Brian Blair Arrested for Child Abuse

[Ron Niemi]

From PWInsider.com

Former WWF star turned politician B. Brian Blair, age 52, was arrested today on several counts of child abuse following a 4 AM incident with two sons, 17 and 12.

According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, Blair got into an argument with his oldest son, shoving and punching him before locking him what was described as a "choke" that left his son with trouble breathing. The 12 year old then ended up being choked by Blair as well. There is no word at this time what led up to the incident.

Authorities were called to Blair's residence and he was arrested at 5:12 AM. Blair is currently being held without bail, standard procedure in domestic violence cases.

Blair is best known for his tag team with Jim Brunzell, the masked Killer Bees, wrestling for several years in the 1980s-era WWF. Blair also wrestled in the Florida area. He retired several years ago after claiming back injuries in a fall at a restaurant, although he did one final New Japan tour after that incident.

Blair was elected Hillsborough County Commissioner in 2004. He did not win his bid for re-election earlier this year.

Most recently within the business, Blair become famous for being the victim of an Iron Sheik rant about breaking Blair's back and "making him humble." The Youtube sensation ended up leading to Sheik slapping Blair at the end of an Iron Sheik roast dinner in New Jersey, which all sides have played up as a shoot since.

[AlanWojcik]

Absolutely stunning. Its the lead on the Tampa news following the nice cool day we had...NOT

[Francisco Ciatso]

Jumping Jim Brunzell must be sick to his stomach right now.

[Ricky Romeo]

Unreal...

[Vito DeNucci]

This sucks..... I've known Brian for a long time, and this really surprises me. I really hope that it's not true, or at least a bit inaccurate, but the details do make it seem kind of "open and shut". Brian has always been a great guy to me; very supportive, one of those vets that has been a good friend and positive influence. Yeah, there are numerous B.Brian Blair stories out there that indicate a "wild" side, but always in a fashion that is no different than a vast majority of us from the business that have spent any appreciable amount of time on the road.

Anytime kids are involved, (even teenage boys who tend to be a little on the "lippy" side), physical incidents like this are not excusable. If he is guilty, he'll get what he deserves. That being said, I still consider the guy a friend and hope that this works out for the positive for all involved.

[Shannon K. Rose]

All I will say on this is that Brian Blair was always nice to me and helped me out with some legal matters through the County. All I know is the good side of Brian, hopefully the complete truth and facts will come out along with his side of things.

[seandavishbe]

He was a complete bully to me when I was first starting in the business. Pushed me around in the locker room and threatened to "kick my ass" if I had a bad match as I would be ruining the show for the "real wrestlers". I was like 19 or 20 at the time so maybe he just has a thing for pushing around young guys.

I met him a few years later as he was running for county commissioner and of course he was the nicest guy in the world but again he was looking for votes at the time.

[LewSpectre]

No offense Sean,but you say this like it was a 'bad' thing. Look at the worker you became because of it. Look at the workers on the scene nowadays because no one has that attitude or level of quality control. A little bullying goes a long way as far as making wrestlers out of students, and weeding crap out from the student pool.

I have no idea what 'really' happened with Blair and his sons, but let's also keep in mind he is a FATHER, and sometime, teenage boys go crazy. In this world we've learned to believe it's 'wrong' to hit kids.. However, if your kid is a total fuckup, I dont see a huge problem with a parent laying hands on a kid to keep them in line. The oldest child is 17, something this article left out. Neither kid was put in intensive care of anything 'servere' and are in better physical shape then they would be in juvie.

Blair might be a bully and an asshole, but I'd like to hear the other side to this, IE - what prompted 'pops' to whoop the kids' ass...


Just my I'm sure outdated $0.02... but let's not all be such pussies, k....

seandavishbe said:

He was a complete bully to me when I was first starting in the business. Pushed me around in the locker room and threatened to "kick my ass" if I had a bad match as I would be ruining the show for the "real wrestlers". I was like 19 or 20 at the time so maybe he just has a thing for pushing around young guys.

I met him a few years later as he was running for county commissioner and of course he was the nicest guy in the world but again he was looking for votes at the time.

[seandavishbe]

Lew I have no problem with vets putting young workers in line when they are OUT of line but I never really looked at that experience as a good learning experience as he offered no constructive criticism at all and I was an extremely quiet and humble person at the time (I know hard to believe right) so I don't think I was the best one to be targeted as I had gear, a good attitude and was treating everyone with respect. In fact Hacksaw Jim Duggan was on the same show and invited me over to hang out with him to get away from Blair and he spent most of the show offering advice to me, watched my match and gave me lots of encouragement so out of the two I clearly learned more from him than from Blair. Whatever though everyone has bad days and I hope he gets help for whatever issues he has.



