WWE: 12 Shocking Real-Life Incidents Wrestlers Want You To Forget

10. Art Barr Sexually Assaults A 19-Year-Old Woman

Short-time and casual fans might not remember Art Barr. He's mostly remembered for teaming up with Eddie Guerrero in Mexico's AAA promotion, as well as a Beetlejuice ripoff who appeared in the early days of WCW and being part of a group of wrestlers who ripped their gimmicks off from the movies. In 1989, Barr was appearing for Pacific Northwest Wrestling under his Beatleguice gimmick. It wasn't top-of-the-card material, but it was enough to make him a star, especially with the younger audience. After a show on July 16th in Oregon, Barr found himself alone in an armoury with a 19-year old wrestling fan named Angela, and they ended up having sex beneath a stairwell. Immediately after, Barr was charged with first-degree rape. The details of this charge have been subject to questioning over the years. Without doubt, Barr and Angela had sex under that stairwell. When polygraphed in court, Barr admitted that she did not give her consent to sex in that location, but stated that she did want sex somewhere else. But by having sex under that stairwell at that time, it counts as rape. In any case, Art was under a ton of media scrutiny at the time, mostly due to the promoters continuing to use him in wrestling shows while awaiting trial. Again, I must remind you that Barr's character was kid-friendly, so this was the wrestling equivalent of Barney the Dinosaur still being on TV despite being charged with rape. In the end, Barr went for a plea-bargain: instead of first-degree rape, he was charged with first-degree sexual assault, paid a $1000 fine, was given two years probation and sentenced to 180 hours of community service. A hefty price, but on the positive side, no prison sentence and you don't walk around with a rape conviction forever. Barr left the territory and eventually America not long after due to the stigma of his trial following him around, and ended up wrestling in Mexican promotions. In the early '90's, he was considered the dominant heel in Mexico, and was on the verge of being called up to NJPW and ECW before dying of heart problems in 1994. To give you an example of how popular he was in Mexico at the time his death, Paul Heyman was reported to be upset at having to settle for his partner, Eddie Guerrero. Settle. For Eddie Guerrero.
Contributor
Contributor

Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.