Infamous Wrestlers Who Are Rotting In Prison

The professional wrestling world sees plenty of drama inside the ring and in backstage segments, but sometimes, the soap opera becomes dark reality for the industry's larger-than-life stars. From the steroid trial of the 1990s, to the tragic deaths of some of WWE's biggest stars, to even more tragic cases of murder-suicides and wrestlers who have been charged with murder, there is absolutely a dark side (of the ring) that fans will never see play out on camera.

Some wrestlers have served jail time for a multitude of reasons but have gone on to achieve legendary status, including Kurt Angle, Lex Luger, and Jeff Hardy, but others are still rotting away in the United States prison system after heinous crimes ranging from sex trafficking, to manslaughter, to outright murder. From the downfall of "The Original Diva" Sunny to lesser known names from history like "The King of Rock 'n Roll" Buck Zumhofe, professional wrestling has its far share of true crime stories, and many are still paying for those crimes behind bars — and will be for a very long time.

The downfall of "The Original Diva" Sunny, whose real name is Tammy Sytch, has been well-documented. Sytch was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, and her life seemed to spiral into chaos in the years following.

In 2012, Sytch was arrested five times in four weeks, as she repeatedly violated protective orders following an allegedly intoxicated altercation with her then-boyfriend, independent wrestler Damien Darling. After a sixth arrest in January 2013, she served 114 days in jail in Connecticut before being released in May. Two years later in May 2015, she was arrested several times for drunk driving several times, including one incident that ended when she drove into a ditch, blaming her GPS for the sudden turn. In January 2016, she was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but her time spent in rehab counted as time served; nevertheless, she would be in and out of jail for the next six years due to repeated drunk driving offenses and related charges, from contempt of court to eluding a police officer. She was also arrested for illegally possessing a weapon and making terroristic threats during an incident in which she allegedly threatened to kill an "intimate partner" while swinging a pair of scissors.

It all finally culminated in March 2022, when Sytch was involved in a fatal car crash in Florida in which a 75-year-old man was killed. According to a police report, Sytch crashed into the rear of a car that was stopped at a light. Sytch was taken to a hospital, where he blood was drawn, and in May 2022, she was arrested on DUI and manslaughter-related characters after it was determined her she was driving 3.5 times over the legal limit during the crash. She was initially released on bond before a judge ruled her a danger to the community, and she returned to jail. "The Original Diva" pleased no contest to the charges in August 2023 and was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison. Her tentative release date is December 2039.

Brian Michael McGhee, known to his fans by a variety of ring names including Donovan Ruddick, D.T. Porter, and "The Future," is currently in prison after being charged with first-degree murder after the killing of his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend in Tampa, Florida back in 2013, when he was 29. Ruddick was accused of stabbing Bianca McGaughey multiple times in the chest and neck at her apartment complex, all while the victim was on the phone with McGhee's wifewhile walking her dog. According to local authorities, McGaughey and the former wrestler had been broken up for around a year, but he continued to contact her up until the time of her stabbing death. Ruddick reportedly was parked outside of the victim's home before approaching her, stabbing her, and fleeing the scene. He crashed into a guardrail after police chased him to an adjacent county, and he was charged with first degree murder after he was released from a hospital.

During the trial, it was revealed McGhee admitted to the murder on social media, specifically on Facebook, where he posted bloody pictures of the victim. The Assistant State Attorney also said McGhee went to retrieve another knife from his car after the first one he used to stab McGauhey broke. While McGhee dodged the death penalty in Florida, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 2016.

"The King of Rock 'n Roll" Buck Zumhofe was trained by Verne Gagne, Ricky Steamboat, and the Iron Sheik, and worked in WCCW and the AWA, holding multiple championships — including the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship — throughout his career. He also appeared as a jobber in the WWF in the 1980s and 1990s, where he earned the dubious distinctions of being the first person to be put in a body bag by The Undertaker and the first WWF wrestler to lose a televised match against the debuting Hunter Hearst Helmsley, later known as Triple H.

