Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 246th 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.
Jack of No Trades
Jack Claybourne was a top African American wrestler from the 1940’s to the 1950’s. He wrestled all over the world including Australia, Europe, Canada, Hawaii and all over the continental United States. Claybourne held several titles during a time when professional wrestling (among most everything else) was segregated. Claybourne was a former World Negro Heavyweight champion. By 1960, Claybourne’s career came to a halt, as a number of injuries sidelined him from competing.
Claybourne began to become depressed and started telling friends and family that he was thinking about committing suicide. On January 7th, 1960, Claybourne took a 12 gauge shotgun and placed it into his mouth and pulled the trigger. Jack Claybourne was only 49 years old.
Diamond in the Rough
In 2010, a luchador nicknamed ‘Black Diamond’ was arrested in Monterrey, Mexico. He was charged with the murder of a longtime female fan. Black Diamond and the fan apparently had an affair and when the relationship went sour, Black Diamond allegedly killed the woman. The Mexican wrestler’s fingerprints were found all over the crime scene and was eventually arrested. No word how this case ended up as of this writing.
Caribbean Calamity
While working for Carlos Colon’s World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico in 1995, wrestler/booker ‘Hot Stuff’ Eddie Gilbert was found dead in an apartment. The official cause of death was ruled a heart attack. Eddie was just 33 years old. According to his ex wife Missy Hyatt, after Eddie’s death, a slew of problems arose between Carlos Colon and Gilbert’s family.
Hyatt alleges that Colon withheld Eddie’s final paycheck and never sent it to his family. She also alleges that Colon and the World Wrestling Council were not cooperative in assisting the Gilbert family in retrieving Eddie’s body from Puerto Rico and helping him return to the States. Hyatt also claims that Colon was extremely heartless during the entire ordeal and immediately looked to hire a new booker for his promotion following Gilbert’s death.
Pat-y Animal
Former AWA, WWF, ECW and WCW wrestler Pat Tanaka was know to be a heavy partier during his prime years in pro wrestling. Tanaka would make around six thousand dollars a week during his WWF days. With that said, he reportedly spent over seven thousand dollars a week on drugs, booze and women.
It is rumored that Pat Tanaka’s drug problems were so bad at one point, that he would tape a baggie of cocaine to the inside of his tights during matches. This was apparently done, so as soon as the match ended, he could go right to back and snort a couple of lines. Thankfully, Tanaka has gotten himself clean in the last few years.
Owl Play
Chief White Owl was a wrestler who competed from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. He was one of the original members of the World Wide Wresting Federation roster when it started up. After he retired from professional wrestling, Chief White Owl developed dementia. He was eventually admitted to Lake Worth Manor Nursing Home in Florida.
After 60 days of being admitted to Lake Worth Manor, Chief White Owl’s dentures went missing, he was over medicated, developed severe bed sores, was dehydrated and lost the ability to walk or communicate in any way. The former pro wrestler was a victim of elder abuse. He was rushed to a local medical facility and died a month later at the age of 72. His family sued the home and were awarded two million dollars.