Brian Christopher

Brian Christopher Lawler[1] (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018)[1] was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as Brian Christopher and Grand Master Sexay. Lawler was a one-time WWF Tag Team Champion as part of Too Cool with Scotty 2 Hotty, and won 44 titles within the United States Wrestling Association. He was the son of professional wrestler Jerry Lawler[1] and brother of wrestling referee Kevin Christian.[2]

This article is about the professional wrestler. For the lacrosse player, see Brian Christopher (lacrosse).

Brian Christopher
Brian Christopher in 2000
Birth nameBrian Christopher Lawler
Born(1972-01-10)January 10, 1972[1]
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.[1]
DiedJuly 29, 2018(2018-07-29) (aged 46)[1]
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.[1]
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Parent(s)Jerry Lawler (father)
Kay Lawler (mother)
RelativesThe Honky Tonk Man (cousin)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Brian Christopher[1]
Brian Lawler[1]
El Unico[1]
Grand Master Sexay[1] Grandmaster Sexay[1]
Billed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Billed weight213 lb (97 kg)[1]
Trained byJerry Lawler[1]
Debut1988[1]
Retired2017

Professional wrestling career

United States Wrestling Association (1988–1997)

Lawler began his career as one half of the masked tag team "The Twilight Zone" with Tony Williams under the individual ring names of Nebula (Lawler) and Quasar (Williams). After they were unmasked, Brian continued to wrestle in the United States Wrestling Association under the name "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher. He feuded with wrestlers such as Jeff Jarrett, Bill Dundee, Tom Prichard, and The Moondogs, and his father Jerry Lawler. Among his partners were Tony Williams (as the New Kids), Doug Gilbert, Scotty Flamingo, and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert.

World Wrestling Federation (1997–2001)

Lawler, still known as Brian Christopher, joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1997 and began competing in the light heavyweight division. Taka Michinoku defeated him in the finals of a tournament for the Light Heavyweight Championship. In mid-1998, he started teaming up with Scott "Too Hot" Taylor to form the tag team Too Much.

When he was known as Brian Christopher, his father Jerry Lawler would talk him up as being superior to all the other Light Heavyweights but never publicly acknowledged that Brian was his son, although after Paul Heyman revealed that fact on Raw, Jim Ross (Jerry's broadcast partner) always hinted at it. Often a running joke was that someone (usually a commentator) would mention their relationship, which led to both of them adamantly denying that they were related.

Lawler as Grandmaster Sexay (left) with Scotty 2 Hotty as Too Cool in 1999

On the June 13, 1999, episode of Heat, Brian and Scott adopted the ring names Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty, returning after a hiatus. Their tag team was renamed Too Cool, and they were later joined by Rikishi. They defeated Edge and Christian in May 2000 on Raw to become the Tag Team Champions. They were even occasionally involved with top-card feuds, notably being enemies to the McMahon-Helmsley Faction and their associates, such as The Radicalz, Edge and Christian, and T & A. The trio's run ended in late 2000 when Rikishi was revealed as the man behind the wheel of the car that hit Stone Cold Steve Austin at Survivor Series. Shortly after, Rikishi turned on his teammates.

While Scotty was sidelined in 2001 with a broken ankle, Lawler formed a short-lived tag team with Steve Blackman and was later released from the company for illegally conveying drugs across the Canada–United States border.[3]

Later career (2002–2011)

On February 24, 2002, at the second World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) pay per view in Las Vegas, Lawler wrestled WWA Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett for the title, but lost. In April 2002, Lawler wrestled in a fatal-four-way match for the championship at a house show but lost to Nathan Jones, Scott Steiner and Jarrett.

From June 2002 until April 2004, he worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Brian Lawler. He formed a group called Next Generation with fellow second generation stars David Flair and Erik Watts. They were involved in a rivalry with Dusty Rhodes and harassed him with a replica of the NWA World Title belt that he wore when he was champion.

