May the fourth might be behind us but I’ll drop a Star Wars reference here. Combat sports are like that bar on Tatooine. They’re a wretched hive of scum and villainy.
When the only job requirement for them are “don’t have AIDS and willing to put your body through hell,” MMA, wrestling and boxing are bound to attract some unsavory characters. Unsurprisingly, they have. Here are some who have killed people:
7. New Jack
via ecwfrenchtribute.free.fr
Anyone that knows of New Jack isn’t surprised to see him here. A staple of hardcore wrestling promotion ECW, New Jack worked as a bounty hunter during the early stages of his wrestling career, and has four “justifiable homicides” to his name from that time. He almost added a fifth, not-so-justifiable homicide, in 2004 when he STABBED HIS OPPONENT 14 TIMES DURING A MATCH.
6. Dan McGuane
via tapology.com
A stereotypical big bully, McGuane and his twin brother terrorized the city of Ayer, MA. Kelly Proctor, 19, stood up to them and what did he get? A brutal two-on-one beating that killed him. The charges leveled against McGuane were reduced from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter due to a technicality related to the coroner and he wound up getting a measly five years. He started fighting in 2010, but ended up calling it quits in 2011 after news of his status as a murderer spread.
5. Jimmy Snuka
via wwe.com
One of the best-kept secrets in WWE history was how ol’ Vince McMahon helped to cover up the brutal murder of 23 year old Nancy Argentino. Her boyfriend, legendary wrestler Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, had repeatedly gotten in trouble with the law for getting physically violent with her. In 1983 she was found semi-conscious and having difficulty breathing. She would die shortly after due to “craniocerebral injuries” brought about by “mate abuse.”
4. Jose Gonzalez
You may not know of pro wrestler Jose Gonzalez (ring name Invader #1) but you probably know the person he killed, Bruiser Brody, in the locker room of an event in Puerto Rico. Gonzalez stabbed Brody to death in 1988 and got away with it due to the crookedness of promoter Carlos Colon and the legal system in Puerto Rico.
3. James Berry
Boxing prospect James Berry could have been a big name n the ring…unfortunately, he could never quite shake the life of a thug. Last year, Berry and some of his friends were convicted in a case regarding the death of six people. Berry was slapped with two murder convictions and sentenced to two lifetimes in prison, plus an extra 110 years.
2. Joe Son
A competitor from the original UFC days, Joe Son is best remembered as the man that was brutally punched in the balls by Keith Hackney at UFC 4. It turned out that Son deserved every one of those punches as, in 2008, he was charged with crimes related to a brutal 1990 gang rape. He would be sentenced to 17 years in prison and, while serving his time, wound up killing his cellmate.
1. Verne Gagne
Gagne is easily the biggest name on this list. A pro wrestling legend from the territory days, he became such a big star in the NWA that he broke off to form his own promotion, the AWA. Unfortunately, years of pro wrestling took their toll on his brain and he suffered from CTE in his twilight years. In 2009, while living at a nursing home, he wound up in a physical altercation with his roommate. His roommate would fall to the ground, break a hip and die from complications from the injury. Gagne, due to his diminished mental capacity, would not face charges.
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