Following the tragic death of former WWE star Brian Christopher on Sunday, Dave Meltzer provided more details on the past troubles Christopher faced in his life, as well as Christopher’s relationship with his father Jerry Lawler, and below is a recap of Meltzer’s comments on Wrestling Observer Radio.
-Meltzer noted Christopher had been in prison for the past three weeks, stemming from the most recent arrest on DUI charges in which police found an open container in his car. Christopher was not in jail stemming from the arrest on theft charges following his failure to pay a hotel bill, which was the arrest prior to the most recent DUI arrest.
-Christopher had been battling drug problems for years, and Meltzer related him to an “old school” heavy drug using professional wrestler from the territory days, which despite his talent, he could not overcome his drug problems.
-Meltzer shared a story about Christopher going across the Canadian border years ago during which he was arrested for possession of meth and steroids. Following the arrest, Christopher told Meltzer that people have no idea what it’s like to be Jerry Lawler’s son, as Jerry Lawler never drank or did drugs, and lived a completely sober lifestyle despite being in the business at a time when drugs and alcohol were abundant amongst talents.
-On why Jerry Lawler did not publicly acknowledge Christopher as his son during Lawler’s wrestling heyday, Meltzer noted that Lawler first did not want fans to know that he was old enough to have a son of Christopher’s age, but also, Lawler was afraid that due to Christopher’s behavior Christopher would tarnish the Lawler name, so he kept it a secret until it became public knowledge. Lawler’s relationship with Christopher was later used in a storyline on WWE TV during which Lawler was feuding with Michael Cole.
-Melter explained that Lawler was constantly trying to bail Christopher out of trouble, and after Christopher’s most recent jailing, Lawler had apparently “had enough” and decided he was not going to bail Christopher out of this one, in an attempt to get Christopher on the right path. Unfortunately, Christopher was unable to handle jail and took his own life.
-Meltzer revealed that “three or four years ago” Christopher unsuccessfully attempted suicide, which is something not too many people were aware of and Meltzer just learned himself on Sunday.
Wrestling Observer Radio