Brian Christopher’s Brother Kevin Lawler posted the photo belowon Facebook of a custom made Pittsburgh Steelers/Grand Master Sexay casket. Brian was a die hard Steelers fan.
Visitation and funeral services for Christopher will take place this Friday at Hope Church in Memphis, Tennessee. The visitation is at noon, with the funeral taking place at 2:00 pm.
Kevin Lawler also posted the Brian Christopher tribute video below on his Facebook page.
Brian Christopher passed away after he reportedly hung himself while in a jail cell all by himself. He was in isolation due to his name’s notoriety. An attorney with experience in the area says the Lawler Family should demand answers from the Hardeman County Jail and an independent review.
Jeff Rosenblum, an attorney who has handled cases in the past where inmates sued prisons for injury or lack of care, says the Lawler Family deserves answers about what happened to Christopher. Rosenblum, who has filed 40 lawsuits against state and county-run jails is skeptical in a case like Brian Lawler’s.
“Most suicides are preventable, and most suicides in confinement are and should be preventable,” Rosenblum said to Fox 13.
Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen released a statement saying Christopher showed no suicidal tendencies when entering incarceration. The Tennessee Corrections Institute accredited the Hardeman County Jail in February this year.
“I want to see the log books. I want to talk to the inmates,” Rosenblum continued. “I want to get statements from those inmates, get statements from them to make sure these are accurate statements.”
“There may be more to this than meets the eye,” Lawler said while also adding that he was contacted by the TBI and asked not to speak on the matter because it is still under investigation.
Source: WrestlingINC
Jerry Lawler is breaking his silence following the death of his son — saying he was able to be at Brian Christopher‘s bedside during his final moments on Sunday.
“The King” spoke to Memphis’ FOX13 by phone about the tragic events of this past weekend. He says he can take comfort in the fact he held his son’s hand when his heart stopped beating.
Lawler said he was in North Carolina when he learned about the hanging incident. On Monday, it was revealed Christopher was in solitary confident due to his “notoriety.” After making the discovery, the jail employees performed CPR and paramedics then flew him to Regional One hospital.
Lawler rushed back to town early Sunday to be with his son. Christopher died later that afternoon.
Jerry says the family is appreciative of all the people who’ve reached out since Brian’s passing.
In regards to the death investigation being conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Lawler said there’s “more than this than meets the eye.” He told FOX13 he couldn’t elaborate until the police investigation was complete.
The visitation and funeral service will be held Friday at Memphis’ Hope Church. Visitation will be at noon, and the service will take place at 2 p.m.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
The NBC affiliate in Memphis reports that Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen has released a statement on the death former WWE Superstar Brian Christopher Lawler. Lawler passed away at the age of 46 on Sunday after trying to hang himself in jail the night before. Lawler had been incarcerated since his July 7th arrest for DUI, driving on a revoked license & evading arrest.
Doolen noted that Lawler was placed in a cell by himself because of his “notoriety” and that the department had no indication that he was suicidal. Lawler was not on suicide watch. Lawler was given CPR and rushed to the hospital where he later passed, surrounded by family, including his dad, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler.
At the request of 25th District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI Special Agents are investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident involving an inmate at the Hardeman County Jail.On Saturday evening, Brian C. Lawler (DOB 1/10/72) was found hanging in his cell. Corrections officers administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Lawler was transported to Regional One Medical Center in Memphis where he died Sunday afternoon.
Preliminary information indicates the incident does not involve foul play. However, the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Lawler was booked into the Hardeman County Jail on July 7th on charges of DUI, Driving on Revoked, and Evading Arrest.
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE started the process Sunday of honoring two of its stars who passed away — Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff and Brian Christopher.
At Sunday’s NXT show in Phoenix, both men were recognized before the show with a ten bell salute. The crowd stood in absolute silence during the tolls.
During the NXT ceremony, Volkoff was described as one of the greatest villains in the history of sports entertainment. Throughout most of his WWE run, Volkoff was a heat magnet — often singing the national anthem of the Soviet Union to rile up crowds. He participated in the original Wrestlemania tagging with the Iron Sheik under the management of Freddie Blassie.
Volkoff’s career spanned more than 30 years. Even after his retirement in the mid-90s, he’d make the occasional one-off appearance. He was inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
Here’s a look at how NXT paid tribute to the pair of performers.
https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1023733455647997953
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Brian Christopher’s father, Jerry “The King” Lawler tried on several occasions to help his son and had plans of getting him into a drug rehab before the time of his death. He also encouraged his son to stay clean in hopes of assisting him to land a possible job with WWE.
Dave Meltzer spoke about Christopher during Wrestling Observer Radio where he said Lawler hinted at helping his son get a job at the WWE Performance Center if he could stay sober long enough.
“Jerry had told [Christoper] many times that if you can clean yourself up for a year I’ll get you a job,” Meltzer said. “You know whether it’s a trainer at the Performance Center which is kind of like what he was hinting or something, but ‘you’ve got to clean yourself up for a year.’ There would be periods where he would get clean to a degree, but it never lasted a year. I know one of his friends told me a couple of months and another one said that you know, his version of clean — the ‘wrestler version of clean’ is that he was on methadone and things like that.”
“I think there was a suicide attempt before that not too many people know of, I didn’t even know of until today, three or four years ago,” Meltzer said.
Brian Christopher was pulled over at 1:00 am on July 7th after police observed he was swerving and speeding. The former WWE Tag Team Champion was booked for DUI and evading arrest before being held on a $40,000 bond. Lawler was found in his jail cell on July 29th after he hung himself and following being rushed to the hospital, he was kept on life support until he was pronounced dead at 4:40 pm EST.
