RIP Brian Christopher

[Strummer]

Meltzer has confirmed his death.  What a terrible day.

 

RIP

[Richeyedwards]

We both made the thread at the same time I am gonna delete my thread now

 

According to Meltzer and a couple of other sources Brian Christopher has also died today after reportedly hanging himself while in jail for I believe a DUI.

http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/brian-christopher-hangs-self/

[Strummer]

yeah apparently he hanged himself in jail and they were unable to save him after rushing him to the hospital.  Just so sad.

[El-P]

Wow. This is sad as hell.

[KawadaSmile]

Just sad. Everytime there was news about him, it was something progressively sadder.

 

RIP

[SirEdger]

Horrible day for wrestling fans. This one is extremely tragic as we saw Lawler going through that downward spiral and he never could overcome his demons.

Also having a thought for The King today.

[C.S.]

Saddest day ever for wrestling? 

Based on the mags, I really thought Brian Christopher was going to be the next big star and big heel.

Never quite happened that way, but he still had a pretty decent career.

We say R.I.P. for all of these, but I hope he really is at peace now.

[...TG]

Aw man - Brian was a great talent. Unfortunately like his exact contemporaries PG-13, he came along at the wrong time for guys his size.  Luckily we have his great stuff from USWA and Power Pro, but he deserved better.

[SPS]

RIP to Brian.

Such a sad end that nobody deserves no matter their problems or demons.

I also find it a bit hollow how many people online months ago who were making fun of him and shitting on him after the recent beating he got from Chase Stevens and when he got busted for that credit card fraud at that hotel a few months back now acting like they were always such big fans and how sad it is. Certainly being bombarded as a laughingstock and disgrace to his family name probably didn't help him when he got arrested again this time and was being left in jail and possibly going away for a long time.

Most casual and even some hardcore fans don't care about wrestlers unless they're tearing it up on the screen or after they've met an unfortunate end.

[Robert S]

The story about his death is really rough: apparently Jerry Lawler decided not to post bail as he thought that is was time Brian to finally grow up and deal with the consequences of his doing himself. I don't event want to begin to think what might be going through Jerry's mind right now.

[El-P]

Wow, again. I'd rather not comment on that, out of decency...

I'll say that when Brian Christopher debuted on WWF TV, I was a fan immediately. He was kinda like Chris Candido, too small to be taken seriously at that time (picture the same guy showing up now, he'd tower against most indy guys that rule the world) despite a shitload of talent. In WCW he would have had great matches against the cruiser and TV crew, but he was always treated as a joke in WWF, sadly. Good for him to get over as Grandmaster Sexay, but to me he totally lost his appeal doing that stuff, way too gimmicky. It's too bad he never got another chance later (don't mention his TNA stuff, it was horrendous because of Russo). 

[SomethingSavage]

Good call on the Candido comparison. It's strictly fantasy booking, I know - but how about Brian Christopher popping up in late '97 ECW? Hot off the heels of the Lawler/Dreamer stuff and playing off the Lawler/Van Dam connection, Christopher could've kicked shit up a notch and really taken that "Jerry's kid" heat to a whole new level.

Also, yeah. Brian, like Candido, could've been a fun heel force in the WCW cruiserweight ranks. But that roster was so log jammed that it's practically just speculation as to who would get to break through, regardless of skill or talent at times.

I realize it may sound like slightly morbid curiosity, but where did things go wrong with Brian? Did he just get hooked on something & couldn't shake the habit or what?

As far as Jerry not posting bail, I hope he doesn't let guilt overwhelm him or anything. I can totally understand why it would, but there's something to be said for tough love. Enabling is not a solution to the problem - it becomes a part of the problem. And I'm speaking from a personal experience, from both sides of the situation. I really hope this doesn't eat away at Jerry though. It's a tragic deal all around, for sure.

[C.S.]

Awesome story from Facebook:

Dan McDevitt
7 hrs
I try only to judge people on how they treated me. One of the first times I ever met "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher he worked for me in Paw Paw West Virginia, a town seemingy in the middle of no where. The show absolutely bombed and he was fresh off WWE TV and was at the time very over just coming off his run as "Too Cool". That means his price tag was steep (several thousand dollars).

He went to the ring and worked as hard in front of 100 people as he would have if there were 3,000 people in the building. I paid him and shook his hand and thanked him. As we were dealing with the end of the show stuff he walked up and handed me an envelope and it had over half his money in it. He said to me "I have been around this business my whole life, I know you guys lost your ass tonight, take this back and lessen the blow and make it up to me down the road" In 25 years in pro wrestling he is the only star that has ever done that.

He had his demons, but that's how I remember him, how he treated me, as a good kind hearted dude. May he rest in peace and hopefully his father, Jerry Lawler finds peace as well.

[sek69]

Dave made the comparison to the Von Erichs, trying to live up to having a famous father. I couldn't even imagine the pressure of trying to make it in an already difficult business with such high expectations.

[C.S.]

8 minutes ago, sek69 said:

Dave made the comparison to the Von Erichs, trying to live up to having a famous father. I couldn't even imagine the pressure of trying to make it in an already difficult business with such high expectations.

Which is fair, but Brian did everything the right way - came up with his own persona, didn't rely on his famous last name, got over on his own, and did it as a heel when his dad was traditionally a face (I realize "The King" was an amazing heel as well, but you know what I mean - he could do no wrong in Memphis). And that's even before his WWE run as Grandmaster Sexay, which was an entirely different persona too.

[sek69]

He also mentioned that part of the reason Lawler did the "he's not my kid" gimmick was because he was afraid Brian would get into trouble and tarnish the Lawler name, which sounds brutal but unfortunately as it turned out he had reason to worry. The funny thing is that he looked so much like Jerry it was silly to think anyone would have ever bought that they weren't related. 

Speaking of, Jerry must be completely devestated. Apparently after the arrest he decided it was time to let Brian deal with consequences for once, so I can only imagine the guilt one would feel for losing a child must be a magintude of a million for him. 

[fakeplastictrees]

Sean O'Haire, Larry Sweeny, Brian Lawler, and Mike Awesome. They all committed suicide in the same way. 110% beyond sad. I want to do an episode on mental health and its going to take some time because of the complexities involved. All of the guys listed were entertaining and entertained me in various points in my life. Rest In Power to all. So sad.

[ButchReedMark]

I think it's poor to lean on Jerry for this. He'd looked after Brian on several occasions for things, and with him saying when his lad is 46, I put that down to sod's law.

[Johnny Sorrow]

35 minutes ago, ButchReedMark said:

I think it's poor to lean on Jerry for this. He'd looked after Brian on several occasions for things, and with him saying when his lad is 46, I put that down to sod's law.

Yeah, if anyone is shitting on Jerry they need to shut the fuck up.

[SirEdger]

Tell that to New Jack. He's been shitting on both Jerry & Brian Lawler since Brian passed away.

[Blehschmidt]

Don't forget the shining beacon of class that Sabu has been on Twitter as well.

[sek69]

To be honest, both of them responded pretty much as expected. If you weren't aware both guys were shit heads in 2018 then (to quote my all time favorite gimmick) I'm afraid I have some bad news.