GMS Release
Brian Lawler Talks In-Depth About The Events Leading To His Firing, And The WWF's Reaction To It
by Jamie Peltz
Brian Lawler was the guest on Long Island's "Get in the Ring!" radio yesterday. Get in the Ring airs Sundays at Noon Eastern Time, and available on the radio dial at 1240 AM WGBB, it is also broadcast live on http://www.wgbb.com. The show is not archived yet, so the only way you could hear it is Sundays at Noon.
Brian Christopher joined the show and here is his story:
-Brian made a "big mistake", and was sure that everyone in the US as well as Canada has heard about it.
-The incident happened the week that the WWF was in Calgary, the night before the arrest the rest of the boys were flown in to Calgary via Salt Lake City. The crew was searched intensely by Canadian customs, because of all the controversy up there (with the Hart family), wrestling doesn't have such a good name in Calgary according to Christopher.
-Christopher felt that the authorities would want to get the wrestlers on anything they could. Everyone checked through okay. But Christopher and Steve Blackman were in New York at the WWF cafe, so they didn't get in to Calgary until the next day.
-Christopher admitted to having drugs in his possession, but that they weren't his. They were put in his bag by his friend in New York, after they wre cleaning out the rental car.
-Christopher went on to state that it would be stupid for him to try and smuggle drugs past the border because he's been through customs hundreds of times in the past. His friend from "Staten Island" put the drugs in his bag, and has the drug lifestyle.
-The customs guy claimed the dog "got a hit" off of Brian's bag. After they searched a carry on duffle bag, the customs agent found the drugs. Brian was hoping that they would let him off with a warning, but felt that they were "hard nosed" and pursued it.
-Christopher started panicking and the first thing he thought was that he was going to miss RAW that night. Brian said that they searched Steve Blackman as well, but he checked out. Brian felt the customs agents held Blackman longer because he had something very minor on his record that happened when he was a teenager.
-Christopher was let go by customs and was told that he could go to the RAW that night, and even the wrestling event the night after in Edmonton but he had to show up in court before he left Calgary.
-When he arrived at RAW for the TV tapings, he was met by Jim Ross who heard about the arrest. Ross asked him point blank if the drugs were his, and Brian said the drugs were his. He felt that even if they were his friend's, it was in his bag, so it was his property.
-He felt his release was inevitable. It came shortly after his conversation with Ross. He feels that he has a special relationship with JR, Ross knows the type of guy Brian is. Brian felt it would be bad for his name and the WWF if he started to deny it.
-When Jerry Lawler, Brian's father, quit the WWF, Ross tried to make his stay as smooth as possible. He said that "what happened with your father is no reflection on you, we are going to treat you as a separate entity."
-He feels he made it to the WWF not because of his father, but because of his 9 years of hard work in the Memphis area.
-Brian feels that many other wrestlers were given second chances in the past when caught with drugs, he's hoping for a second chance as well. He promises the WWF if they give him another shot, nothing like this will ever happen again.
-Brian wants to put to rest the rumors that it was a conspiracy against him orchestrated by the WWF to get back at his dad. He was friends with everyone in the locker room, the office staff, the Lawler name is not cursed. It was a stupid mistake he made.
-Brian won't sit at home and sulk about the situation, he wants to start wrestling for independents as soon as possible.
Brian makes a statement (posted late 06/07/01)
It has been just over a week since my release from the WWF and I felt it necessary to address my situation. Now, the situation that I'm in in is no one's fault by my own. It was not a set up, thre was no conspiracy to get me fired by the WWF in order to get back at Jerry Lawler for quitting. The reason I was terminated, I take full responsibility for. However, I would like to clear up a few things. First, this may sound like a cop-out, but I don't care, it's the truth - the drugs were not mine. They belonged to a friend of mine from Staten Island who I will keep nameless. We have talked about this it seems like a thousand times, but my CD carrying case was not a good place for him to put them when we cleaned out the rental car on Sunday night.
Now I have been to Canada numerous times and I know the procedures crossing the border. So to think that I was trying to "smuggle" drugs into the country is stupid. I guess I was real stupid to be around someone who has drugs on them in the first place, but hey, I'm human, I made a mistake...SO FIRE ME! Oh yeah, they did. But honestly, I didn't know it was in my bag or I would have never carried i to the airport. I say "it" because there was actually only one drug in my possession contrary to many reports. There was no marijuana, no steriods, and the "meth" that I was charged with was what they called residue and could barely be seen. I did have some androstendoine, a muscle building supplement that is illegal in Canada, but legal in the United States, that the immigration officers made me throw away but that was no big deal. The next day in court I was exonerated of the charges. The arrest was taken off my record and I am allowed to travel into Canada if I desire to. Now after hearing all that you might ask, "Why did they have to fire you...why no second chance?" Well, I was in possession of a controlled substance and when asked by Jim Ross if it was mine when I arrived at the arena, I told him "yes." Most of my friends have said, "Why did you say yes...you should have denied it, even if it was yours!" The way I look at it is, whether I was the one that bought it or not, whether I knew it was in my bag or not, I was the one caught with it. So to me that makes it mine. The WWF did what they had to do and I didn't expect anything less. I've got more to say on this situation, and I'll continue tomorrow.