Source: WrestlingINC
Former WWE Tag Team Champion Brian Lawler aka… Brian Christopher has passed away Sunday morning at the age of 46.
Christopher is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Competing in the WWE as Brian Christopher, Lawler popularized himself in the Light Heavyweight Division as “Too Sexy” Brian Christopher after being a staple for the USWA promotion, following the footsteps of his father Jerry Lawler. Christopher ditched his cocky character before donning a hip-hop style persona as Grandmaster Sexay. Christopher started teaming with Scott Taylor as Too Much, and the change in character also gave them a new team name, Too Cool. The success of the team led them to a reign as WWE Tag Team Champions in 2000.
Since his release in 2001, Christopher has mostly competed for independent promotions, but made a short appearance with Taylor (Scotty 2 Hotty) in 2014 in an attempt to win the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Christopher was hospitalized after hanging himself in jail Saturday night, and he was not expected to recover.
F4WOnline reported that Christopher was pronounced brain dead earlier Sunday morning and put on life support for a period of time. The decision was then made to pull him off life support and he officially passed away around 4:40pm ET, according to PWInsider and Brian’s brother, Kevin Lawler.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced at the request of Mark Davidson, the 25th District Attorney General, they have an ongoing investigation into the events surrounding the death of Brian Christopher. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also released a statement earlier today.
“Corrections officers administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Lawler was transported to Regional One Medical Center in Memphis where he died Sunday afternoon.”
Our condolences, hearts and prayers go out to the Lawler family.
WWE remembered Christopher with the following announcement on their website:
“WWE is saddened to learn that Brian Christopher Lawler, who is best known in WWE as Too Cool’s Grandmaster Sexay, has passed away. Lawler, who is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler, competed during the height of the Attitude Era. WWE extends its condolences to Lawler’s family, friends and fans.”
Former WWE star Brian Christopher was once again arrested earlier this month in Tennessee — this time for DUI and evading arrest.
According to TMZ Sports, the wrestler formerly known as Grandmaster Sexay of Too Cool fame was pulled over around 1 a.m. on July 7 after he was seen swerving and speeding.
When police hit their lights, Brian initially didn’t stop. He later told authorities he was just trying to make it home.
When cops were able to nab him, the wrestler reportedly smelled like alcohol and had a 12-ounce can open inside the car. He was booked for DUI and evading arrest.
If this headline sounds familiar, that’s because Christopher was arrested earlier this summer when he couldn’t cover the cost of an $800 hotel bill. He told the manager he was using a company credit card. However, the card was declined.
As you may recall, Brian was also involved in a bloody brawl earlier this year with ex-TNA star Chase Stevens. Brian was beaten so badly during the incident he had to undergo surgery.
Christopher, real name Brian Lawler, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler.
The outside-the-ring issues for Brian Christopher Lawler (son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler) continued this week. FOX 13 Memphis is reporting that Lawler was arrested in downtown Memphis at the Hampton Inn because he tried to leave without paying the room.
The report states that the manager flagged down the police and they were informed that two people had stayed there without paying.
According to the police affidavit, Lawler and Terry Teague used a company credit card that did not have enough money to pay the $802 cost of the room. Lawler was charged with Theft Of Services of $1000 or less.
Lawler has had a history of legal issues over the years. Some of you may recall that Lawler was involved in a hotel fight in February with former TNA wrestler Chase Stevens. Lawler suffered a fractured skull, broken nose, and broken orbital bone and, according to the police report, Lawler was intoxicated. Stevens was charged with battery.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that ex-TNA wrestler Chase Stevens was arrested last month after beating Brian Christopher so badly he needed surgery on his face.
According to the affidavit, Chase — real name Jonathan Ryan Clark — was taken into custody on February 18th in Indiana for battery following an incident that took place at a hotel.
The report states an intoxicated Brian Christopher Lawler — aka Grandmaster Sexay from the tag team Too Cool — entered the lobby bloody with severe injuries described as “swelling all over, an approximate 2-inch laceration to his right brow, orbital eye socket discoloration to both eyes, bleeding from the nose, abrasions and noticeable front tooth dental injuries.”
Officers then made contact with Stevens in his hotel room who told police Lawler had caused them problems at nightclubs hours earlier and refused to go to sleep on the floor of the hotel room.
The wrestler then admitted to punching Brian in the face two times, but claimed it was in self defense. He also says Brian fell and hit the ground. Officers noted in the report, “There was visible blood stains on the carpet floor, a small amount of blood smears on the wall and a small amount blood spatter on the sheets. The trash can inside the room had blood and tissue in it as well.”
According to the report: “Lawler said he was attacked for no reason but he was very confused. The physician reported that Lawler had several broken bones in his face, broken teeth and that surgery was required. Officers were told that a trauma team had been activated after Lawler’s injuries had been evaluated. Lawler was intoxicated on alcohol and admitted he is on several prescription drugs. Lawler told me that he absolutely wanted to pursue charges against Clark.”
Chase Stevens was then taken into custody and a witness in the room told police that Brian was drunk/causing a scene and Stevens hit him more than once to “calm Lawler down.”
Prior to surgery, Brian Christopher told police that Chase thought he was making an advance on the witness — who is Stevens’ girlfriend — but the former WWE star says he didn’t.
Sources tell Pro Wrestling Sheet that Lawler was released from the hospital days later. Chase is out of jail as well.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
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