Seven Things: 7 Weirdest Wrestling Rumors

Welcome to Seven Things, a list that will run weekly and consist of very eclectic topics. These are of my opinions and doesn’t express the views of others on WrestlingOnEarth.

Two of the most synonymous things with pro wrestling are gossip and weirdness. The tabloid like coverage wrestling is met with on hundreds of websites referred to by some as “dirt sheets” and with that territory comes many fake stories. Wrestling rumors catch on and spread through wrestling fans like wildfire in a forest. Some are real, some are fake and some are never discovered. Add in how weird the world of wrestling is in general and you have a recipe for greatness. Here are my Seven Weirdest Wrestling Rumors.

Reminder: If you have any suggestions for future lists, feel free to share them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter: @typicalROHfan.

7. Sid puts a squirrel down his pants

As most people familiar with my wrestling fandom know, I love Sid. I get why most people dislike him and would assume I dislike him even more, but for whatever reason I just love the dude’s matches. Less known is my love for squirrels. I once had an unofficial pet squirrel that would come to my fire escape every day after school and I’d feed it peanuts. It once came into my room and jumped on my dresser to find the nuts on a day I forgot then politely jumped back out of the window. Enough about the weird history of loved things in my life as this is a case of two loves not always working out.

Sid apparently had a pet squirrel he would take to many shows with him. The rumor goes that a few wrestlers bet Sid that he wouldn’t be able to put the squirrel down his pants for a full minute. Being the man’s man that he is, Sid accepted the challenge. 30 seconds into the wager, the squirrel “bit a very sensitive area” and Sid had to go to the hospital.

Sid. Enough said.

BONUS WEIRD SID RUMOR: Legend has it that Sid literally pooped in his trunks during the main event of Wrestlemania 13.

6. The Ultimate Warrior died and WWE replaced him with a fake

After one of multiple falling outs with WWE, Ultimate Warrior returned at Wrestlemania 8 and it led to one of the biggest urban legends in wrestling history. Many people believed the original person who played The Ultimate Warrior, Jim Hellwig, had passed away thus being the reason he was no longer on TV and WWE/WWF replaced him with a new wrestler to play The Ultimate Warrior character.

Some factors that gave the rumors more credence were Warrior’s hair having a different look, new ring gear of skin colored bodysuits and overall looking less impressive in the ring. Perhaps fans just grew older and started to notice the depth of talent Hellwig was blessed with? A few conspiracy theorists out there still believe the real Jim Hellwig is dead but you can find him rambling incoherently at the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame next month.

5. Lex Luger ruins his Wrestlemania X title win by giving away result to fans

At Wrestlemania X, the convoluted title picture saw Bret Hart and Lex Luger challenging Yokozuna in separate matches. Many expected Lex to win the strap. Luger had been repackaged as an all American hero AKA a pauper’s version of Hulk Hogan after Hulkster left the company. Given the gimmick and Vince McMahon’s fascination with muscular men, Luger was viewed to be the next wrestler positioned as “the face of the WWE.”

The rumor goes that Lex got hammered at a bar the weekend of the Wrestlemania event and was blabbing to any folks familiar with wrestling in the establishment that he was going to win the title. The tale goes on that word got back to Vince McMahon about this and he decided to change the finish to the matches and instead of Luger defeating Bret Hart in the main event, Bret would beat Yokozuna and win the title.

Recently, Lex Luger has vehemently denied the story and claimed he was never slated to become WWF Champion at Wrestlemania X.

4. JBL shower antics

Regarded as one of the biggest bullies in wrestling history, the weirdest story of all his moments is JBL hazing younger talent by jumping in the shower and soaping their nude body up as a way to make them feel uncomfortable. Edge confirmed this rumor by sharing a story of it happening to him in his book. During an interview in 2004 when Edge was on his book tour and asked about it, he gave this quote:

“(JBL) loves doing stuff like that. It’s like his way of weeding out the prima donnas to see who is going to be a cool kid and who is going to have an attitude. I just laughed along with it.”

If only his announcing ability was as strong as his ability to harass others.

BONUS WEIRD JBL RUMOR: As mentioned before, JBL has the reputation of being a massive bully and apparently was picking on Joey Styles on a flight one time. Having a few drinks, a drunk JBL was punched out by Styles. That’s right, little Joey Styles knocked out the giant bully out. A couple of wrestlers have shared secondhand stories basically confirming the accuracy of the rumor.

3. Brutus Beefcake causes anthrax scare with his cocaine

Ed Leslie AKA Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake AKA The Disciple AKA The Booty Man AKA Hulk Hogan’s lackey was working a job as a subway token collector in 2004 in Boston. Leslie left a bag of cocaine unattended at his position. The first assumption by those who found it was that the powder was anthrax. Leslie later admitted that the powder was cocaine and that it was indeed his.

Where was this on Hogan Knows Best?

2. Tony Atlas has a boot fetish

Wrestling legend Tony Atlas has a weird fetish. That’s not uncommon in today’s society but his lack of shame regarding it gives it the #2 spot on the Weirdest Wrestling Rumors list. Atlas loves when a woman wears boots and steps on his face and he’s not afraid to let you know. Actually at indie shows and conventions, Atlas will go up to female talent and request that they indulge him.

Given the simplicity of the fetish on her side and Atlas being a legend, multiple known female wrestlers have given Tony the time of his life. The picture shown above is of Traci Brooks and video exists here. On one hand, I’m creeped out that he puts female wrestlers in a weird position but I also admire his ability to not care in the slightest about public reaction.

Here’s a recent video of Jillian Hill appeasing Tony:

1. Rey Mysterio Jr was dating Jennifer Aniston

In the mid 90’s there was a rumor that Jennifer Aniston was dating Rey Mysterio Jr. I don’t know how any rumor could be more wonderfully bizarre and random. Rey gave the summary of it in his book:

“I remember in 1997 there were some stories going around tha I was dating Jennifer Aniston. The National Enquirer even printed a story about we were an item.

I have no idea what that was about or where it came from. Maybe someboday wanted to get my name out there and started the rumor. Anyways, I thought it was funny. I even showed the story to my wife – best coming from me, no?

One thing I never let on about: I was the first guy to grab the magazine. And I still have a copy.”

Just imagine a world where WCW’s Rey Mysterio Jr. was dating Rachel Green. I’ll be there for you when the hurricanranas start to fall?