Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 366th 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.
Relation-ship Problems
WWE’s former Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano was accused of several misdeeds during his time as a company executive. Carrano was pointed out as the person responsible for sending wrestler Mickie James’ belongings back to her in a plain garbage bag after her release. Other female talent like Maria Kanellis and Gail Kim said they received the same treatment from Carrano in the past.
Former referee Marty Elias claimed that Carrano targeted him after Elias said that one day he aspired to get a position similar to Carrano’s with WWE one day. Elias said that Carrano slandered the referee as someone who was making unwanted passes at female talent and dealing drugs to wrestlers. Elias said that Carrano got him fired and blackballed from ever working again in WWE.
A former ex girlfriend of Carrano’s named Deborah, accused him of stealing authentic WWE championship belts from the company. She tweeted WWE and Triple H this…“Hey @WWE Mark Carrano stores belts that he stole from WWE under the bed in the guest bedroom at his West Haven home. Deborah also accused Carrano of mental abuse by threatening to kill her cat and trying to be controlling of her. It should be noted that Carrano’s ex was also involved in another WWE scandal. She was allegedly the former mistress of Billy Gunn as covered here. Mark Carrano was fired from WWE in April of 2021.
Puerto Rico or Bust
While on a tour of Puerto Rico and the World Wrestling Council, The Junkyard Dog went to the office of WWC booker Jose Gonzalez to get his pay. After receiving his money, JYD noticed it was a little less than initially agreed upon. When he asked Gonzalez why he was shorted money, Gonzalez said Puerto Rican taxes was the reason. Not satisfied with that excuse, JYD demanded the rest of the money he was promised.
Not only did Gonzalez refuse, he allegedly told the Junkyard Dog to just deal with it. In response, JYD threatened to quit the tour and return home early. Gonzalez supposedly responded by saying that if he left early, Gonzalez would make sure that a kilo of cocaine would somehow end up in his luggage and be put in jail. JYD apologized and returned to his hotel.
In the early morning hours the next day, JYD checked out of his hotel room and secretly chartered a flight off the island. He never completed his tour and never competed in Puerto Rico again.
A Day Late…El Dollar Short
Mexican wrestler/promoter Juan Carlos Villarreal aka ‘El Dollar’ was arrested in January of 2021 on charges of drug trafficking. He was approached by police in Mexico City and attempted to flee the scene. He was caught and was discovered to have been carrying over 102 capsules of cocaine, a loaded fire arm with three extra cartridges and 400 pesos. El Dollar was a luchador who began his career in 1994. He was also a promoter for the independent promotion XMW.
El Dollar was arrested previously a few years ago in a drug raid, but was ultimately released. It is believed that he is a member of a drug cartel called La Unión Tepito. The luchador said he had fallen on hard financial times before his recent arrest citing the pandemic prevented him from wrestling and promoting. He was selling Lucha masks and candy to make money.
Brothers in Arms
In January of 1911, pro wrestler Giuseppe Terissi defeated his opponent Antonio Vellella in a match near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the match ended, Antonio’s brother Samuel shot and killed Terissi in anger. Samuel Vellella fled the scene. His brother Antonio was arrested and held in jail while the police searched for Samuel. He was eventually caught and arrested. Giuseppe Terissi was just 28 years old at the time of his death.