Facebook Brian Christopher Lawler, right, with his father, Jerry Lawler.
Former WWE wrestler Brian Christopher Lawler, the son of Jerry Lawler, has been hospitalized after hanging himself in a Tennessee jail in an apparent suicide attempt, Pro Wrestling Sheet reports. The 46-year-old, who has been wrestling on the independent circuit, was arrested in early July on DUI charges in Hardeman County, jail records show.
Authorities have not commented about Lawler’s condition, but sources told Pro Wrestling Sheet that his situation is “dire.” According to Pro Wrestling Insider, Lawler is not expected to survive. The wrestling news site reports that family members are gathering to say goodbye. Lawler was rushed to a Memphis hospital after the incident at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Bolivar, Tennessee, PWInsider reports.
While there have been reports that Lawler has died, TMZ says he remains on life support on Sunday. Lawler is at Regional One Health Medical Center in Memphis in critical condition, a representative of the hospital told Fox 13 Memphis.
The Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment from Heavy. His family has also not commented.
Lawler had been at the jail since his July 7 arrest on charges of driving under the influence and evading police, according to TMZ Sports. Lawler was spotted by deputies swerving and speeding about 1 a.m. and failed to stop when they tried to pull him over, TMZ reports. Police said in a report obtained by TMZ that when Lawler did stop, he “reeked of booze” and had a open 12 ounce can of beer in his center console. He was held on $40,000 bail.
Lawler Has Had a Lengthy Battle With Drug & Alcohol Addiction
Lawler has had a lengthy battle with drug and alcohol abuse and was fired by the WWE for failing drug tests. He has had multiple run-ins with the law, including arrests for public intoxication and disorderly conduct in 2009 and for DUI in 2013.He and another wrestler, Terry Teague, were arrested in June 2018 in Memphis at the Hampton Inn on Peabody Place after they were accused of not paying their hotel bill, WATN-TV reports.
“While Christopher was still wrestling on the independent level, over the last year or so, he was known for what was going on outside of the ring as he was for performing inside it. There were a lot of talk among those who had worked with him about personal issues and the hope that with his most recent arrest earlier this month, perhaps he would finally try to turn things around, especially given that help was right there for him via WWE if he asked for it,” PWInsider wrote. “Just a few weeks later, the DUI arrest took place. There had been hope among Lawler’s friends that this time would be the last straw, where he would get his life back under control and turn things around personally, because things were obviously spiraling out of control for him personally.”
Lawler Won the WWE Tag Team Title as Grandmaster Sexay With Scotty 2 Hotty in 2000
Lawler began his wrestling career in the United States Wrestling Association on the independent circuit in 1988. In 1997, he began wrestling in the WWE as Brian Christopher. In 1999, he teamed up with Scott Taylor to form the tag team of Too Cool. He performed using the name Grandmaster Sexay and Taylor used the name Scotty 2 Hotty. They won the Tag Team Title in 2000. Lawler was fired by the WWE in 2001 after he illegally brought drugs across the Canada-U.S. border.
After a stop in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, he briefly returned to the WWE in 2004, but was released one month later. He spent 2004 to 2011 wrestling for several independent promotions, before making another brief return to the WWE in 2011 in a segment with his father. In 2004, he and his teammates, Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi, appeared on an “old school” edition of Monday Night Raw and in February 2014 on NXT.
According to his Facebook page, Lawler had been in Rockwood, Tennessee, for a Central All-Star Wrestling show before his arrest.
