Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Johnny “K-9″ Croitoru was a former pro wrestler, an actor and biker who led a rather wild life filled with sex, drugs and crime. His story was featured on the Dark Side of the Ring entitled ‘Bikers, Bombs & Bedlam.’ Despite his crazy life outside of the wrestling ring, Croitoru was also a husband and a father. Johnny “K-9” Croitoru passed away in 2017 at the age of 53 at a halfway house due to natural causes. Today on the blog, we chat with his ex wife Tracy, who lived through all the ups and downs. Her life was just as wild and crazy as his…albeit in a different way.
First, a brief rundown of the wrestling career of Canadian Johnny Croitoru lasted over 14 years. He competed in promotions like Stampede Wrestling, New Japan, Smoky Mountain and the WWF under various ring names like Taras Bulba, Bruiser Bedlam, The Terrible Turk and Johnny K-9. He once wrestled WWF champion Hulk Hogan in Canada and became a local hero and celebrity because of it. Croitoru also promoted a few independent shows in Canada.
Outside of the squared circle, Croitoru was a member of a biker gang that were involved in assaults, arson, drug trafficking and murder. Johnny was arrested numerous times for a variety of charges one of which was the suspicion of murdering a lawyer and her husband. The charges were eventually dropped in that case due to a lack of evidence. Johnny was married to Tracy for nearly 30 years and had two children together.
Ring the Damn Bell: First off how did you and your husband meet?
Tracy K: I was a stripper. Featuring in Hamilton Ontario. I first saw him in Calgary at a bar called Peepers North back in the 80s. But I was with another guy at the time and he was sleeping with my girlfriend from Vancouver so we never really knew each other at that time but I remembered his face. I took my Rollerblade show called Babes on Blades across Canada in 1993 He came into the bar with his entourage one afternoon when I worked at a club in Burlington Ontario, called Solid Gold. He had heard about me. “Some Tracy girl from Vancouver is doing this show bro, you gotta see her.” So they all walked in. The entire jam-packed showroom stopped in their tracks, and I watched it all unfold center stage while I performed my show.
He couldn’t stop staring at me. So after my show, I headed back to the dressing room put on a cute little dress and I went up to his table. I had previously met a few of his friends and They kept saying Johnny… You gotta meet this girl from Vancouver. So once I came to his table, he was stunned. He had some other stripper from Montreal sitting on his lap, and he immediately bounced her off. She got annoyed. With wide eyes, he tells me to “turn around so I can see that ass.” I laughed and did a sweet slow spin. I sat down in the LOUD bar, leaned in face to face practically screaming over the music.
I asked him if he was hungry. He excitingly says “yeah I could eat.” And out the door we went! I wasn’t shy and he instantly fell in love. I later learned that as of that afternoon, he knew I was his new girlfriend and he was mentally plotting ways to get rid of his live in sponge of a wanna be wife. She used him, and he wanted out. The boyfriend- thieving, hyper-sexual slutty stripper was in town; she didn’t stand a fucking chance.
RTDB: So how did he get rid of his other girlfriend and what happened between the two of you after that?
Tracy K: Well, after I got intimate with him, I gave him an ultimatum. She moves out or I go back to Vancouver. For me it was simple. He chose me, but he still saw her from time to time to give her money because she went from having money to struggling on welfare. He asked her to move out. It was a three year shit show. Finally, she got into her new apartment and tried to move on with her life.
He eventually moved to Vancouver on the West Coast. To be with me and our son. I’m from Vancouver, so he finally left Hamilton, Ontario to move to the west coast with me in 2003. We were together twenty six years.
RTDB: For those that don’t know much about your husband, can you tell a bit about him and his life in and out of the ring?
Tracy K: Johnny was a big strong guy built like a brick shit house and was very intimidating. He only had one tattoo of an eagle on his left shoulder when I met him. 6 Foot, shaved round head, handle bar stache but around me friends and family, he always had a huge smile, smirk, or some sort of mischievous grin. Everyone always stopped what they were doing when he entered a room. That alone, was very powerful. But he was so funny, always joking inappropriately about everything. But if you were an elderly lady or a single mom needing help, he would buy your groceries, open a door, get you a taxi if you needed to get home, slap a girl’s abusive boyfriend around in front of her while he was screaming scared shitless, or punch someone out for you he would do that for you in a heartbeat.
But he was a cheat and a liar. He would try to feed me bullshit stories straight to my face when I knew the truth and would call him on his shit. He would laugh out loud when he was guilty, dead giveaway lol stone cold liar. Yup. That was Johnny. He would lie about the women and also when making his paper (money). Huge Liar. For myself, that was more of a problem than the ladies believe me.
RTDB: Usually being the wife of a professional wrestler can be extremely difficult, how was it for you?
Tracy K: Hell. I don’t know why I stayed. It was difficult. But it was exciting too. It was very messy.
RTDB: What happened can you share?
Tracy K: I left because of all the drug money, police surveillance, prison time and pussy. I had left him several times, but his empty promises of change became exhausting. Then he died in a government halfway house while sleeping in his bed. God did for me what I could not do for myself and today seven years down the road….I’m a way happier woman.
RTDB: Let’s dive a little into what your ex husband was doing besides being a pro wrestler. Can you expound on it for readers who may not know?
