One of the biggest stories on the Internet right now is Hulk Hogan suing gossip site Gawker for posting a snippet of a secretly recorded sex video with him banging the wife of Florida DJ "Bubba The Love Sponge." Hogan won millions of dollars in damages, but the trial also shone a light into the bizarre world of professional wrestling, where "Hulk Hogan" is just a character and "Terry Bollea" the man who plays him. The multiple layers of lies and violence can really warp your brain, so it's not surprising that pro wrestlers get in trouble more than normal folks. In this piece, we'll share 10 stories of fake fighters who wound up on the wrong side of the law.
Scott Steiner
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, scott steiner]()
If you look up "roid rage" in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of the Big Bad Booty Daddy. Former collegiate wrestler turned international superstar, Scott Steiner tore a path through all of the major promotions alongside his brother Rick. His antics outside of the ring were almost as violent, and we'll share two of his most notorious incidents here. In 1998, Steiner wanted to drive off of a closed exit ramp on Interstate 575, and when a state employee tried to stop him, the wrestler rammed him twice with his truck. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and making terrorist threats, and swiftly found guilty. A few decades later, Steiner allegedly made death threats against Hulk Hogan so believable that the WWE provided security working their annual Hall of Fame event with his picture and told them to under no circumstances let him in the building.
Buck Zumhofe
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, buck zumhofe]()
Never seen without his trademark boom box, Buck "Rock & Roll" Zumhofe was a steady hand for the American Wrestling Association in the early 1980s. But his career took an unexpected detour in 1986 when he got sent to the pokey for fourth-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. Upon his release in 1988, he went back to the ring, and worked as a WWE jobber (notably being the first person to face current world champ Triple H in the promotion). But Zumhofe couldn't keep his dinger clean, and in 2012 a female relative went to the authorities with allegations that Rock & Roll had been sexually molesting her for years. He was given over 25 years in prison, which was confounded by an embarrassing attempt to escape from custody during the trial.
Juventud Guerrera
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, juventud guerrera]()
Wrestlers work hard and they play hard -- sometimes too hard. Mexican superstar Juventud Guerrera was notorious for his high flying in the ring, but all those flips scrambled his brain. In 2000, Guerrera was touring Australia with WCW and decided to unwind after the show by smoking a little PCP, as you do. The mind-addling drug convinced Juvi that it'd be a good idea to strip down naked in the hotel lobby and start throwing chairs around. It took six Aussie police officers armed with pepper spray to get Guerrera under control, and several bystanders were affected by the toxic cloud. He was later fined and released from his WCW contract.
Dirty Dick Slater
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, dirty dick slater]()
With a career that started in 1972, Dick Slater has seen more angles of the wrestling business than just about anybody. The Florida-born grappler played a bad guy for most of his life, clashing with big names like Ric Flair and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. A back injury forced him into retirement in 1996. Dirty Dick wasn't quite finished with his dirty ways, though, and in 2003 he attacked his ex-girlfriend Theresa Halbert with a knife, stabbing her multiple times. Slater claims he was hopped up on morphine for his battered back at the time, but that didn't hold a lot of water in court and he was charged with aggravated battery and sentenced to house arrest and probation, as well as paying Halbert over $18,000 for medical expenses.
Ken Patera
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, ken patera]()
Wrestlers are well known for their physical strength, but Ken Patera was a step above the rest. The Olympic weightlifter was the first American to clean and jerk over 500 pounds, and held numerous titles before he turned his attention to fake fighting. In the ring, Patera was equally powerful, and with big muscles comes a big appetite. Cut to 1984, when Patera and Masa Saito were in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The duo went to a local McDonalds to get a meal, but it was already closed. Patera was so pissed that he hefted an enormous boulder and threw it through the front window of the restaurant. The duo fled, but when cops came to arrest them at their hotel a huge brawl broke out. Patera and Saito would both end up serving two years in prison over the fracas.
Blackjack Mulligan
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, blackjack mulligan]()
One of the greatest talkers of his era, Blackjack Mulligan (real name Robert Jack Windham) was a former football player who, outfitted with a fingerless black glove, administered the deadly Iron Claw submission to many of the WWE top babyfaces. After his retirement from the wrestling game in 1988, Windham needed a new way to make money, so he literally made money. Along with son Kendall (also a wrestler), Windham set up a counterfeiting business, and when the Secret Service busted them the next year they were in possession of $500,000 in fake $20 bills. Both Windhams served two years in the Federal pen, and Kendall returned to the ring in 1992.