In April 2004, Lawler was signed back to the WWE roster as Jim Ross's last act as head of WWE Talent Relations. He only appeared in four matches: against Kane, Wavell Starr, Christian, and Garrison Cade. He was later released after only one month with the company after John Laurinaitis took over as head of WWE Talent Relations. Prior to his release, Lawler was scheduled to take part in a Battle Royal for the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, but he was replaced by Maven.

After his departure from WWE, Lawler wrestled for several independent promotions, including Memphis Wrestling and UWF Live. Christopher usually worked with his teammates Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty, making several reunions of Too Cool.

Sporadic WWE appearances (2011, 2014)

On the March 14, 2011 episode of Raw, Lawler returned to the WWE as a heel in a segment between Michael Cole and his father, Jerry Lawler, where Brian would side with Cole, saying that he felt that Jerry never cared for him and that he was ashamed to be his son. Lawler indirectly agreed, telling Brian that he was a bigger screw-up than Charlie Sheen.

Lawler returned to the WWE on January 6, 2014, appearing on the "Old School" edition of Raw and reuniting with Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty, for what would be the final time, to take on 3MB in a six-man tag team match. His team was successful in winning. He made what would be his final WWE appearance, on NXT Arrival in February 2014 as part of Too Cool in a losing effort as mystery opponents to The Ascension, who defended their NXT Tag Team Championship.

Personal life

Lawler was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, in stark contrast to his father, a diehard Cleveland Browns fan. According to his brother Kevin, Lawler was buried in a Steelers-themed casket with his ring name.[4]

Lawler was arrested in February 2009 for disorderly conduct.[5] On June 26, 2009, he was arrested for public intoxication just before 3 a.m. According to the police report, he "became very belligerent" once in custody and threatened the police officer who arrested him.[5] On July 13, 2009, he was jailed for 30 days after failing to attend an in-patient treatment center as part of his plea agreement.[6]

Death

Around 1 a.m. on July 7, 2018, Lawler was again jailed for driving under the influence, and for evading police.[7] On the early morning of July 29, 2018, Lawler was found hanging in a cell at the Hardeman County Jail and was observed to be brain dead.[8] His life support was disabled after his father Jerry Lawler had arrived to the hospital to bid his farewell.[9] Lawler was pronounced dead at around 4:40 p.m. EST at the age of 46.[10] On the one year anniversary of his death, Jerry Lawler filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hardeman County, Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen and others for allegedly failing to protect Lawler. He alleged that Doolen had personally promised to "keep an eye" on Lawler after he was incarcerated.[11]

Championships and accomplishments
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See also

References
  1. "Brian Lawler Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  2. "Eddie Gilbert profile part 2". EddieGilbert.com.
  3. "Brian Lawler FAQ". WrestleView.
  4. "Photo: Brian Christopher's Brother Reveals Custom "Grand Master Sexay" Casket". Wrestling Inc. August 2, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  5. "Former WWE Wrestler Arrested". WBBJ-TV. June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
  6. Caldwell, James (July 14, 2009). "Other News: Judge decides jail sentence for Brian Christopher, the son of Jerry Lawler". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  7. {{cite web|url=https://www.tmz.com/2018/07/24/wwe-grandmaster-sexay-arrested-dui-brian-christopher-lawler/
  8. Meltzer, Dave (July 29, 2018). "Brian Christopher pronounced brain dead after suicide attempt". f4wonline.com. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  9. Meltzer, Dave (July 29, 2018). "Brian Christopher passes away at 46 years old". f4wonline.com. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  10. Johnson, Mike (July 29, 2018). "UPDATE: BRIAN CHRISTOPHER LAWLER TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT, PASSES AWAY AT 46 YEARS OLD". pwinsider.com. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  11. Hardiman, Samuel; Garland, Max (July 29, 2019). "Jerry Lawler files wrongful death suit in son Brian's death, alleges he hung from cell bolt". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  12. Gerweck, Steve (November 5, 2010). "Former WWE star wins Southern title". WrestleView. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  13. "NWA North American Tag Team Championship history".
  14. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  15. "Independent Wrestling Results – October 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  16. Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  17. "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  18. "Too Cool". WWE. May 29, 2000. Archived from the original on July 6, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
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