Abdullah The Butcher And Hannibal Controversy Revisited (Dark Side of the Ring Season 4 Review)

[@KendallCove]

I was at the show when Hannibal assaulted that poor referee (after doing a job for Carlito btw). A young girl a few rows in front of me was completely horrified. I did not have a very good view of the incident from my seat at the time so I figured it was an oddly placed angle, then the paramedics showed up and asked us to clear a path for them... PS: The show was advertised as kid friendly and was Christmas Star Wars themed with a special appearance by Mick Foley

[@jonathonholifield3166]

See how great "Hannibal" is? There is a reason he chose THAT as his ring name, before he became "the Blood Hunter." ( Which is an EVEN STUPIDER name). He's clearly a complete fucking sociopath, and EVEN MORE evidence of this is (like Solomonster pointed out): to Devon Nicholson, everything is always everybody else's fault. That's a classic, textbook sign of a sociopath....

[@dylonmullins]

Real classy on Hannibals part.

[@ryanboman8211]

I literally have a letter at my home, written and signed by Abby. He sent me some stuff when I was working for a wrestling promotion in St. Louis a few years ago, and it's still out in my old office. So, I can ASSURE YOU, the man can read and write.

[@TheVampirePredator]

I’m sure he had enough literacy to sign all those lucrative short term contracts…

[@ShawnRakar]

Yo, other people wrote those letters you know

[@JL_Lux]

Signing a name isn’t the same

[@JohnWilliams-wl9px]

Most DSoTR episodes show people that have fallen victim to the ugly side of pro wrestling, or just horrible incident that happened in it. But this episode was just showing off some of the ugly people that are in pro wrestling industry.

[@XombieLejon66]

I'd put this along with the Matt Borne ep in the "ugly people of pro-wrestling" category

[@Deans-jm3uf]

God damn I went in hating Abdullah and Hannibal actually made him sympathetic. Also skeptical of the “caregiver”

[@constablekennedy7705]

Dark Side of The Ring RULES

[@kgatewide16]

Depressing asf too

[@Osarogie112258]

This was one of the few episodes that I literally had to stop watching, because I despised all the people involved.

[@steelenigma17]

I almost skipped this darkside and wish I had after. They spent most of the episode, about Abdullah, painting Hannibal as a sympathetic guy Abdullah wronged. And at the end it was like oh yeah Hannibal stabbed a guy with a spike. Oh well.

[@deondrecarter153]

This episode make the New Jack episode look heroic 😅 wrestling really is a shady business

[@joeynova9896]

BOMBS AWAY! 💣

[@kingque9704]

Tony Atlas said Abby was a liar in the Bruiser Brody episode so this doesn’t surprise me he lied about having hepatitis or lied about not being able to read or write

[@johnriley7312]

All these fans who complain about Moxley bleeding are lucky they never saw Abdullah The Butcher in his prime

[@XombieLejon66]

The difference was Abdullah was doing this during the territory days. It wasn't broadcast on national TV each week. And he would go to another territory just before his gimmick would get stale there.

[@nikobellic8627]

That doesn't take away from the balding plumber trying to hard

[@kidz919]

​@@XombieLejon66Does it really matter whether who is on TV and who isn't?. Abdullah the Butcher literally was doing some unsafe practices

[@babarazamsucks]

I don’t because I know who Abdullah The Butcher is and I know he did this. People always said this about Ric Flair but now Jon Moxley has been doing this so much that everyone now thinks of Jon Moxley when it comes to blood in wrestling.

[@nickhughes8179]

Yeeeaaahhh, I hired Abby for my Deathmatch Wrestling School!! Thumbtack studded, barbed wire wrapped forks, flesh eating, and more blood than an Ian Rotten match, which is badass, sick, gnarly, and Fuckin dope!!! The mats aren’t red, that’s just all the blood I shed from teaching people to blatantly blade on hard cam!! Fuckin dope!! Hey Tony!! I got an idea!! It’s sick, dope, and badass!!! I wanna do a Taipei Deathmatch with Abby!! In Jacksonville!! I’ve got a stadium!! Just try to avoid bleeding all over the luxury boxes Too late!! I bled in there just chewing on the scenery!! Glass shards from broken TVs taste Fuckin awesome!!