Hardbody Harrison
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, hardbody harrison]()
For most of the pro wrestlers on this list, their run-ins with the law fall under "impulsive screw-ups." The case of Hardbody Harrison, however, is a little different. Harrison Norris Jr. was a jobber in WCW who sued the promotion in 2000 because he believed that the company wasn't giving him opportunities because of his race. The fact that he was pretty awful in the ring notwithstanding, he lost his case and left the business. And then the human trafficking began. Harrison would find young women on the street and promise to train them to be pro wrestlers. He'd take them home, keep them captive and pimp them out, taking a cut of the profits. In 2004, his scheme was busted and he got sentenced to life in prison.
Nick Gage
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, nick gage]()
We're trying to stick mostly with wrestlers who worked for the Big Two in this piece, but we had to bend the rules a little bit for the tragic tale of Nick Gage. Gage was a mainstay of New Jersey-based Combat Zone Wrestling, a promotion that reveled in hardcore violence. Over his career, Gage has competed in matches involving beds of nails, webs of barbed wire, panes of glass and other weapons of extreme mayhem. Needless to say, all that abuse leads to a serious painkiller habit, and in 2010 Gage decided to turn to crime to fund his addiction. In December of 2010, he walked into a Collingswood Bank and handed a note demanding money to the teller. Gage got away with $3000 and did nearly five years in prison. Once he got out, Gage went right back to CZW to destroy his body some more.
Bruiser Bedlam
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, bruiser bedlam]()
Having a rep as a tough guy is an asset in the locker room, but Canadian muscleman Ion Croitoru, who worked as "Bruiser Bedlam," took it to a whole 'nother level. Bedlam worked for the Stampede Wrestling promotion owned by the legendary Hart Family before coming to America and working for the WWE as "Johnny K-9," where he lost matches to Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana. But when he wasn't in the ring, Croitoru was well known to law enforcement as a member of violent biker gang Satan's Choice, who ruled Montreal in the '70s and '80s. Bruiser was busted for multiple offenses, including assault and cocaine trafficking, but probably his biggest crime was planting a bomb in the Sudbury, Ontario, police station that caused massive damage. He's currently in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.
Billy Joe Travis
![wrestlers who fought the law, pro wrestlers legal trouble, billy joe travis]()
These stories have, so far, all taken place outside of the ring. Let's change that. Billy Joe Travis was a 1980s wrestler who worked for the CWA and the USWA -- two small-scale competitors to the WWE. The cocky heel never made it to the big leagues, and one reason may be a bizarre moment in 1996 when he was arrested on live television! Travis was deeply in arrears on child support, and his ex told Memphis police that he'd be doing a TV taping one Friday. The cops showed up and promoter Jerry Lawler amazingly convinced them to let him film the arrest, which he then used for a storyline on the show! Travis had no idea (and Lawler didn't warn him), so when the cops came and took him out in handcuffs in front of the cameras he was understandably upset.
Scott Steiner
If you look up "roid rage" in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of the Big Bad Booty Daddy. Former collegiate wrestler turned international superstar, Scott Steiner tore a path through all of the major promotions alongside his brother Rick. His antics outside of the ring were almost as violent, and we'll share two of his most notorious incidents here. In 1998, Steiner wanted to drive off of a closed exit ramp on Interstate 575, and when a state employee tried to stop him, the wrestler rammed him twice with his truck. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and making terrorist threats, and swiftly found guilty. A few decades later, Steiner allegedly made death threats against Hulk Hogan so believable that the WWE provided security working their annual Hall of Fame event with his picture and told them to under no circumstances let him in the building.
Buck Zumhofe
Never seen without his trademark boom box, Buck "Rock & Roll" Zumhofe was a steady hand for the American Wrestling Association in the early 1980s. But his career took an unexpected detour in 1986 when he got sent to the pokey for fourth-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. Upon his release in 1988, he went back to the ring, and worked as a WWE jobber (notably being the first person to face current world champ Triple H in the promotion). But Zumhofe couldn't keep his dinger clean, and in 2012 a female relative went to the authorities with allegations that Rock & Roll had been sexually molesting her for years. He was given over 25 years in prison, which was confounded by an embarrassing attempt to escape from custody during the trial.
Juventud Guerrera
Wrestlers work hard and they play hard -- sometimes too hard. Mexican superstar Juventud Guerrera was notorious for his high flying in the ring, but all those flips scrambled his brain. In 2000, Guerrera was touring Australia with WCW and decided to unwind after the show by smoking a little PCP, as you do. The mind-addling drug convinced Juvi that it'd be a good idea to strip down naked in the hotel lobby and start throwing chairs around. It took six Aussie police officers armed with pepper spray to get Guerrera under control, and several bystanders were affected by the toxic cloud. He was later fined and released from his WCW contract.
