Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 436th 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.
Hazzard Pay
Former World Class Championship Wrestling wrestler/referee Rick Hazzard was on a tour of Japan with several other WCCW talents including Kevin Von Erich. One night, Kevin and Rick got very drunk on sake and had to use a restroom. With no place available in the area, Kevin, Rick and a couple other wrestlers decided to urinate on the side of a building. While they were all doing their business, members of the Yakuza spotted them.
The Yakuza felt greatly disrespected by the wrestlers actions and sent a couple of men to follow the wrestlers back to their hotel. The Yakuza broke into Rick Hazzard’s room and assaulted him. They stabbed Hazzard seventeen times including slashed to the bridge of his nose and two slashes above his eyes. Luckily for Hazzard, the Yakuza missed hitting any arteries and Hazzard was able to survive the attack. New Japan immediately sent Hazzard and his contingent back home to Texas to avoid any other incidents.
When Hazzard returned to the office of Fritz Von Erich, he was scolded and nearly fired. Fritz didn’t feel sympathy for his employee nearly being murdered, instead blamed him for putting his son Kevin in harm’s way.
Identity Crisis
Akira Hokuto wrestled for Mexico’s CMLL, where she was the women’s champion for over two years under the masked identity of ‘Reina Jubuki.’ CMLL agreed to allow Hokuto to compete in WCW’s tournament to crown their first ever women’s champion. Hokuto wrestled under the Reina Jubuki gimmick and lost in the first round to Madusa. She then wrestled a second time unmasked as herself…eventually winning the tourney and being crowned WCW women’s champion.
CMLL officials were livid that Hokuto willingly unmasked herself for the tournament. She was immediately stripped of the CMLL women’s title and not welcomed back to the promotion. As it turned out, WCW was never really serious about having a women’s division and the title was eventually rendered defunct. Akira Hokuto returned to wrestling in Japan.
Three’s A Crowd
Wrestler Jake Atlas was arrested in May of 2022 on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery against his boyfriend at the time. According to reports, Atlas and his boyfriend invited a woman to have a threesome. Atlas allegedly became jealous when his boyfriend was “paying too much attention” to the female and not him. That is when Atlas was accused of assaulting the boyfriend several times leaving scratches and tearing his shirt.
The police were called to the residence, where Atlas continued to berate his boyfriend to police by saying…“I can understand why he called the cops, he probably feels insecure or that I’m going to attack him, but I’m not. You can believe me or you can’t believe me. I am an international trained superstar. I have worked across the country, across the world, with my name. He’s a nobody, the guy who called the cops on me. He’s a bitch.” Atlas continued… “Let’s just assume that the bitch ass f–king pussy called the cops. It doesn’t matter what happened. I don’t want to be with him anymore. I live here. I pay rent here. If he’s scared, he’s 6’5, he’s f–king scared that I’m going to do something. He’s 6’5 and f–king jacked as f–k. I won’t touch him. I’ve had the best sex of my life, ever, that isn’t him. I won’t bother him. There’s nothing to explain, other than he’s a terrible boyfriend. He’s terrible at sex.”
It was reported that the 6’5 boyfriend in question was NXT wrestler Duke Hudson. The incident caused Jake Atlas to lose his newly signed contract with All Elite Wrestling. The charge was eventually dropped and Atlas issued a statement where he cited his deteriorating mental health and using alcohol to self medicate himself. The statement is as follows…
“I want to thank those of you who will take the time to read this statement.
I’m issuing a formal apology for my wrongdoing and any hurt, disappointment and complication I may have caused to my colleagues and fans.
As incredibly difficult it is for me to publicly disclose very personal and private information, it is imperative that I admit to my alcohol abuse and provide transparency about my deteriorating mental health. I have accepted that my anxiety and depression led me to detrimentally self-medicate for the last 7 years. In addition, a lot of unresolved trauma resurfaced for me recently that was fundamental to the development of some extremely negative core beliefs and I was inadequately able to manage.
An incident occurred a couple of months ago that I am 100% not proud of; I take complete responsibility and accountability for the situation and my actions. I recognize that the state of being intoxicated does not excuse my behavior. I made a terrible mistake. I hurt people I love and it’s something I deeply regret.
The only clarity I wish to provide specifically about what circulated online is this: the relationship is not abusive in any way, shape, or form and this event is certainly not a reflection of my character. One can read a report and choose to take the information for what it is, but to speculate, draw conclusions, and create a narrative that has no merit only adds further damage to those involved. This was a situation that was already being, and continues to be dealt with privately, so it is with great humility that I ask the respect of that privacy going forward.
I would like to share that I have successfully completed an intensive outpatient program at LiveWell Behavioral Health in Florida. I self admitted with a dual diagnosis in substance abuse and mental health. The treatment consisted of 10 hours of group and individualized therapy every week for 5 weeks. The next step in the program is to attend 1 group session a week for 3 weeks and continue individual outpatient therapy thereafter. My time there has been nothing short of extraordinary and life changing – a phenomenal first step in my recovery.
I am human and that makes me flawed. I believe in second chances, I believe in redemption, and in turn, I believe in personal growth. I express my gratitude to those who have reached out to me. I have made exceptional progress and I am excited for my future. I have full faith for a positive outcome from this journey as I continue my sobriety and the process of healing with the support of my friends, my family, and my partner. ‘Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.’ -Rumi”
1-200-Pee Kid
Sean Waltman recalled the evening of the Royal Rumble in 1995. At the time, Waltman was wrestling under the moniker of the 123 Kid. The night before the event, Waltman said he smoked a few joints and knew that the WWF wanted to give him a drug test before the start of the show. Knowing Waltman was on to the company wanting to test him, former WWF referee and agent Dave Hebner tried to trick Waltman into coming to the arena early to go over creative ideas.
Once there, Waltman met with the WWF doctor and refused to pee in the test cup. The doctor offered to urinate for him, if Waltman was willing to pay $200. Waltman agreed to the amount and the doctor peed in the cup…ultimately passing the drug test. Waltman also said that several other wrestlers were offered the same deal and that the doctor made a fortune that night.