of his advances, Reed continued to follow Raychell around. When she went to ROW management about her safety concerns, she was told that it would be handled and they would keep Booker T and wife Sharmell informed of the situation.

According to Raychell, the stalking never stopped and Reed continued to show up at the school and shows that Raychell was wrestling at. Raychell Rose continued to go back to ROW management and complain and was told that the police were informed and paperwork was being filed. Reed was told by ROW management to stay away from Raychell Rose when she was present at the school or wrestling at shows. Shawn Reed allegedly threatened to show up at the school and shoot it up, so Booker T hired armed security. In December of 2022, Raychell and several other ROW wrestlers went to a bar after a show, which had become a tradition.

Shawn Reed was spotted at the bar and Raychell confronted Reed to leave immediately. Reed allegedly refused and was confronted by a male wrestler who was allegedly hit with a glass mug by Reed. That set off a brawl in the bar where police were called and several ROW talents were arrested. Booker T was informed of the incident and fired Raychell Rose feeling she escalated the situation to what it became. Several ROW wrestlers quit the promotion in protest. As of 2024, Raychell claims she is still being stalked by Reed. She currently wrestles for several Texas independent promotions.

Gas-fighting

In January of 1962, Stan Stasiak, Buddy Rogers and Gorilla Monsoon were travelling to St. Louis, Missouri for a wrestling show, when they stopped at a gas station at four o’clock in the morning. The gas station owner allegedly told the wrestlers that his station was closed and that apparently set off both Rogers and Stasiak. According to the gas station owner, the two wrestlers verbally and then physically assaulted him…taking turns roughing him up before getting back into their car and taking off.

The owner immediately called state highway patrol and the wrestlers vehicle was eventually stopped and both Rogers and Stasiak were arrested were charged with peace disturbance and assault. Gorilla Monsoon was not arrested as he was reportedly asleep in the back of the car during the incident. Rogers and Stasiak were both released from jail on a $100 bond. The two wrestlers appeared in court and were fined $50 dollars plus court costs.

Love Hurts

Pantera Asesina Jr. aka Christopher Harris was a luchador who wrestled on the independent circuits in Mexico and El Paso, Texas. He was considered a rising star in the world of Lucha Libre. On January 27, 2025…Pantera Asesina Jr. had a heated argument with his girlfriend outside of his home in the city of Juarez, Mexico. After the argument concluded, Pantera Asesina Jr. pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head.

His family heard the gunshot and ran out onto the street where his body laid. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  the Wrestling Commission in Ciudad Juárez issued a brief statement of condolences to his family for the loss.
“The Wrestling Commission joins in the grief that overwhelms the Harris Family for the sensitive death of wrestler ‘Pantera Asesina’ Jr. which occurred yesterday in this city.”
Pantera Asesina Jr. was just 26 years old at the time of his death.

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