wrestling / News
UDPATED: Kevin Lawler Confirms Brian Lawler Passing and Releases Statement
UPDATE: PWInsider reported that Lawler was taken off life support earlier, and his official time of death was listed as 4:40 pm EST. His brother, Kevin Lawler, also confirmed his passing on his Facebook, and you can read his official statement below.
ORIGINAL: Brian Lawler, best known as Brian Christopher and Grandmaster Sexay, has reportedly passed away after attempting to hang himself in jail. Pro Wrestling Sheets reports that according to several sources, Lawler was taken to the hospital after the hanging attempt in a Memphis jail, where he was incarcerated after being arrested for a DUI in front of his house earlier this month.
While PWS has not yet confirmed the information, Dave Meltzer says he has confirmed that Lawler passed away. Wrestling Inc is also independently reporting Lawler’s death. He was forty-six.
Lawler will always be best known for his run in WWE, where he competed as Brian Christopher. The son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, Brian grew up in Memphis and was surrounded by the wrestling business. He began working in the ring in the late 1980s under a mask, and eventually took the name Brian Christopher in order to avoid the connection to his dad. He worked in the USWA as part of the New Kids with Tony Williams, as well as having feuds with the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Bill Dundee, Tom Prichard, The Moondogs, and his father Jerry Lawler.
Lawler joined WWE in the late 1990s and competed as a solo talent, making it to the finals of the Light Heavyweight Title tournament where he lost to Taka Michinoku. He got teamed with Scott Taylor as the gimmick that would make them famous. Originally known as “Too Much” in a sexualized, semi-gay heel gimmick, they would eventually turn babyface. Lawler became known as “Grandmaster Sexay” and Taylor became “Scotty 2 Hotty,” and the duo was renamed Too Cool, working in the tag team division and eventually grouping up with Rikishi. The trio were popular and hugely over with the crowd.
Lawler was released from WWE in 2001 when he was charged with possessing drugs due to “muscle enhancers” he brought from Canada into the US. The charges were dropped, but the damage had been done. Lawler worked the independent scene and, despite a brief return in 2004, never found the success he had during the Too Cool era.
Lawler was arrested on July 7th after police saw him speeding and swerving in his car at 1 AM. Lawler refused to stop the car when the police pulled him over, and eventually arrested him at his home, where he smelled of alcohol and had an open twelve-ounce can in the car. He was arrested and had still been in jail on that incident at the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Department in Bolivar, Tennessee when he made the suicide attempt last night. He has had a history of run-ins with the law and addiction issues over the past several years.
On behalf of 411, our condolences to Brian Lawler’s family, friends and fans.
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