[@TheVampirePredator]

It’s crazy that Hannibal could sue and get money from WWE for a pre-employment termination. My wife sued an airline that will remain nameless for injuries she sustained in flight attendant training which resulted in her washing out of the program and it was dismissed due to her being in a pre-employment situation during training.

[@abefinklestein711]

Sorry to hear that, but Hannibal won Cause Abdullah didn't show up to court.

[@TheVampirePredator]

@@abefinklestein711 Different case. This is WWE paying Hannibal for rescinding their contract after contracting Hep C after Hannibal sued them as well.

[@abefinklestein711]

@@TheVampirePredator that too, both were factors

[@Breanna_monique]

Abdullah is still big in Japan. In One Piece, the mangaka, Eichiiro Oda, named a character after him and drew him in his likeness. It’s in the Dressrosa arc if anyone would like to look it up

[@SolidMike84]

Alongside with a character named Jeet, after Tiger Jeet Singh.

[@exeortegarubio]

There are also characters in Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star) and Kinnikuman based on him.

[@aggrodkreg4321]

I'm from Puerto Rico, and I remember my uncle telling me that shit about Abdullah not being able to read when I was a teenager getting into wrestling. I'm 35 right now. So, I don't believe it, and I also don't believe that it's the first time Hugo has heard it, either.

[@ltopomcfly5583]

He probably is part illiterate. He dropped out of school very young.

[@BreadHart]

Hugo is an evangelical carny. If he is speaking, he is lying

[@ShawnRakar]

“Reading at a second grade level” is practically not being able to read. In theory, Abby could read the words and form sentences but when it comes to “big” words when lawyers are involved, he probably couldn’t read it let alone comprehend it.

[@JCOdrjones]

​@@ShawnRakar reading at a second grade level in what was probably a very poor public school just judging where he lived. So who knows how much he was able to learn back then

[@dbzrocks3201]

1:50 - 2:02 That Jimmy Snuka impression😂

[@SoCalChris]

Hannibal has a huge chip on his shoulder.. it's name is Kevin Owens.

[@SolidMike84]

"hE WrEsTleS in A sHiRt!"

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

He has beef with him?

[@nickhughes8179]

Uuuuhhhh, he doesn’t eat paaaiiiinnnntt chips…, uhhhhh, he’s more successful than meeeee..,, uuuuuuhhhh.., he won’t do interviews uuuhhh ooonnn Skyyyyyype, uuuuhhh with me uuhh in my parents’ basement, uuuuuhhh.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

Saw Abdullah about seven years ago at a small convention. Dude was literally shouting at pretty much everyone passing by to get an autograph/picture with him which costed 20 bucks. I took care to avoid him.

[@juansanchez209]

I NEVER understood the hype around Abdullah the Butcher. He always just looked like a fat guy in sweatpants to me. Bruiser Brody on the other hand looked like a beast!

[@Slick5150]

Wrestling was a different world back then and looks were everything

[@AnAngelAscending]

To be fair, not to absolve either Abdullah or Hannibal, do promoters or companies assume ZERO responsibility for this kind of stuff? Genuinely curious.

[@SoCalChris]

Hannibal is/was a promoter.

[@AnAngelAscending]

Did it occur in Hannibal's promotion? Missed that part then.

[@herbalist110377]

@@AnAngelAscending According to what the story on Jim Cornette's podcast, Slow Devon paid the promotor to let him on and also paid his own trans.

[@kingdemoplosjones351]

The snuka impression killed me🤣

[@mooretoys94]

Abdullah was a con man and it showed in this episode

[@nicholaschristie8699]

The moral of the story, to me, is: Everybody from that kind of era of wrestling was, for the most part, a HORRIBLE person. That is what I got out of this.