BRIAN 06/07/01
~*~*~
Brian signs up to compete in Maryland Championship Wrestling
from www.marylandwrestling.com
The son of a King, Brian "Grandmaster Sexay" Christopher has been signed to compete for Maryland Championship Wrestling on July 18th at Michaels Eighth Ave. in Glen Burnie, MD. Along with the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup, this could be the independent card of the year!! Click *here* for show and ticket information.
Jerry Lawler comments on Brian's termination from the WWF
Now that we have gotten up and coming events out of the way, I want to talk about an event that took place last week that was very disturbing to me, and that was the firing of Brian Christopher. Actually the firing of Brian was not disturbing to me but the cirbumstances surrounding the firing did disturb me greatly. I think that disappointment is the only word I can think of to describe my feelings about Brian's situation. I know we are all human, and no one is perfect...we all make mistakes, but if someone had asked me last week "who in the WWF uses drubs?" my answer would have been, "I can't tell you who does, but I can tell you one person that I know doesn't...Brian Christopher." I guess I would have sounded like an idiot, and I feel like one now for not knowing. And I'm sad and disappointed. I can only hope that Brian will learn from his mistake and see how his actions not only effect him but the people that care about him as well. Brian is going to make a public statement about his situation here on my website later this week. I, like all of you will be anxious to hear what he has to say. I know you all must be tired of reading by now, so I will continue this later this week as well. Take care!
Dina's note: Jerry also mentions that Brian will be wrestling in the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis on Friday, June 15th. This show will feature wrestlers from the Mid-South area from the 60's-90's. Brian is scheduled to wrestle Mike Rapada, aka the Colorado Kid. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.
Brian Lawler is currently accepting indy bookings. Any interested parties are to contact Dave Herro, from Great Lakes Championship wrestling at [email protected]
Brian will also make an announcement and address the fans on www.kinglawler.com this Thursday.
From the Ross Report:
Scotty 2 Hotty has been released from doctor's care. He's doing some rehabilitation in-ring work in Louisville, in OVW. He's feeling comfortable. He had a short match with one of the OVW stars on Wednesday night.
He had some slight neck cramping, and he feels it's due to inactivity and not his disc. Scotty feels that as long as no new problems develop, he'll be able to return to full duty in another week or two.
I feel badly that we had to terminate GrandMaster Sexay. I've said many times in this space that I felt he was one of our more underutilized talents. He has a wealth of charisma and a wealth of ability. He certainly comes by it honestly from his dad. But everybody makes mistakes, and hopefully GrandMaster will learn from this situation, and can rebound with more positive things in his life. I spoke to him yesterday. We had a nice conversation. He's got a good heart - he's not a bad young man; he just made a mistake, as we all can. Hopefully, he will be able to turn this negative into a positive.
Details of Brian Lawler's Arrest - by Dave Shearer
Today's Calgary Herald had a detailed report of the arrest of Brian "Grandmaster Sexay" Lawler. In a story that ran on the front page of their City section today, writer Shelley Knapp reported that Lawler was arrested Monday afternoon as he arrived in Calgary at Calgary International Airport. Knapp reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found one tenth of a gram of methamphetamine, one tenth of a gram of marijuana, and a half a gram of cocaine in Lawler's possession. Lawler was arrested and charged for possession of the cocaine and methamphetamine. Knapp reported that Lawler pleaded guilty in provincial court to the charge of cocaine possession, while the other one was dropped.
Lawler's attorney argued for a conditional discharge, which would allow Lawler to travel back into Canada and work. Judge Frank Maloney agreed and ordered Lawler to pay $50 to the Victim Fine Fund and make a $500 donation to the Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Program. Lawler will not have a record from the arrest.
WWF spokesman Gary Davis told the paper that Lawler was immediately suspended and then terminated on Tuesday for his actions. Davis was quoted as saying, "I think our actions speak loud and clear about how the WWF feels about drugs.
I called the Herald and spoke with Ms. Knapp to verify the story. I had been told that cocaine was involved in the arrest on Tuesday, but obviously that is not the kind of thing that we report until we can verify it through another source.
Dina's note: This totally conflicts with the story that Brian was carrying a "muscle-enhancement" drug that's legal in the US but not in Canada, as what was stated by Jerry Lawler. What's the *real* story?????
The WWF has terminated its contract with Brian Lawler (GrandMaster Sexay) Monday as a result of his arrest on charges of possession of illegal drugs when he crossed the Canadian border.
Update: 05/29/01 2:38 p.m. PST: The webmaster of Brian's (and Jerry's) official site stated that all charges have been dropped against Brian. So, we'll see what can be worked out for him.
