Wrestling is a dangerous business—sometimes even outside the ring.
Doc Gallows, known for his runs in WWE, Impact Wrestling, and NJPW, recently appeared on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, where he shared two jaw-dropping stories from his days wrestling internationally on the independent circuit. The tales involved machine guns in Nigeria, smoked rat meat, and a promoter being shot in the head in South America.
Gallows recalled a terrifying incident from a wrestling tour in Nigeria, promoted by a man known as “The Great Power Uti.” Things spiraled out of control at the Lagos airport, where Gallows confronted the promoter over unpaid money.
“I ended up with the promoter outside of the Lagos airport by the lapels of the jacket,” Gallows said.
“Then there were about six machine guns in my face.”
The situation escalated to the point where the U.S. government got involved.
“I answer the phone… and this guy goes, ‘This is so-and-so from the United States State Department. We recommend you never return to Nigeria. You’re now on a list of people to kill.’”
Earlier in the tour, Gallows was introduced to the local cuisine—with some unexpected results.
“They come over and they go, ‘Would you like to try African bush meat?’” Gallows recalled.
“I got a beer and I got my kebab of African bush meat… I finish it… and I look at the guy, and he goes, ‘Bush meat in America, you call rat.’ Like these f*cking guys fed me a smoked rat.”
Gallows also ran a self-promoted tour in South America, which initially went off without a hitch. After two successful shows, he sold the ring to a local promoter with plans to return for more events.
“I got home and I was all geeked up about it. I go, ‘Finally, I finally got one of these foreign gigs that are good.’”
But the excitement didn’t last.
“I called the office a few days later… and the secretary goes, ‘Oh, you didn’t hear Mr. Luke? After you guys left, he got shot in the head.’”
These days, Doc Gallows is in a far more stable position. Alongside longtime partner Karl Anderson, the two are considered one of the top tag teams in the business. Gallows also runs Lariato Pro Wrestling in Georgia, which recently landed a television deal on Roku.
