Pro wrestler uses iron spike to stab referee in head, ‘horrifying’ Texas video shows

A pro wrestler has been banned from his league after stabbing a referee and causing his hospitalization during a Texas event.

The stunt occurred Saturday, Dec. 11 at the “Christmas Star Wars” event in Irving put on by World Class Pro Wrestling. Lando Deltoro, a referee in a match that featured performer Devon Nicholson, was paid $75 and was supposed to be hit with a spike by Nicholson when the match concluded, the referee told The Daily Beast.

Deltoro was then supposed to cut himself with a razor as a part of the planned stunt, but the referee told The Daily Beast he “didn’t blade hard enough to Nicholson’s liking.”

Nicholson, known by his wrestling names as “Hannibal” or “Blood Hunter,” is shown in graphic video on top of the referee, punching him and stabbing him with the iron spike. Deltoro is heard screaming as his face is bloodied.

WARNING: The video below contains graphic footage.

The referee said in a Twitter post it was difficult for him to tell the wrestler to stop.

“I just wanted to say that’s it’s very hard to talk when there is a 300 lbs man’s knee on your back and then being put in a choke hold while being stabbed repeatedly in the head with an iron spike,” he said on Twitter.

Deltoro passed out shortly after the attack, he said. He shared a photo on Twitter, which showed his head needed staples in various places.

He later said he had a blood infection and needed to go to multiple hospitals for treatment. Late Wednesday night, he said he was back home.

“I was hired to do a job and it went off-script,” Deltoro told The Daily Beast. “It went way off-script.”

‘There’s no place in pro wrestling for that’

One day after the event, World Class Pro Wrestling CEO Jerry Bostic said in a statement that the league will no longer be associated with Nicholson.

He called the attack “one of the most horrifying things” he’s ever seen.

“What happened last night is never OK in wrestling, ever, or in anything to be exact,” Bostic said. “Someone went into business for themselves, then took it too far, and someone could have lost their life because of it.”

He apologized to fans whose trust was broken, saying the league “will take every stop possible to ensure” it does not happen again.

Bostic, who said he is not a fan of “hardcore” wrestling, added that he is struggling to understand why Nicholson would commit such an act.

“There’s no place in pro wrestling for that. There’s no place at all for it,” he said.

Wrestling community reacts

Some pro wrestlers spoke out against Nicholson after seeing the video. The Miz, one of the WWE’s top superstars, told TMZ that Nicholson should be banned.

“You don’t do that stuff,” The Miz said. “That didn’t look like a mistake.

Will Ospreay, a wrestler in the New Japan Pro Wrestling league, said Nicholson should be charged with assault.

“I hate cancel culture more than anyone. But when another persons life is in danger there should be no question,” Ospreay said on Twitter. “The business is about trust & at times can be the Wild West but once that trust is abused it can not be repaired. Unacceptable.”

Another referee at the event, Colby Cowperthwaite, apologized to Deltoro for not acting faster during the incident.

“I’m not going to lie, I was scared to death to get into that ring,” he said on Instagram. “So, I did what I thought was best and ran to the back and tried to get as much help as I could.”

Nicholson responds

In a video posted on YouTube, which he later set to private, Nicholson defended himself and said Deltoro was hired “because he was a bleeder,” USA Today reported.

Nicholson said that because of the mask he was wearing, he had difficulty seeing what was happening in front of him.

“What happened, this referee was supposed to bleed from razor blade cuts,” Nicholson said, according to USA Today. “I assumed he actually cut himself with the razor blades.”