Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 212th installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involve such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series, I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
Snake Fight
In December of 1988, a group of WWF stars went to a strip club called ‘The Sugar Shack’ in Daytona Beach, Florida. One of the patrons at the club, a man named John Bartlett, noticed Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts and introduced himself to the wrestler. The two apparently started drinking together and after a while, Bartlett took Jake Roberts bar hopping around the area. While driving in between bars and both admittedly drunk, Jake allegedly started complaining about the women in the area and not being able to find one to sleep with.
The two fast friends began arguing over the quality of women in Daytona Beach, when Jake asked Bartlett to pull over. The two got out of the car and Jake allegedly punched Bartlett once in the face and once in the abdomen. Jake Roberts then immediately left the area. John Bartlett suffered a broken eye socket which required a metal plate to be temporarily placed in his face. A warrant for an arrest was placed on Roberts.
A year later, somebody tipped police off that the WWF was having a show in Orlando and they arrested Jake backstage. They also held his pet snake ‘Damian’ while Jake was in jail. One hour later, Jake posted bail at $2,500 and was released. Bartlett had filed a civil suit against Jake Roberts for his injuries and was seeking $5,000 in damages. No word on how this case ended up.
A Little Help Please
Diane Von Hoffman was Fabulous Moolah’s very last trained student. Von Hoffman wrestled all over the world including the WWF and USWA. While wrestling in Japan, Von Hoffman was assaulted by an irate fan who pulled her hair. Von Hoffman retaliated by punching the fan and pulling his hair. Three women who were with the male fan attacked the female wrestler, who began fighting them off. It turned out that the fan was an associate of the local Japanese Yakuza.
Diane Von Hoffman was whisked away to the back for her own protection but that didn’t stop the fan and his three lady friends from barging through backstage. Fearing for her life, Von Hoffman ran out the back of the arena and tried to get to her hotel but the four individuals caught up to her and began pummeling the wrestler. The Haiti Kid, pictured above, jumped in and helped Von Hoffman get into a taxi to drive off. Both Von Hoffman and Haiti Kid were immediately sent back to the states for their own protection.
Drive-by
On one early morning around 2am, pro wrestlers Don Kalt and Ray ‘the Crippler’ Stevens were being driven home by Don’s wife Joanne in Miami, Florida. Both wrestlers were sleeping in the car at the time of this incident. Allegedly, a car with four youths pulled alongside Joanne and started whistling and making catcalls. Joanne stopped her vehicle in the hope the young men would drive away but instead pulled behind her car. Both wrestlers woke up and exited the vehicle as did the four men.
Joanne Kalt claims one of the men had a stick and jabbed it into Ray Stevens face and a fight on the side of the road broke out. According to Joanne, her husband Don was pinned to the ground by a couple of the men and she pulled the hair of one of them to get them off of him. That is when Don Kalt allegedly grabbed a tire jack and used it as a weapon, breaking one of his assailant’s arms. The police were notified by a bloody Ray Stevens who was discovered running around the area shouting for help.
All six men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The four men were released on $25 dollar bonds, while the two wrestlers were released on $100 dollar bonds.
Down for the Count
Josh Milton was an independent referee who worked on Women of Wrestling (WOW) shows founded by GLOW creator David McLane. Milton was also a firefighter in the Seattle, Washington area. He went missing in December of 2015. A full-fledged search took place and his car was discovered with the keys still in it at a place called ‘Deception Pass.’
Deception Pass is a state park in Washington that is supposedly known for several suicides. His mother confirmed that Josh took his own life by writing this:
Tonight not only do we remember our Josh Milton but all the other firefighters and first responders that have taken their own lives. My heart goes out to their loved ones. We need to look out for those who are there to help us.
The Seattle Fire Department will join fire departments across the country as we participate in a national remembrance in support of families of firefighters and EMS workers who have taken their own lives.
Josh Milton left behind a wife and a son. He was only 36 years old.