Wrestling World Reacts To Brutal Hannibal Assault On Referee
Hannibal 'The Blood Hunter' disgustingly beat and choked out referee Lando Deltoro.
Be warned, for what follows is a disgusting tale that some may find extremely disturbing.
Referee Lando Deltoro was seriously injured over the weekend due to an assault from Devon Nicholson, aka Hannibal 'The Blood Hunter' of Hannibal TV.
At Saturday's World Class Pro Wrestling's Christmas Star Wars event, Hannibal wrestled former WWE Intercontinental Champion Carlito. Post-match, Nicholson attacked Deltoro with a spike, causing the official to suffer a torn artery as he was left unconscious and in a pool of his own blood.
I’m not about “Cancel Culture”, but promotions need to STOP booking “Hannibal”, AKA “Blood Hunter”. There’s been numerous accusations of sexual harassment & several incidents of him legit injuring people. He’s a reckless liability that’s all about himself & getting YouTube views. pic.twitter.com/AfB2hc5LiF
— The Slop Drop (@TheSlopDrop1) December 12, 2021
Deltoro was not actually the referee for this contest, but he was meant to be part of a pre-planned post-match attack from Hannibal. Taking to Reddit, a user named Colbafone claims to be the ref for this match, and he detailed how Hannibal had gone into business for himself and was "messed up" prior to the bout.
Colbafone stated how Andrew Anderson - who, along with Hannibal, is managed by Kevin Sullivan - was meant to come out and brawl to the back with Carlito. From there, Hannibal would attack Lando Deltoro with a spike and the referee was meant to do a blade job to sell the attack.
When Deltoro hadn't managed to bleed, Hannibal attacked him for real with the spike and hits him several times after legitimately choking him out. With Deltoro unconscious and bleeding profusely, it took Hannibal's real-life girlfriend Blaze to get him to stop this assault. The police were soon on the scene, with Colbafone alleging Hannibal hid the weapon and Sullivan telling him to "kayfabe" the cops and pretend this was all merely a part of the show. Likewise, when Hannibal approached Colbafone in an aggressive manner, MLW standout Jacob Fatu stood up and protected the official.
For Lando Deltoro, he was taken to hospital and underwent surgery and required several staples into his head. He has has since posted on his own social media accounts to update on his condition.
Recovering at home, still a big fuzzy and pain, yes lots of pain. But I’ll live. Thanks you all for out pouring of love and support .I am a firm believer that if you put good out into the world, good will return to you #downbutnotout pic.twitter.com/0bE71rWbtP
Advertisement— Lando Deltoro God’s perfect idiot (@Elcucuyfeo) December 13, 2021
World Class Pro Wrestling promoter Jerry Bostic has issued a statement detailing how the promotion will never work with Devon Nicholson again, berating Hannibal for his actions. Since then, Hannibal has posted a video of this incident on his YouTube channel in an attempt to get more hits...
On a more positive note, a GoFundMe has been set up for Lando Deltoro, with over $2,000 already raised for the referee as of this writing.
Several within the wrestling business have also taken to their own social media platforms to rightfully slam Nicholson for this disgusting attack.
The wrestling industry is a family - and the referees are an even smaller brother (and sisterhood). One of our own, who by all accounts is a quality dude, was injured severely in an unfortunate in ring incident. Donate if you can. Share if you would. https://t.co/8rKSBJt30t
Advertisement— Jason Ayers (@JasonAyersWWE) December 13, 2021
I worked an event last night on which @DevonHannibal / @TheHannibalTV assaulted & mutilated a ref who was left to lay in a pool of his own blood and choke before EMTs got him to a hospital.
Hannibal’s actions are uncalled for and he should NOT be allowed ANYWHERE near a ring
Advertisement— MJ Bell (@RefMJBell) December 12, 2021
Hey @TheHannibalTV you can block me on Facebook but it stop me from sharing what you did to a referee.
We put our bodies on the line for this business and you took advantage of that on someone not trained to defend themselves.Get the word out and get him out of our business!! pic.twitter.com/So1Q29fgu4
Advertisement— Ryan Justice (@Justice8908) December 12, 2021
I hate cancel culture more than anyone. But when another persons life is in danger there should be no question.
The business is about trust & at times can be the Wild West but once that trust is abused it can not be repaired.Unacceptable. https://t.co/gFv1WNiZwa
Advertisement— ᵂⁱˡˡ ᴼˢᵖʳᵉᵃʸ • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) December 13, 2021
Lost in your argument is that a referee had to go to the hospital and almost died because Hannibal royally fucked up. No one is disputing that it was originally part of an angle, what people are mad about is that Hannibal went beyond and put his scene partner at a huge risk.
— Brian Zane (@zmanbrianzane) December 13, 2021