[@HkFinn83]

Which era? The incident with Hannibal is pretty much from the current era

[@joshkennedy2868]

This isn't even a good example of that. Devon was nothing more than a money Mark he knew what he was getting into when he agreed the wrestle Abdullah. I mean the guy had been doing the same stuff since 1959. What did he expect

[@nicholaschristie8699]

@@HkFinn83 Abdullah's era

[@HkFinn83]

@@nicholaschristie8699 he wrestled from the 50’s to the 2010’s.

[@raymanandeze]

Hannibal needs to take some self blame for the position he put himself in in my opinion!!!! If everyone knew he didn't clean his blades why would you 1. Ask him to blade you, 2. Why would you want to blade in a match with him at all!!! And then you go on to stab a ref in the head for a blade job? The universe has a funny way of showing irony 😂

[@Nazzlover38]

Especially what he did to Funk. Terry should've caved-in that bastards' skull for doing what he did.

[@Winchesterfilmmaker]

Ray can you refresh me but did anyone told Hannibal about butcher not cleaning his blades?

[@raymanandeze]

@@Winchesterfilmmaker from watching dark side strictly!!! Tony Atlas makes a statement about everyone knowing he doesn't clean blades / he shares them

[@Winchesterfilmmaker]

@@raymanandeze ok next question did Tony tell Hannibal about butcher's blades

[@jwnj9716]

Sighs Hannibal. He sounds like Lump from Ladykillers except Lump was entertaining.

[@ryanboman8211]

I always think of Carl the Greenskeeper from 'Caddyshack'

[@ltopomcfly5583]

How the Hell is Hannibal the only person to get Hep C from Abdullah? Abdullah worked constantly. Other wrestlers would have sued Abdullah.

[@thetribalist6923]

I think it’s funny they interview Hannibal on this episode when they could easily make a Dark Side episode on him. Especially after nearly killing that referee.

[@nickhughes8179]

Hannibal would be easy and cheap to interview for DSOTR. He’ll do interviews for a can of his favourite drink: Sherwin Williams!!! Uuuuhhhh!!!

[@worriorjack]

This episode left me skeptical, disgusted, and more assured that some wrestlers are just absolute trash people

[@ShootItALBY]

The only real human being of this episode was the caretaker

[@soccerj75]

PLOT TWIST: It's his wife!

[@michaelsinger4638]

Hannibal has a bad reputation for taking liberties with opponents as well. And what he did to that referee was disgusting. He’s not better than Abdullah.

[@DoneRandomLee]

I do not believe Abdullah couldn't read. He may not be the best reader but I am sure he can read. And even if he didn't understand some words from the court summons I feel he could have had someone explain it to him. To me it was a mixture of trying to gain sympathy and carny bs of the "foreign heel" who speak no english. I am sure he probably pretended if it would help him but like Mick Foley said he had no issue reading a menu. And on the Hannibal case it did look like Abdullah was blading him the same way he had done to himself so I can totally believe he infected Hannibal. Which my gosh never share blades in wrestling and from the footage it seemed Hannibal was more than fine blading himself. But all sympathy for Hannibal was lost after he stabbed the shit out of that referee's head. Again you do not slice or stab your coworkers. If he was so angry he couldn't control himself properly then he doesn't deserve to be in the ring because then what is stopping him from piledriving someone to the floor with no protection? Hannibal and Abdullah are horrible people

[@snowvalkyrie]

I take exception to the host saying Abdullah was lying about him not being able to read. My next-door neighbor cannot read. He recognizes words and certain combinations of words. However, you put a 2nd-grade reader in front of him and he genuinely cannot read the book. My cousin is dyslexic. He has been taught to read since he was five. However, to this day, he struggles to read. I can recognize certain characters in Japanese, but you put a line of Kanji in front of me and I cannot read it. Just food for thought.

[@Cheepchipsable]

He might not be able to read, but I bet he can recognise symbols of the justice system, and one assumes someone helped him for things he couldn't read and sort his mail. - how else would he get anywhere in life? Not like he was working at a fast food joints.