LewSpectre said:

No offense Sean,but you say this like it was a 'bad' thing. Look at the worker you became because of it. Look at the workers on the scene nowadays because no one has that attitude or level of quality control. A little bullying goes a long way as far as making wrestlers out of students, and weeding crap out from the student pool.

I have no idea what 'really' happened with Blair and his sons, but let's also keep in mind he is a FATHER, and sometime, teenage boys go crazy. In this world we've learned to believe it's 'wrong' to hit kids.. However, if your kid is a total fuckup, I dont see a huge problem with a parent laying hands on a kid to keep them in line. The oldest child is 17, something this article left out. Neither kid was put in intensive care of anything 'servere' and are in better physical shape then they would be in juvie.

Blair might be a bully and an asshole, but I'd like to hear the other side to this, IE - what prompted 'pops' to whoop the kids' ass...


Just my I'm sure outdated $0.02... but let's not all be such pussies, k....

seandavishbe said:

He was a complete bully to me when I was first starting in the business. Pushed me around in the locker room and threatened to "kick my ass" if I had a bad match as I would be ruining the show for the "real wrestlers". I was like 19 or 20 at the time so maybe he just has a thing for pushing around young guys.

I met him a few years later as he was running for county commissioner and of course he was the nicest guy in the world but again he was looking for votes at the time.

[Vito DeNucci]

Interesting stuff...... Can't say it surprises me,(the bullying); he's mega old-school and alot of guys from that era feel/felt that that was the way you dealt with youg guys. I was breaking down rings for Gordon Nelson in CWF in the mid-80's when I first met Brian. Always treated me well, but, you know how things like that go.

Agree with Lew in that, in our PC society we live in, cracking a kid,(teenage), that is showing his ass has become taboo; that's complete BS. Parents have had their ability to parent greatly hindered by all of the "nancys" that decide what is and is not good parenting these days. Nobody here is advocating child abuse; teenage boys do, however, on occasion need their come-uppance from their dads'. It's part of life, growing up, maturing, learning respect, right from wrong, etc.... We're all entitled to our views, that's just mine.

seandavishbe said:

Lew I have no problem with vets putting young workers in line when they are OUT of line but I never really looked at that experience as a good learning experience as he offered no constructive criticism at all and I was an extremely quiet and humble person at the time (I know hard to believe right) so I don't think I was the best one to be targeted as I had gear, a good attitude and was treating everyone with respect. In fact Hacksaw Jim Duggan was on the same show and invited me over to hang out with him to get away from Blair and he spent most of the show offering advice to me, watched my match and gave me lots of encouragement so out of the two I clearly learned more from him than from Blair. Whatever though everyone has bad days and I hope he gets help for whatever issues he has.



LewSpectre said:

No offense Sean,but you say this like it was a 'bad' thing. Look at the worker you became because of it. Look at the workers on the scene nowadays because no one has that attitude or level of quality control. A little bullying goes a long way as far as making wrestlers out of students, and weeding crap out from the student pool.

I have no idea what 'really' happened with Blair and his sons, but let's also keep in mind he is a FATHER, and sometime, teenage boys go crazy. In this world we've learned to believe it's 'wrong' to hit kids.. However, if your kid is a total fuckup, I dont see a huge problem with a parent laying hands on a kid to keep them in line. The oldest child is 17, something this article left out. Neither kid was put in intensive care of anything 'servere' and are in better physical shape then they would be in juvie.

Blair might be a bully and an asshole, but I'd like to hear the other side to this, IE - what prompted 'pops' to whoop the kids' ass...


Just my I'm sure outdated $0.02... but let's not all be such pussies, k....

seandavishbe said:

He was a complete bully to me when I was first starting in the business. Pushed me around in the locker room and threatened to "kick my ass" if I had a bad match as I would be ruining the show for the "real wrestlers". I was like 19 or 20 at the time so maybe he just has a thing for pushing around young guys.

I met him a few years later as he was running for county commissioner and of course he was the nicest guy in the world but again he was looking for votes at the time.

[LewSpectre]

I had ribs broken 3 seperate times when I was between 13 and 14 by a local shooter/local MMA type named Joe Defuria when I started out (keep in mind he was told I was in my early 20s, as most were back then), and I was only training to eventually manage (at the time i was a referee). I dont disparage the guy for doing so tho, as he was only protecting his profession, making sure any newcomers were tough, and loved wrestling and were willing to put up with an inhuman ammount of shit to be a part of it. Im sure Brian was an asshole to you, but for every Sean Davis that survived him, Im sure he weeded out 20 jackoffs who would have just made the business that much more shittier... Had he made you quit, you prob wouldnt have been cut out for Pro Wrestling.

Good Guys sometimes do harm unknowingly, and bad guys sometimes save the world in spite of themselves...