Zumhofe faced legal trouble for the first time in 1986, when he was found guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor. He spent 36 months in prison after being convicted on the same charge — in a separate case — in January 1989. He was once again arrested in May 2013, charged this time with 12 felony counts of criminal sexual misconduct for sexually abusing a female relative between June 1999 and 2011. The victim reported the abuse after seeking therapy and medical care in 2012, and also testified during the trial.

The former wrestler reportedly ran from corrections officers and deputies after his jury trial. A complaint stated that after the guilty verdicts were read in court, Zumhofe's attorney asked to meet with him in a separate room, and when Zumhofe was being led out into the hallway, he attempted to run, but was subdued. He was sentenced to more than 25 years in May 2014 and will be 80 years old when he is released from prison.

"Hardbody" Harrison Norris was best known as a jobber on "WCW Monday Nitro," though he also made a non-wrestling appearance at the infamous Starrcade 1997. He remained with the promotion until it was bought out by WWE, and his contract was not renewed. He also appeared on the FX show "Toughman," which aired from 1999 to 2001, and was the show's heavyweight champion in 2000. Despite his mild success, he remains in prison for the rest of his life.

In August 2005, Norris' home was raided by FBI agents in Georgia, and he was arrested on nine counts of false imprisonment and sex trafficking. According to the Department of Justice, Norris had been running a prostitution business around the Atlanta area. He and a co-conspirator recruited and forced women, many of whom were poor, homeless, or addicted to drugs, to work as prostitutes and servants. According to the DOJ, he promised several victims he would "train them to become successful wrestlers in his female wrestling company." In addition to sex trafficking, the investigation found Norris also forced victims to work in two homes, performing labor such as hauling trees and laying sod. Norris kept the victims financially indebted to him, according to the DOJ, and said they couldn't leave until all their debts were paid, while he continued increasing what he claimed he was owed.

He was sentenced to life in prison and lifetime supervised release, as well as required to pay a $2,400 special assessment after he was convicted in November 2007 of 24 counts in relation to sex trafficking and forced labor.

The longest sentence of any wrestler currently in prison belongs to former Mexican wrestler Juana Barraza Samperio, who was sentenced to a total of 759 years after being convicted of murdering 16 elderly women in the early 1990s. Barraza wrestled as a luchadora known as "La Dama del Silencio," or, "The Lady of Silence," but was only known to many as a superfan who never got into the ring herself, but socialized amongst lucha libre circles in Mexico.

During her trial, Barraza, who became known as the "Mata-viejitas," or "Little Old Lady Killer," confessed to three other murders, and authorities went on to estimate she was involved in the deaths of 42 to 48 people, in total. Barraza allegedly pretended to be a government nurse to get access to her victims, who she would bludgeon or strangle before robbing them. She was caught in 2006 after fleeing the scene of a murder in which she had just strangled a victim with a stethoscope; Barraza was 48 years old. Her case went to trial in 2008, and by the time it was closed, authorities still had 30 unsolved murders on their hands.

Barraza is the subject of a popular Netflix documentary, "The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders," which premiered in July 2023.

Former NWA wrestler Ken Wayne, also known as "The Nightmare," is the founder and owner of New Experience Wrestling, a board member for Ohio Valley Wrestling, a former WCW and WWF enhancement talent, and a convicted sex offender. Wayne went to jail for child exploitation in February 2016 after investigators found him in possession of child pornography after a search of his Florida home in September 2012. The Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit and the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office discovered images and videos of child pornography, and he was arrested through the Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Wayne, whose real name is Kenneth Peal, plead guilty to the charge. He served five years in prison of his 20-year sentence, and is now serving 15 years house arrest, or "post-release supervision." He was also ordered to pay $1,000 to both the Mississippi Children's Trust Fund and the Mississippi Crime Victims Compensation Fund. Wayne is a registered sex offender.