[@ryanboman8211]

I appreciate you giving him the benefit of the doubt. It's actually nice considring how negative everyone else is these days. However, I must assure you: He can read. He may suffer from some learning disability, but I have seen the man functionally read and write.

[@snowvalkyrie]

@@ryanboman8211, thank you for your kind comment.

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

​@@snowvalkyrieYeah. Unfortunately, most fans (especially the Smarks) LOVE to be negative nowadays

[@Hammerhead547]

Personally speaking I don't believe that abby is illiterate, he probably has severe dyslexia and because he'd genuinely rather be seen as dumb rather than disabled he plays stupid for pity.

[@lb2.0.45]

Yeah I didn't really like this episode to be honestly like solomonster said nobody came out of this looking good but the fact that Hannibal tried to come off sympathetic in this knowing what he did to that ref two years ago was ridiculous.

[@justinkongglang7080]

I wasn't expecting Hannibal being on the episode because i forgot about the stuff between them. I heard his voice in the intro part and was like holy shit can't wait for Jason to tear this episode apart

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

He's going to have a field day with the Bash at the Beach 2000 episode

[@mr.whisper3338]

I didn't know there was a cure for Hep C. I would've thought that would've caught more press.

[@larryjester]

I think Abdullah smiled too much while talking about serious stuff. And Hannibal seems like a huge mark paying Abdullah to come in and then to get him to cut him. I dont think he deserved Hep C. Nobody does. But it's that play stupid games and win stupid prizes. But youre right Jason. Mick was the only face here. The siblings and caretaker are covering for Abdullah. Like i said, if he didn't smile as much as he did while talking about the serious stuff...seems like he was just showing pff his teeth. Like Wrestling Soup had talked about, his teeth seemed to be on very good shape for all he's been through and at his age. Maybe thats where all his money went.

[@mfrost228]

I’ve seen the Hannibal match before, and it’s fucking disgusting in full, he was already bleeding all over the place from I think a blender or something Abby smashed over his head. A few things are ridiculous about all of it, Hannibal like you said, bled plenty of times before this, and Tony Atlas is the only one saying he asked Abby to do it, so that doesn’t hold water. Also, about borrowing blades and all that, I seriously doubt that happens. We have all seen by now how big a piece of a blade one needs, it’s one corner off an old school razor blade, plenty of sharp corners left for the whole gang to make their own blades and tape them up. Even in the pre hiv 80s, people didn’t just do that shit and not worry about it. I’m can’t figure the reasoning by Abby in that match either. Pretty sure the spot where he’s doing a blatant slice and dice on Hannibal is towards the end of a cage match, which started outside of the cage before the bell I think they’re both bleeding, or soon after. Hannibal’s already bleeding so much, oh wait, maybe Saint Abby was trying to put his blood BACK IN for him, total misunderstanding.

[@micklemackle207]

That development contract that Hannibal got from WWE that came around what 2006? During that period of time, John Laurenitis was literally already telling Vince to not renew their developmental contracts with OVW anymore in favor of making their own developmental promotion they could control that being FCW So either Hannibal would have went to OVW around the time when WWE was about to cancel all of their involvement with the promotion or he would have been sent to FCW where he would have been there and phased out because FCW was more Hunter's passionate project then it was Laurenitis and Vince

[@lukethomas6900]

Nobody's fault but Hannibal's own for basically screwing himself out of the wrestling business. I've got no sympathy for the guy. As Jason here said, he was never gonna be a big star in WWE anyways.

[@markellmanning3135]

Damn Solomonster! Tell us how you really feel! SHEESH!!! 😂

[@TheSolomonster]

I always do

[@markellmanning3135]

@@TheSolomonster for sure but you added some extra sauce on it

[@TOE813]

new jack said Abby had hep years ago. Refused to get tested to show proof

[@dullknifefactory]

Cannot fucking believe Abdullah outlived New Jack..