Update 05/30/01: From reading the lastest reports around the 'net, part of the reason why Brian was promptly fired is that the WWF has made it clear to its talent that bringing "illegal contraband" across the border into Canada is strictly prohibited because it would give the company a black eye if caught. I've heard some say that once you are arrested for such an offense, you can NEVER get across into Canada again. It's also been said that when Brian was confronted by the border patrol, he talked back to the officials. Reports also say that this has absolutely nothing to do with the release of Jerry Lawler and Stacy Carter. More to come as I hear about it...
Update 05/30/01 6:19 p.m. PST: This is from 1wrestling.com. On WMC-TV's (Memphis station) 6 p.m. newscast, they reported on Brian Christopher. They said he was arrested for possessing a 'legal muscle-building drug' that's illegal in Canada. This quote was attributed to Jerry Lawler.
Update 05/31/01 - This is from rajahwwf.com:
Here is some more info on Brian Lawler, aka GrandMaster Sexay. This info is from a person very close to Brian:
-He was exonerated on all charges on Tuesday morning.
-He has no criminal record in Canada or the United States and contrary to rumors is still free to travel and wrestle in Canada.
-He was given one (1) day probation.
Update 05/31/01 10:15 a.m. PST - This is from wmctv.com
Jerry Lawler's Son Fired By the WWF
Another Memphis pro wrestler is counted out of the World Wrestling Federation. The W-W-F fired Brian Christopher earlier this week after a drug arrest in Canada.
He wrestles under the name Brian Christopher. You've seen him on Power Pro Wrestling and the WWF as "Grand Master Sexay". But not too "sexay" for an injury. Two years ago he had knee surgery after a bad wrestling move in Portland.
He's part of the Lawler wrestling dynasty, learning the ropes from his father, Jerry 'the King' Lawler, pile driving and smacking his way through the ring.
And like his father, Christopher, is out of the World Wrestling Federation. The WWF's web site says Christopher's contract was terminated on Monday after his arrest on illegal drug possession charges after crossing the Canadian border.
He was on his way to Calgary to wrestle for the WWF. Lawler told me his son had muscle building drugs that are legal in the U.S. but not in Canada and the judge decided to quote "give Christopher a break" and dismissed the charges.
Earlier this year the WWF released Lawler from his contract because they fired his wife Stacey because she was "too difficult to work with." Lawler walked out.
As far as the WWF, it looks like Lawler and Christopher got hooked up in a loser leaves town match.
We talked with spokesperson for the WWF, Gary Davis, who says it doesn't make any difference if the charges were dropped against Brian Christopher, he won't be asked back. Davis said the company takes breaking the law seriously.
Casey Looks at the Grandmaster Situation - by Aaron Casey
In everyday life, people don't always get second chances. But in professional wrestling, it seems like second chances are becoming second nature.
That is why the release of Brian Lawler (aka GrandMaster Sexay) is so odd to me. I am not one to defend people with personal problems. But drug use has been so rampant in professional wrestling, and nearly every offender has received a second (or third... or fourth...) chance. Many people, such as Road Dogg and Davey Boy Smith, have even received treatment paid for by the WWF.
The WWF has even gone so far as to sometimes glamorize and popularize drug use and references. In one Degeneration X home video release there are numberous drug references made by Road Dogg and most of the rest of the crew.
One catchphrase pushed by X-Pac that even appeared on the back of his very own t-shirt read, "Your ass is grass and I'm gonna smoke it!"
Professional wrestling cannot have it both ways. I applaud the WWF for making a serious statement on a serious issue, but at the same time I find it hard that every wrestler in the locker room would be held to the same standard.
Would The Rock get fired? Stone Cold? Chris Jericho? No way. Not for a first-time offense. Does the WWF owe people second chances? Or do they have the right to hire and fire as they see fit regardless of circumstance.
Actually, the answer should be easily identified on both counts but we all know better. Certain wrestlers have been coddled to for what seems like forever, while others are held to a much higher standard and are cut loose when the boss sees fit. The only important thing to consider is whether the WWF sets precedents when they take a certain path when faced with a particular problem.
But let's even look past the WWF. How about promoters in the independents? Does booking a former name that you know has personal problems mean you have to condone the way they conduct themselves on your show? Will they bring drugs into your locker room? There are a lot of name guys on the circuit who at the very least smoke marijuana and will normally carry it on their person. There are also plenty of guys who do not smoke marijuana, just to clarify that statement.
What happens if your big name shows up half in the bag? Is hard to work with? Passes out before the match? A promoter that takes a stand against a talent because of his condition and cuts him off the show loses fans, which is a turn is a trickle down effect that ultimately helps to kill the independent wrestling scene.
So right now, Brian Lawler is probably going to start taking independent dates. I really hope he gets some help and cleans up his act. He is a very talented individual and I wish him nothing but the best.
Somewhere, sometime, somehow history will manage to NOT repeat itself. Let us all pray that now is that time.
Aaron Casey is President of Universal Wrestling Alliance, Inc.