For all the popularity of professional wrestling, and all of the household names that have come out of that world, it’s not a career that often leads to athletes retiring in laps of luxury (though exceptions do exist). Case in point: former pro wrestling champion Charles Scaggs, who famously wrestled in the WCW and WWE under the monikers 2 Cold Scorpio and Flash Funk, has been working at a gas station truck stop in Missouri, where he was recently arrested for stabbing another man during a dispute that turned violent.
The incident in question took place in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 15, at a Love’s Travel Stop located in Kansas City, MO, where Scaggs was reportedly working as a security guard. According to TMZ, the former WCW and ECW Tag Team Champion was arrested for a pair of felonies — one count of first-degree assault and one count of armed criminal action — after a man walked into the gas station and, Scaggs claims, lit up a cigarette.
What Charles Scaggs, AKA 2 Cold Scorpio, Told Police
Scaggs claimed he told the man that smoking inside wasn’t allowed, and then says the guy did not react very kindly, and used a couple of four-letter words when questioning what the guard was going to do about it. The former athlete told cops the man threatened him, and that things turned more physical once they were both outside of the store.
At this point, Scaggs claims the man started to fight him, and that during their grappling, the wrestling vet removed a knife from his pocket and used it to stab the man, claiming it was done out of self-defense. That wasn’t the end of it, however, as Scaggs claimed he had to stab the man a few more times after he continued to struggle.
What The Stabbing Victim Told Police Actually Happened
When the police arrived at the truck stop, the unidentified man was found lying on the ground and bleeding from various spots on his body, such as his head, chest, legs, abdomen, and buttocks. It’s reported that he was then taken to a local hospital, where he fell in and out of consciousness for a spell.
At a point when the hospitalized stabbing victim was able to communicate better, investigators on the case say he told him Charles Scaggs was the more aggressive party in the confrontation. He says while he thought he’d put his cigarette out before entering the Love’s store, it’s possible that it was still lit, but says he definitely did not light up inside the establishment itself.
Though it's not stated exactly when authorities followed up on the alternate claims, Charles Scaggs was indeed later arrested and charged with the two aforementioned felonies. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, with self-defense as his reasoning, after bonding out. Currently, he's set to return to court for a case hearing in July.
While perhaps not quite as elite as the best Black wrestlers of the era, 2 Cold Scorpio could almost never be accused of putting on a boring match, even if the stakes were low, thanks to the athlete’s high levels of agility, and his array of high-flying moves off the top rope. Several of his matches across various promotions can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.
With Season 5 of Dark Side of the Ring having already aired earlier in 2024, perhaps fans of that series can expect to see 2 Cold Scorpio’s stabbing incident and arrest in a future season.
