Scotty 2 Hotty On Brian Christopher's Death And Their Relationship While In WWE

Key Concepts

• Brian Lawler (Grandmaster Sexay): A professional wrestler known for his persona and struggles with substance abuse.
• Rock and Roll Express Tournament: A wrestling event where the speaker and Brian Lawler interacted.
• Substance Abuse: A recurring theme in Brian Lawler's life, impacting his behavior and well-being.
• Persona vs. Reality: The distinction between Brian Lawler's wrestling character and his personal life.
• Mug Shots: Used as an indicator of Brian Lawler's state of mind and struggles.
• Tag Team Dynamics: The speaker's relationship with Brian Lawler as a tag team partner.

Relationship with Brian Lawler

The speaker's relationship with Brian Lawler was not initially close. They had a significant verbal argument during a Rock and Roll Express tournament in 2007, shortly after the speaker's release. This led to a five-year period of no contact. However, after this period, Brian Lawler reached out, apologized, and the two men began to mend their relationship.

A Period of Closer Connection

In the years following their reconciliation, the speaker felt they grew closer than ever. A specific memory highlights this: the speaker brought his then 10-year-old son, Keegan, to the UK for shows with Brian Lawler and Rikishi. The speaker has a picture of Brian showing Keegan how to use a payphone, putting coins in. This moment was significant for the speaker, as it showed a positive and "cleaned up" side of Brian, indicating he was in a good place.

Brian Lawler's Struggles and Decline

Despite periods of improvement, Brian Lawler was consistently late, which the speaker learned to accept over time. The speaker also noted a decline in Brian's well-being towards the end of his life. This decline was evidenced by:

• A physical altercation: Brian had a severe fight with a member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the speaker couldn't recall the name but saw pictures of the aftermath, indicating Brian "beat him up real bad").
• Arrests: Brian was arrested again. The speaker observed his last mug shot, which was starkly different from his usual smiling or laughing mug shots. Instead of his typical public-facing persona, he appeared "weathered and beat down," signaling a bad place.
• Death in Jail: Brian Lawler ultimately passed away in jail.

Tag Team Dynamics and Personalities

The speaker clarified that he and Brian Lawler were never close on the road, and they rarely roomed together. The only exception was at Owen Hart's funeral, where the company doubled up rooms for attendees. The speaker's usual travel partners were Kane, Edge, or Funaki.

The lack of closeness was attributed to differing personalities rather than specific issues as a tag team. Brian Lawler was described as a "party guy" who liked to go out, while the speaker was not. A key observation was that Brian seemed to prefer living the "Grandmaster Sexay" persona 24/7, even to the point of embarrassment for his tag team partner. The speaker felt Brian "liked Grandmaster Sexy better than he liked Brian Lawler" and that he "went down that bad road and just could never get away from it."

Conclusion

The speaker's memories of Brian Lawler are a mix of early friction, a period of reconciliation and growing closeness, and ultimately, a sad observation of his struggles with substance abuse and his eventual decline and death. The speaker learned to manage Brian's lateness and accepted his personality differences, but the final years were marked by concern for Brian's well-being, culminating in his passing.