Dirty Dick Slater
With a career that started in 1972, Dick Slater has seen more angles of the wrestling business than just about anybody. The Florida-born grappler played a bad guy for most of his life, clashing with big names like Ric Flair and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. A back injury forced him into retirement in 1996. Dirty Dick wasn't quite finished with his dirty ways, though, and in 2003 he attacked his ex-girlfriend Theresa Halbert with a knife, stabbing her multiple times. Slater claims he was hopped up on morphine for his battered back at the time, but that didn't hold a lot of water in court and he was charged with aggravated battery and sentenced to house arrest and probation, as well as paying Halbert over $18,000 for medical expenses.
Ken Patera
Wrestlers are well known for their physical strength, but Ken Patera was a step above the rest. The Olympic weightlifter was the first American to clean and jerk over 500 pounds, and held numerous titles before he turned his attention to fake fighting. In the ring, Patera was equally powerful, and with big muscles comes a big appetite. Cut to 1984, when Patera and Masa Saito were in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The duo went to a local McDonalds to get a meal, but it was already closed. Patera was so pissed that he hefted an enormous boulder and threw it through the front window of the restaurant. The duo fled, but when cops came to arrest them at their hotel a huge brawl broke out. Patera and Saito would both end up serving two years in prison over the fracas.
Blackjack Mulligan
One of the greatest talkers of his era, Blackjack Mulligan (real name Robert Jack Windham) was a former football player who, outfitted with a fingerless black glove, administered the deadly Iron Claw submission to many of the WWE top babyfaces. After his retirement from the wrestling game in 1988, Windham needed a new way to make money, so he literally made money. Along with son Kendall (also a wrestler), Windham set up a counterfeiting business, and when the Secret Service busted them the next year they were in possession of $500,000 in fake $20 bills. Both Windhams served two years in the Federal pen, and Kendall returned to the ring in 1992.
Hardbody Harrison
For most of the pro wrestlers on this list, their run-ins with the law fall under "impulsive screw-ups." The case of Hardbody Harrison, however, is a little different. Harrison Norris Jr. was a jobber in WCW who sued the promotion in 2000 because he believed that the company wasn't giving him opportunities because of his race. The fact that he was pretty awful in the ring notwithstanding, he lost his case and left the business. And then the human trafficking began. Harrison would find young women on the street and promise to train them to be pro wrestlers. He'd take them home, keep them captive and pimp them out, taking a cut of the profits. In 2004, his scheme was busted and he got sentenced to life in prison.
Nick Gage
We're trying to stick mostly with wrestlers who worked for the Big Two in this piece, but we had to bend the rules a little bit for the tragic tale of Nick Gage. Gage was a mainstay of New Jersey-based Combat Zone Wrestling, a promotion that reveled in hardcore violence. Over his career, Gage has competed in matches involving beds of nails, webs of barbed wire, panes of glass and other weapons of extreme mayhem. Needless to say, all that abuse leads to a serious painkiller habit, and in 2010 Gage decided to turn to crime to fund his addiction. In December of 2010, he walked into a Collingswood Bank and handed a note demanding money to the teller. Gage got away with $3000 and did nearly five years in prison. Once he got out, Gage went right back to CZW to destroy his body some more.
Bruiser Bedlam
Having a rep as a tough guy is an asset in the locker room, but Canadian muscleman Ion Croitoru, who worked as "Bruiser Bedlam," took it to a whole 'nother level. Bedlam worked for the Stampede Wrestling promotion owned by the legendary Hart Family before coming to America and working for the WWE as "Johnny K-9," where he lost matches to Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana. But when he wasn't in the ring, Croitoru was well known to law enforcement as a member of violent biker gang Satan's Choice, who ruled Montreal in the '70s and '80s. Bruiser was busted for multiple offenses, including assault and cocaine trafficking, but probably his biggest crime was planting a bomb in the Sudbury, Ontario, police station that caused massive damage. He's currently in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.
Billy Joe Travis
These stories have, so far, all taken place outside of the ring. Let's change that. Billy Joe Travis was a 1980s wrestler who worked for the CWA and the USWA -- two small-scale competitors to the WWE. The cocky heel never made it to the big leagues, and one reason may be a bizarre moment in 1996 when he was arrested on live television! Travis was deeply in arrears on child support, and his ex told Memphis police that he'd be doing a TV taping one Friday. The cops showed up and promoter Jerry Lawler amazingly convinced them to let him film the arrest, which he then used for a storyline on the show! Travis had no idea (and Lawler didn't warn him), so when the cops came and took him out in handcuffs in front of the cameras he was understandably upset.