[@jerranspearman3369]

good review

[@benespinosa6725]

This episode of dark side of the Ring was crazy i didn't know that Abdullah was in ECW in 1993 that's very interesting 30-years later the Hannibal story is disturbing overall this is my least favorite episode of dark side of the Ring.

[@skippythealien9627]

literally the only thing i know about Abdullah the Butcher was that he was Saladin in the old school WCW vs. NWO World Tour video game lmao i think he also owned a chinese food restaurant or something

[@owl509]

Hannibal has to be one of the most unlikable people I've ever heard speak 😂

[@alexmelendez6732]

Yup very questionable on devins part.

[@watersandblue6001]

when comes the bash at the beach one?

[@bdr113080]

I will say that this season feels a little better than last season. Last season just felt like a bunch of wrestlers telling on each other for bad behavior on the road. Look we get in the 80s were a different time and a lot of people were doing stupid shit, but I don’t have respect for anyone that probably did their own Things that they’re not proud of in the 80s but just came on camera to start tattle telling on people . This season actually feels like they are getting into some good stories and not just “yeah this guy cheated on his wife and did a lot of drugs.”

[@mfrost228]

Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing about Snuka being the originator of the illiterate islander. To be fair I think Vince was advising Snuka on that shit. I’m a little disappointed with them leaving that shit in at the end, Abdullah, his piece of shit brother, and now that random woman who he has managed to con into being his live in nurse I guess, she’s shocked at how he’s “being taken advantage of” lol, wow is that woman in for a treat one day soon when Abby chokes to death on a hot dog.

[@RobertJohnson-hq6jq]

Hugo Savinovitch was married to Wendi Richter right?

[@TheSolomonster]

Yes indeed

[@eltornadoAfm]

Broda, I spent it all on coke broda

[@robchuk4136]

I just don't understand not being able to read... while still being able to run a restaurant business. Huh?

[@adampatterson5475]

Wasn't Hannibal the one who stabbed the one wrestler without permission?

[@SirJoelsuf1]

A referee, yeah.

[@bdr113080]

Not saying I think Abby is a saint by any means, but I’ve never trusted anything that Hannibal has said. I remember when he first started his KZbin channel. I did like it as far as some of the interviews he would do sometimes, sometimes. Other times he came off as someone who really didn’t know the history of pro wrestling at all, but it felt like over the last decade or so he said no problem, embellishing the truth to make to make more successful people look bad, and to get sympathy on himself. Something about him has always made him kind of come off as a complete scumbag to me. And for him to actually say it was the “seems spike that Kevin Sullivan used to use.” That makes it even more suspicious because I don’t know about every single time Kevin Sullivan would use a spike, but I do know in 1992 and in 1993 when he was working in Smoky Mountain Wrestling he was using the spike there too. The problem was the spike was never real. It was just a piece of wood painted. Anytime he would supposedly hit someone with the spike and there would be blood. It would be the other wrestlers cutting themselves, and Kevin was just pretending to hit them with this piece of wood that was painted to look like a spike. So if that’s what he was doing in 1993 at the latest, I can’t imagine he would bring a real spike with a real blade on it to a show with less people to give it to someone with less experience to cut someone else with even less experience. That sounds like total bullshit and Hannibal. Just trying to blame anyone other than himself. I think it’s important, especially for younger fans today to understand that in the heyday of pro wrestling it wasn’t cool to go out and really mutilate each other and take cheer shots to the skull as hard as you can, and do stupid things like that. Back in the 80s and I would say the first half of the 90s the art form was to make it look like, a completely violent act but 30 minutes after the show was over if you saw the person you wouldn’t be able to tell that anything happened. Kevin wasn’t using a real spike in the 80s. He was a good worker. The people he worked with were good workers. I love Mick Foley a lot, but I think part of this quote let’s hurt each other for real to show how much we love the business kind of came from Mick Foley doing things like hell in the cell. But at least when Mick would let things happen, that would cause a lot of blood or other injuries it would be for a big payday on a PPV he wasn’t going to do that in a high school gym in front of 38 guys.

