Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
This is the 443rd 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.
Speak Easy
Larry Zbyszko recalled attending a party for famed crooner Frank Sinatra at a Manhattan club in 1977. He was a guest of his mentor Bruno Sammartino along with fellow wrestlers Tony Parisi and Dominic DeNucci. Zbyszko said the club was packed with friends, relatives and celebrities. While at the corner of the bar, Zbyszko said a feeble looking old man walked up to him.
The tiny old Italian man showed him an empty toilet paper roll with a match stick taped to it. The Old man in a heavy Italian accent asked Zbyszko if he knew what it was. Perplexed, Zbyszko said he had no idea what it was supposed to be. The old man then said it was a “Polish flashlight.” To which the entire room started laughing. It was a joke directed at Zbyszko’s Polish heritage.
Zbyszko would quickly return with a joke of his own. He asked the old man why Italians didn’t have freckles? The punchline was because Italians were too greasy for them to stay on. Zbyszko’s joke fell flat and Larry said you could hear a pin drop in the entire club. The old Italian man walked away without saying a word.
As it turned out, the old man Zbyszko just insulted was none other than notorious mafia crime boss Carlo Gambino. Bruno Sammartino realizing the seriousness of the situation, escorted Larry Z out of the club and apparently had to have a sit-down with Carlo’s men to not harm Zbyszko in any way.
Hear Me Out
Steve Collins was an independent wrestler based out of Florida. He was used numerous times at television tapings for World Championship Wrestling in the mid 1990’s as enhancement talent. While working the tapings, it was said that Collins repeatedly tried to get a contract with the promotion by going straight to the booker who was Kevin Sullivan at the time. After continued attempts, Sullivan apparently became annoyed and decided to teach Collins a lesson.
Dave Finlay was new to the company, but Sullivan knew Finlay’s reputation in Europe as being an enforcer of sorts in the locker rooms there. Kevin Sullivan employed Finlay to send a message to Steve Collins by booking the two in a match. Once the opening bell rang, Finlay allegedly stiff slapped Collins across his face. The force of the slap, caused Collins to suffer a ruptured eardrum. According to Sullivan, Collins was never booked for a WCW event again and supposedly retired from the business altogether.
Trying to Beat Slick
While training in the WWE’s developmental territory of OVW, Dave Bautista (Known at the time as Leviathan) got into a physical confrontation with a fellow developmental wrestler named ‘Slick’ Robbie D aka Rob Dicks. According to witnesses of the fight, it all stemmed from Robbie D allegedly making some sort of pass at Bautista’s wife Angie.
Bautista confronted Robbie D and the two almost immediately started throwing punches at one another. According to OVW trainer Rip Rogers, Robbie D got the best of Bautista in that fight as he had a legitimate background in amateur wrestling. Rogers said the fight was completely one sided in favor of Robbie D.
Unnecessary Roughness
Clem Turner was a football player turned pro wrestler whose wrestling career lasted from 1972 until 1975. Turner was never a main event star, but rather worked the lower to mid card during shows. Clem had battled a pain pill addiction due to multiple injuries and 19 surgeries caused by his years as both a football player and wrestler. In March of 1975, while at the apartment of his ex wife Dora Turner, the two got into a verbal argument. Dora pulled at a small caliber gun and shot Clem once in his chest.
Dora Turner was arrested for felonious assault. She claimed the reason why she shot Clem, was because he had a knife and threatened to kill her with it. The bullet narrowly missed Clem’s heart and he survived…making a full recovery. Clem Turner would tragically die in a car wreck in 2009.