Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 323rd 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.
The Percs Of Being A Wrestling Star
Vampiro became an instant superstar down in Mexico in his early 20’s. He was living the life of a rock star with sex, drugs, rock n roll and even more drugs. CMLL promoter Paco Alonso feared the worst of his biggest wrestling star. He assigned Norman Smiley to become Vampiro’s personal babysitter.
Vampiro admitted many nights, he would hand Smiley his car keys and then drink and do an assortment of drugs until the sun came up. Vampiro said on average, he would take approximately 600 to 700 Percocet’s a week. While Vampiro didn’t go as far to admit he was an addict…he did overdose at least once. He said that after overdosing, he saw an angel that told him he would receive a gift from God….he just needed to prove he deserved it.
Vampiro claimed after recovering from his overdose, he completely quit all drugs and got clean and not long after, he met a woman who would eventually give birth to his daughter. Vampiro said that his daughter was the gift that the angel promised him. He made Norman Smiley his daughter’s godfather.
Horner From The Corner
In the early to mid 1990’s, ‘White Lightning’ Tim Horner was wrestling for Smoky Mountain Wrestling. According to SMW’s owner Jim Cornette, Horner apparently had an ego problem and it rubbed several wrestlers the wrong way. It wasn’t only the competitors who had issues with Horner, but Smoky Mountain’s ring announcer and occasional interviewer…Brian Matthews.
The two allegedly hated each other for whatever reasons. One night, after getting into a shouting match, Horner allegedly sucker punched Matthews on the side of his face. Brian Matthews knew better and did not retaliate against Horner. Reportedly, Matthews and Horner never had any physical altercations after that incident.
WCW Power Plantation
In an earlier edition of the Wrestling With Sin series, we covered how Sonny Onoo spearheaded a racial discrimination lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling…which you can read here. A part of that lawsuit that we didn’t discuss, was the WCW training facility known as ‘The Power Plant.’ One of the trainees of the Power Plant, ended up in the middle of this lawsuit. His name was Darron Easterling…a former college football player and body builder with aspirations of becoming a professional wrestler.
In court documents, Easterling accused the individuals who ran the Power Plant showed racial bias towards the black trainees. According to Easterling, many white trainees were given special one on one lessons. Something that was never afforded to any of the black trainees. He also claimed that when the equipment trucks arrived at the facility….the black wrestlers were the ones who were told to go and unload the trucks. This, while the white wrestlers continued their training.
Easterling provided his personal scouting report where the trainers raved about his look and determination to learn and improve. Easterling said he was coming along faster than white wrestlers like Chuck Palumbo and Allan Funk…yet they were pushed through advanced training and sent to WCW’s main roster. Former wrestler turned Power Plant trainer Pez Whatley apparently noticed many of the black trainees being treated unfairly and spoke out. He was then allegedly stripped of his training duties and sent to be a part of WCW’s ring crew.
From Sober to Somber
Ronnie Massaro was the younger brother to former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro, who tragically took her own life in May of 2019. Ronnie was a model and aspiring to become a fashion designer. His new career hit a roadblock after his sister’s suicide. He had become an alcoholic to cope with her shocking death. The younger Massaro checked himself into rehab to help get sober.
In late November of 2020, Ronnie Massaro completed his rehab and hopped on a train to return to New York City. A couple of hours later, Massaro got off the train and started walking in Midtown Manhattan where he was brutally stabbed to death in front of a pizzeria. The unknown assailant fled on foot and as of this writing is still on the loose. According to police, the knife attack appeared to be a random act of violence, but the investigation was ongoing. Ronnie Massaro was just 39 years old at the time of his death….the same age of his sister Ashley when she died.