Tracy K: He was a drug dealer. He sold used cars. He wrestled a bit and when he left the house he usually brought steroids to sell or weed. But his wrestling life was completely different when he stepped out of the ring. He had his gym when I met him but he lost that and got deeper into his criminal activities. He also bought and sold homes by flipping them for profit. He had his security company in Vancouver as well along with his acting and stunt work in the movie industry. So he always had legitimate income coming in while still dipping his toes in crime. He couldn’t resist the lure of the green. As Johnny would often say, “Tray, Cash is King,” you know that,” while he now held his tummy laughing out loud, eyes closed, head tilted back like he was reveling in all the cash. Johnny loved money more than a hooker on a Friday night. He would do anything to get that paper. If he hadn’t died of natural causes, the hitmen would have eventually got to him.
RTDB: At any point, was he ever physically abusive to you?
Tracy K: No Johnny never hit me. Until one day I lost over 200k of his money. That is all I am going to say. He was going to do a lot more than hit me haha Get my book and read what happened to me. My story Johnny K9 describes in detail what happened. haha He never hit women. I heard that when he was with his ex-girlfriend that when He was high on drugs in his 20s he did some crazy shit to her. (again, it’s in my second book) But no, he protected women unless they stole from him. He was a complex character.
RTDB: You mentioned him cheating on you…did you ever confront him about it or were you too fearful of him?
Tracy K: Okay, so the answer is a big fat YES! He cheated and so did I. But I sent mixed messages to him. I guess. I was so drunk back then that I would bring girls home for threesomes all the time so I gave him the impression that it was okay. It was a very toxic relationship. The drugs, the booze, the money, wiretaps, weapons, snitches, cops, fake friends, my family, his family, my whore mother. It was a crazy fucking time. I confronted him about many ladies and he would just deny deny deny. I would set him up so he would get caught though. haha
RTDB: How did you cope with all that he was doing to you?
Tracy K: Yes, I feared him I guess. But to deal with that I told myself. Scream in the face of fear!! So I would just yell in his face to overpower him, jump on kitchen or bar counters, and hoods of vehicles and smash his truck windshield to get my message across. I acted like I wasn’t scared but I was. How could you NOT be? He would just laugh at me and later say, “Tray, nobody talks to me the way you do” LOL I would drink a lot and get high knowing full-well my phones were tapped and so was my vehicle at all times. I definitely strayed. I have 3 kids and only 2 are his. Its all in the book.
I left Ontario 4 times to run away from him. I would pack up my purse and just walk out the door in Hamilton Ontario and say I was going to the store. I would drive straight to the west coast. haha, Buh Bye! He would flip out and it was so funny to me. I would just call him from Sudbury in some hotel room. He would beg me to come back. But I wouldn’t. Once I got on the road to British Columbia, there was NO stopping me. However, I always went back a month or so later.
RTDB: Your life with Johnny was extremely tumultuous to say the least. How did you finally break free of him? Was it when he died or before that? What was your reaction to his sudden death?
Tracy K: I took my vows very seriously. I married him twice…once in 1997 and divorced him in 2001, remarried him in 2007. I divorced him when he went to prison on the Sudbury police station bombing. I was living in Langley, British Columbia when he got released from Mountain Institution in Agassi into a halfway house, but the only one that would take him was in Toronto. He was finishing his last 6 months in the halfway house in Ontario. They were going to release him back to me in British Columbia, but he died 3 weeks before his release date laying in his room at 9:00 a.m. He was found after he didn’t show up at the gym. He died in his sleep of a blocked artery to the heart and ended up dying of natural causes where hit men clearly failed.
RTDB: You wrote a book about your life with him, did it help you cope with what you experienced? Was depression a factor in your own life? Was suicide ever on the table for you?
Tracy K: I am not suicidal. I could never do that. Writing my two part memoir series has been rewarding, gratifying and healing. I have come a long way and today I look back with much regret. I could (should) have, done so much more with my life. I wanted to be on the radio (journalism) Instead I am a sober (mom) recovering alcoholic/drug addict, writing books and doing stand-up comedy. I will probably die a widow, but today I have a freedom that is so comforting to me. My newfound freedom is like I am now standing tall, free to hold my head up with pride. I am no longer subservient to anyone and am now leading a life of my own choosing. A one-woman show, following her dreams, and helping others along the way. It’s the opposite of, the mere shell of the woman I once was, the life I led where I was metaphorically all hunched down ‘on my knees’ bowing down to my king. That young lady is dead. I am free. I am sober. And I am also grateful to still be alive to talk about it. LOL If you buy my book, you’re most likely going to want to read book two which I am currently writing. I’m revealing one of the biggest secrets in book 2. My readers will be blown away!
RTDB: What is the title of the upcoming second book?
Tracy K: It is called ‘Stripped Away.’
RTDB: Thank you for all of this Tracy. I truly appreciate your valuable time. I look forward to purchasing your books and I will highly recommend others to do the same. You have such an incredible life story.
Tracy K: I’ve come a long way Brian…huge changes in my life have taken place. I am far removed from who I was years ago it’s fun writing about it though.
To purchase Tracy’s book, please go find it at the following link…
Johnny K-9: My life with the pro wrestler turned serious gangster
