Wrestling With Sin: 562

Brian Damage

This is the 562nd 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.

Home on the Grainger

A former Welsh professional wrestler named ‘Mark Grainger,’ was arrested and charged with several counts of indecent assault on two young boys dating back to 1977. At the time, Grainger was a 26 year old professional wrestler, judo instructor and child home care worker who took advantage of two 14 year old boys while working at a home for wayward youngsters. Within two weeks of the boys entering the home, Grainger (Real name Gary Cooke) took the boys individually to places like the movies, bought them alcohol and gave them attention. After building a trust with the young teens, he would drive them to a remote area and took advantage of them sexually.

Afterwards, Grainger would threaten the boys with jail, bribery and physical harm if they went and reported him. The sexual assaults continued for years after. The two individuals eventually came forward and reported Grainger and after a lengthy investigation, was arrested and charged with a number of crimes. In 2015, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The lead investigator in the case stated…“Gary Cooke used his position of trust and power to control and sexually abuse vulnerable young boys. He emotionally manipulated them and completely eroded their confidence.”

In 2020, Gary Cooke was charged with several more counts of indecent assault against a number of other victims, to which he pled guilty. He was sentenced to an additional 4 years of jail time. Cooke was a part of a larger pedophile ring in Wales that included a radio DJ, a bus driver, a cabaret singer and a former police officer.

Going AWOL

Corporal Kirchner recalled his lifestyle while working for the WWF in the 1980’s. He said that the drug scene inside the company was rampant and he was right in the thick of it. He said he did cocaine to keep up with the WWF’s rigorous schedule and then took sleeping pills to be able to sleep. Kirchner also admitted to using steroids to keep his body in shape and to recover quickly from injuries.
After being left off the Wrestlemania 3 card, Kirchner felt disrespected, but saw the writing on the wall that his time with the company was coming to a close. He would be booked to do a number of jobs, so he doubled down on his drug use to cope with his being demoted in the company. While on tour in Canada, Vince McMahon decided to do a surprise drug test, to which Kirchner failed and was suspended for six weeks.

During his time away from the WWF, his wife caught him having an affair and filed for a divorce. With all of the outside distractions coming to a head, Kirchner made the decision to quit the promotion. Once his suspension was lifted and was told to come back…Kirchner said he told the office to Fuck off and quit.

Michael PisS Hayes

John Layfield recalled early in his wrestling career wrestling in Texas. He was traveling with both Tom Prichard and Dutch Mantell. Layfield said that Mantell was driving and pulled into the hotel parking lot where they were staying for the evening. After Mantell parked and shut the car off, Michael Hayes ran up to the driver’s side window frantically banging on the glass. Thinking there was an emergency, Mantell rolled down his window to ask Hayes what was wrong.

Instead of answering Mantell, Hayes unzipped his jeans and began urinating inside Mantell’s car hitting both Dutch and Prichard. Layfield said that Mantell was frantically trying to get his key into the ignition to speed off, but by the time he found his key, the damage was done by Hayes and he laughed and walked away.

Kana Asuka You Something?

In January of 2025, WWE and international wrestling star Asuka revealed that someone has been stalking her. She went online to reveal the news and ask for privacy. In some posts she said, I absolutely reject any romantic or personal approaches toward me. There is absolutely no possibility for others to interfere in my private life. She continued…Please don’t have romantic feelings for me. It’s meaningless—100% pointless.
I’ve been feeling in danger recently. I’ve already consulted the police. At this rate, even if fans approach me at the airport or in the city, I will feel the possibility that something might happen, and it will scare me, making me unable to respond.

A couple of days later, she stated that WWE and TKO have been informed and are taking action to protect her. This situation came as Asuka had been recovering from a knee injury. No word who the person or persons are that have harassed Asuka while she was sidelined.

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