Just food for thought...
seandavishbe said:

Lew I have no problem with vets putting young workers in line when they are OUT of line but I never really looked at that experience as a good learning experience as he offered no constructive criticism at all and I was an extremely quiet and humble person at the time (I know hard to believe right) so I don't think I was the best one to be targeted as I had gear, a good attitude and was treating everyone with respect. In fact Hacksaw Jim Duggan was on the same show and invited me over to hang out with him to get away from Blair and he spent most of the show offering advice to me, watched my match and gave me lots of encouragement so out of the two I clearly learned more from him than from Blair. Whatever though everyone has bad days and I hope he gets help for whatever issues he has.



LewSpectre said:

No offense Sean,but you say this like it was a 'bad' thing. Look at the worker you became because of it. Look at the workers on the scene nowadays because no one has that attitude or level of quality control. A little bullying goes a long way as far as making wrestlers out of students, and weeding crap out from the student pool.

I have no idea what 'really' happened with Blair and his sons, but let's also keep in mind he is a FATHER, and sometime, teenage boys go crazy. In this world we've learned to believe it's 'wrong' to hit kids.. However, if your kid is a total fuckup, I dont see a huge problem with a parent laying hands on a kid to keep them in line. The oldest child is 17, something this article left out. Neither kid was put in intensive care of anything 'servere' and are in better physical shape then they would be in juvie.

Blair might be a bully and an asshole, but I'd like to hear the other side to this, IE - what prompted 'pops' to whoop the kids' ass...


Just my I'm sure outdated $0.02... but let's not all be such pussies, k....

seandavishbe said:

He was a complete bully to me when I was first starting in the business. Pushed me around in the locker room and threatened to "kick my ass" if I had a bad match as I would be ruining the show for the "real wrestlers". I was like 19 or 20 at the time so maybe he just has a thing for pushing around young guys.

I met him a few years later as he was running for county commissioner and of course he was the nicest guy in the world but again he was looking for votes at the time.

[Ron Niemi]

From PWInsider.com

The child abuse charges against former WWF star B. Brian Blair were dropped today, reported ABC Action News in Tampa, Florida.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bond made the announcement earlier today but did not issue additional comments. A full official statement is forthcoming from the Prosecutor's office.

Blair, age 52, was arrested on Father's Day and charged with several counts of child abuse following a 4 AM incident with his two sons, 17 and 12.

According to reports of the incident, Blair got into an argument with his oldest son, shoving and punching him before locking him what was described as a "choke" that left his son with trouble breathing. The 12 year old then ended up being choked by Blair as well. Authorities were called to Blair's residence and he was arrested at 5:12 AM.

In the days that followed the arrest, stories of issues with Blair's oldest son began to make the rounds. Former wrestling star Mike Graham commented that Blair had confided numerous issues with the son running away and running with a bad crowd in the past. All signs were that the issues had been brewing for some time.

Blair is best known for his tag team with Jim Brunzell, the masked Killer Bees, wrestling for several years in the 1980s-era WWF. Blair also wrestled in the Florida area. He retired several years ago after claiming back injuries in a fall at a restaurant, although he did one final New Japan tour after that incident.

Blair was elected Hillsborough County Commissioner in 2004. He did not win his bid for re-election earlier this year.

[seandavishbe]

Reports I have read state that when Blair confronted the two sons and their friends about being out all night that they hit him first and he had to defend himself against them and try to get them under control. If that is the case then I am 100% behind him in doing what he had to do.



Ron Niemi said:

From PWInsider.com

The child abuse charges against former WWF star B. Brian Blair were dropped today, reported ABC Action News in Tampa, Florida.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bond made the announcement earlier today but did not issue additional comments. A full official statement is forthcoming from the Prosecutor's office.

Blair, age 52, was arrested on Father's Day and charged with several counts of child abuse following a 4 AM incident with his two sons, 17 and 12.

According to reports of the incident, Blair got into an argument with his oldest son, shoving and punching him before locking him what was described as a "choke" that left his son with trouble breathing. The 12 year old then ended up being choked by Blair as well. Authorities were called to Blair's residence and he was arrested at 5:12 AM.

In the days that followed the arrest, stories of issues with Blair's oldest son began to make the rounds. Former wrestling star Mike Graham commented that Blair had confided numerous issues with the son running away and running with a bad crowd in the past. All signs were that the issues had been brewing for some time.

Blair is best known for his tag team with Jim Brunzell, the masked Killer Bees, wrestling for several years in the 1980s-era WWF. Blair also wrestled in the Florida area. He retired several years ago after claiming back injuries in a fall at a restaurant, although he did one final New Japan tour after that incident.

Blair was elected Hillsborough County Commissioner in 2004. He did not win his bid for re-election earlier this year.