Wrestling With Sin: 227

Brian Damage

This is the 227th 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.

Have Some Coke and a Smile

During the 1980’s, Florida was a successful wrestling territory. It was also during a time when the drug cocaine was becoming extremely popular. There was a time in Miami where they were holding a show and the Miami police came and paid a visit. The cops were informed that a well know drug dealer in he area was at the arena and many of the wrestlers that were booked that night had cocaine on them.

Kevin Sullivan who was booking the show that night, knew that guys like Jake Roberts, Junkyard Dog and others were users and tried to play it cool that he had no knowledge of anything going on. The cops weren’t convinced and told Sullivan to bring them to where the wrestlers were hanging out. Sullivan tried to ensure the police that nothing out of the ordinary was going on, but that didn’t convince the police. The cops ordered Sullivan to take them to the wrestlers or they would go find them themselves and start searching the wrestlers bags.

Sullivan started to walk them down the hall when they came to a bathroom…the cops told Sullivan to stop. They noticed a single line of cocaine on the counter by the sinks. The cops asked whose cocaine was this and Sullivan began to get nervous. One of the cops pulls a straw out of his shirt pocket and proceeds to snort the line of coke up his nose and then laughs. The cops weren’t looking to bust anybody, they were apparently looking to get some of the drugs for themselves.

Watts the Problem?

‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts was a tough wrestler in his day, but an even tougher promoter. Many wrestlers have accused Watts of bullying and intimidation to get what he wanted. In one such instance, British wrestler Tony Charles showed up late to a show. Watts got into Charles’ face yelling and screaming at Charles about his lateness.

Tony Charles didn’t back down and got into Watts’ face and yelled back at him in front of an entire locker room of wrestlers. Embarrassed and furious, Watts walked away knowing of what Charles was capable of. Tony Charles was himself a legitimate tough guy, who had an extensive background in amateur wrestling. This situation did not end here.

A while later, Bill Watts would have a conversation Charles complimenting him on his toughness. Watts then began to put down the toughness of another wrestler named ‘Irish’ Pat Barrett. Barrett and Charles were good friends. Charles and Barrett were talking about what Watts had said over drinks and it eventually became a heated argument between the two European wrestlers. It ended up a full blown out fight. Tony Charles and Pat Barrett’s friendship ended on that night and they never reconciled. Did Watts somehow intentionally put a wedge between their friendship as retaliation for Charles standing up to Watts?

Bang for Your Buck

Amanda Saccomanno aka ‘Mandy Rose’ in the WWE, was allegedly offered 1 million dollars to appear in a scene of a porn movie. The porn distributors, ‘The Bang Bros’ allegedly made the offer in late 2018, in which Mandy turned down. It was then reported that the offer was upped to close to close to 2 million dollars. Mandy Rose turned them down again. While it was indeed a pornographic movie, it is unclear if Mandy was asked to perform a sexual act or just do a cameo appearance in a non sexual role.

Diamond in the Rough

An independent wrestler from Tennessee nicknamed ‘Reno Diamond’ was arrested in 2010 on charges of being an “accessory after the fact.” Diamond was working his day job as a phone operator for Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers is a call center that takes tips from the public about wanted fugitives. Diamond took a call about a man named Cleo Henderson who was wanted for murder.

As it turned out, Diamond was friends with Henderson and after receiving the tip, called a mutual friend to alert Henderson about it. Reno Diamond real name Travis Williams was arrested and bail was set at $250,000 dollars. Cleo Henderson eventually turned himself in.

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

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