12 Wrestling Stars Who Profited From Controversy

2. Josè González

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqGqTQ6TzB4 Bruiser Brody was an innovative, tough-as-nails wrestler who was respected by some peers for his willingness to stand up for himself and was castigated by others (and many promoters) for being a difficult business partner. In 1988, a confrontation between Brody and wrestler/booker Josè González of the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council turned deadly. González, according to many eyewitness reports, asked Brody to discuss business with him in a shower stall in a Bayamón venue. Screams followed, and Tony Atlas ran in to find Brody holding his stomach and González brandishing a knife. Paramedics were slow in reaching Brody, and he died in the hospital the following day. González, who maintained that he acted in self-defense, was initially tried with first-degree murder, but the charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter. Many American wrestlers at the scene of the crime were only given their subpoenas after the trial had ended, and others feared for their own lives and were afraid to testify against González. In the end, González was acquitted. Rumors swirled that González was acting not only on behalf of himself, but of WWC owner and Puerto Rican wrestling legend Carlos Colón, who had to negotiate directly with Brody. Others believed that Colón assisted in a cover-up. Either way, in 1989, González - painted as a "defender" of Puerto Rico - received a huge push as a babyface, disgusting many, but lining his own pockets.