Before he was a multi-time champion in WWE and Japan, Doc Gallows traveled the world on the independent circuit, which led to some truly wild and dangerous situations. On a recent episode of Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, he shared a pair of unbelievable stories about wrestling in Nigeria and South America.
Stranded in Nigeria
Gallows detailed a harrowing tour of Nigeria for a promoter known as “The Great Power Uti,” which ended with him stranded and threatened. “I ended up with the promoter outside of the Lagos airport by the lapels of the jacket, and then there were about six machine guns in my face,” Gallows recalled. The situation was so dire that he eventually received a call from the U.S. government. “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.'”
He also shared a humorous, if unsettling, story from one of his first nights on that same tour. “They come over and they go, ‘Would you like to try African bush meat?’… 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 fucking guys fed me a smoked rat.”
A South American Tragedy
Gallows also told the story of promoting his own successful tour of South America. After two great shows, he sold the ring to the local promoter with plans to return quarterly. “I got home and I was all geeked up about it. And I go, ‘Finally, I finally got one of these foreign gigs that are good,'” he said. He called the promoter’s office a few days later to set up the next tour. “I got the secretary on the phone… and she goes, ‘Oh, you didn’t hear Mr. Luke?’ And I go, ‘No.’ And she goes, ‘After you guys left, he got shot in the head.’ And I went, ‘You can’t make this up.'”
Today, Doc Gallows is in a much more stable position. He and his long-time partner Karl Anderson are one of the most successful tag teams on the independent circuit, and Gallows also runs his own promotion, Lariato Pro Wrestling, in Georgia, which recently secured a television deal on Roku.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
