Some say it was over a payday dispute, while others suggest the possibility of a drug deal gone awry. But no matter why Frank "Bruiser Brody" Goodish was murdered in a shower by Jose "Invader #1" Gonzalez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on July 16, 1998. The murder of Brody certainly occurred, though, and likely did not need to happen. Talent squabbles with promoters over paydays have led to violent fisticuffs. As well, when drugs have been involved between wrestlers, violence has been the solution, too, but never murder. Of course, something more heinous than anything ever considered in pro wrestling had to have happened because both Dutch "Zeb Colter" Mantel and Tony Atlas were subpoenaed for testimony in the case, never took the witness stand (Mantel received his subpoena after the trial was over, and Atlas refused to take the stand), and both also continued to return to Puerto Rico to wrestle after Brody's death.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