[@rustykuntz94]

Heel vs Heel episode

[@rustykuntz94]

Hannibal is always on the work. I think he’s a bigger POS than Abby

[@flyguy7825]

Bigger than a man who had Hep C and was cutting people? GTFOOH

[@antoniusjohnson3824]

Jim Cornette & Brian Last had a field day ripping on Hannibal.

[@bpbroadcasttv]

Hannibal looks like Sean Spears

[@Dr_1212]

Have to see this

[@CarolinaBlood704]

This episode was just disgusting to watch.

[@flyguy7825]

Two things about this episode one there is absolutely no victims into this made me change my view quite a bit on hard-core wrestling I think it is a style that needs to go away I mean a dude who had hepatitis see cutting people open with literally dirty ass blades that shit is just scary and I love itself guys just cutting themselves open willingly like that I never could get that and never will they all deserve what they got

[@Butcher_TV]

Hannibal still regularly whines about Abdullah because that's his biggest claim to fame. If the hep c was really why WWE never hired him,then they wouldve hired him once he was cured, but they didnt . He also beats women .

[@byronsmotherman8857]

That's what really sucks they don't talk about the match they have it turn out through the butcher and Zeus in Puerto Rico Tommy lister he said the one that he was before he died what do you went to Puerto Rico to face I'll do the butcher he took two officers police officers with him but he heard about what happened to bruiser Brody and he died there he said when he was in the locker room and the cops with him if he went to go use the restroom the cops so he wouldn't get stabbed

[@Mclovinit8171]

Hold up so the guy who sued someone for using a dirty blade then goes onto brag about using a self admittedly dirty spike on someone in a criminal fashion? 😂 Is there something Im missing here? 😂

[@jamestakacs]

I love your programs. Hannibal is a weird guy. His promotion is a loser. They don't do events. He's often spoken about the "younger" women he hangs out with. He tried to end his own life. He had some kind of deal with Kerry Von Erich's daughter and that didn't work out. A lot of mess here. Oh and the pot smoking on the air.

[@dcsportsmark4996]

Both are a disgrace to the business.

[@misterranksz3950]

I grew up in Puerto Rico and I can tell you he was the main villain while Carlito colon was the hero

[@robpulido1320]

Monopoly money brodaa😂

[@JL_Lux]

Nah Abdullah dropped out in the 2nd grade. He isn’t reading a legal document

[@ThePlayaJohn]

blood hunter uhhhhh blood need the blood uhhhhhh 😂

[@gothsteeze]

Uhhhh I need content uhhh 😂😅😂

[@ltopomcfly5583]

Abdullah is known for cutting guys but how can Hannibal, a hardcore wrestler, know the Hep C was from Abby? Abby was wrestling tons of guys even in his last years but no one besides Hannibal got it? Its entirely possible and probable that Hannibal gave Abby the disease.

[@cathaldowdall7467]

Am glad I skipped this one

[@mexiwolf009]

Brudda.

[@GeneKing-lz8xg]

I invite everyone to have a personal relationship with my parents jesuschrist. Please read the whole chapter of john chapter3. Accept jesus as.your lord and personal savior,thank you.

[@miaouew]

Hannibal is a lolcow

[@Horatio.Mantooth]

He was working since 2nd grade?? Even then im sure child labor laws were enacted. Yet,he also was a karate instructor??? That man can barely wipe his own backside. Wth is he gonna teach anyone?

[@joshkennedy2868]

Can someone please explain to me how a man that was making $20,000 a week in Japan in the 1980s. Is broke now? Not a penny to his name? I call bull shit. I also wonder how he managed to run his restaurant for as long as he did without being able to read are write

[@JohnWilliams-wl9px]

I can easily buy thay someone who made that kind of money in the 80s would be broke today. Especially since most wrestlers from that Era did NOT save their money, they spent it. But I do think he had the koney to payback Hannibal but just refused to. And he definitely and read at least basic English if he can open a restaurant.