Aug 108 min read

Insane Insights From Dark Side of the Ring: Bruiser Brody

On July 17th, 1988, tragedy struck the professional wrestling business. Professional wrestler Bruiser Brody died at the age of 42. Brody died after being stabbed in a locker room in Puerto Rico by fellow professional wrestler Jose Gonzalez. There have been a lot of stories about his career and his tragic death. Dark Side of the Ring did an episode on him in their first season, and it was a sad and crazy episode.

10. Bruiser Brody’s Transformation

Bruiser Brody's family was interviewed including his wife Barbra and son Geoffrey. If there was one word to describe Brody it would be Renegade. He would have the ability to transform himself when he was on and off the road.

Off the road, he was a family man and had a great relationship with his family. He was a sweetheart to them, but once he had to go on the road he was the opposite. The transition was quick and Barbra tells the story that when he gets dropped off at the airport, Brody immediately lets his hair down, has a different facial look, and becomes the Bruiser Brody character

9. Bruiser Brody’s Arrival Killed Jose Gonzalez’s Planned Push

Bruiser Brody and Jose Gonzalez did not get along with each other at all for so many reasons. A big reason why is that Brody contributed to derailing Gonzalez's push. Jose Gonzalez was planned to be the next big star of WWC (World Wrestling Council), but that all went to shambles in a match with Brody.

Brody was known to beat people up and go to business for himself. He did that here and Gonzalez got beaten up so bad it made him look weak and due to an injury his push was pulled from him immediately. Gonzalez was brought to the hospital and was so upset that he threatened to kill Bruiser Brody.

8. Bruiser Brody was Planning to be a Minority Owner of the World Wrestling Council

Bruiser Brody was a big star and had a ton of money that he earned in Japan. Brody wanted to invest in it and one place in mind for him was Puerto Rico.

Victor Quinones was a part owner of the company, and he had around 10% ownership and looking to sell his shares. Even Gorilla Monsoon was looking to sell his shares as well. Brody decided to brag about this potential deal to the locker room as he made a really good offer. Probably not the brightest idea for him to do that knowing the jealousy and fear it could bring in the locker room.

If Brody officially bought into the company, then that would be bad news for many including Jose Gonzalez. Gonzalez at the time was Colon’s right-hand man and booker of the promotion. If Brody got hired, he would likely be out of a job and Dutch Mantell believes that this was one of the reasons why Gonzalez did what he did.

7. Jose Gonzalez’s 3-year-old Daughter Passed Away 3 Months Before He Killed Brody.

This was a blink-and-you-miss moment; however, this was a truly sad moment that occurred in Gonzalez's life. Jose Gonzalez had a daughter, and it was clear that he loved her very much. Tragedy struck when his daughter passed away in a swimming pool incident where she drowned. The worst part was that Gonzalez’s daughter was only 3 years old.

No parent should ever have to bury their child, but Gonzalez unfortunately had to. It is unimaginable can’t even imagine how painful it is to lose a child and that affects anyone mentally and physically. Not 3 months later Gonzalez would do the unthinkable, by killing Brody.

6. What Bruiser Brody said to Tony Atlas Seconds After Getting Stabbed

The one key witness and most trustworthy source is Tony Atlas. atlas was there when he saw Gonzalez stab Brody. Heck, he even quickly came to the aid of Brody. He was pulling him back as Gonzalez was going to stab his neck. This knife was so sharp that it cut Brody's ponytail when he tried aiming for the neck

This got Carlos Colon to pin Gonzalez to the wall trying to get him to stop. While Colon was doing that Bruiser Brody said to Atlas “Brother, do not let them hurt me no more”. The key word is then, and this got Tony Atlas to be pissed. He refused to allow Carlos Colon to even go near him knowing his issues with Brody.

Atlas eventually was convinced by others to allow him to help Brody, but man it was telling that Brody said that. When Brody was being taken to the hospital, Atlas went with him to keep him company.

5. What Brody was Holding While Bleeding Out

This part of the documentary is upsetting. As he lay bleeding on the floor of the shower, Brody was clutching and holding a photograph of his 7-year-old son. He never let go of that photo at all while he was bleeding out in the locker room, brought to the ambulance, and in the hospital. That goes to show despite how much of a villain and crazy man his character was, he loved his son. Even when dying in the ground he kept telling Tony Atlas to tell his wife and son that he loved him, along with to take care of them. Holding that photo was a motivation for him to keep fighting to stay alive to be back with his family.

4. The Poor Medical Treatment Brody Received

Brody arrived at the hospital, and he was in critical condition. He was on a waitlist, and it was taking so long before he got looked at. Tony Atlas got a hold of a doctor and was asking why nobody was even taking a look at him. According to the doctor he stated, “A stab in here is like a cold in the USA and it is no big deal”. Oh yeah, no big deal, stabs are just a common thing that happens here, it's all good.

Tony Atlas lifted the doctor, and he carried him to Brody. The doctor decided to examine him, and his shoes had to be removed. Once the boots were removed, his feet were blue. This is never a good sign as that shows that there is not enough oxygen or blood flow. Once he saw that then the doctors went straight to work on him realizing this was life or death.

Even though the doctors finally treated him, Brody unfortunately died due to the injuries he suffered from the attack. His injuries were so severe that Brody had 2 eight-inch cuts.

3. The Police Thought the Incident Was a Storyline

With what is going on, you think that the arena and locker room would be a crime scene right? Nope, not in this case. At the time almost everybody believed that pro wrestling was real, especially in Puerto Rico. The product with Colon’s company was also very violent. It was so believable that the police in Puerto Rico thought it was a storyline.

Here is the messed-up part about all this. When Atlas returned to the dressing room, the wrestlers and even the police were all laughing about the incident. By the way, Brody's blood was still in the showers, and they just kept laughing about the incident. Think about that, think about how messed up that is.

They were all enjoying themselves and having a fun time and couldn't care less that Brody was attacked or flying. Tony Atlas was very angry making a scene that the police went up to calm him down. Then they asked him if he saw the fan that did it. Yes, they believed that a fan was the one who stabbed Brody, including in the locker room.

Brody told the police that they needed to arrest Jose Gonzalez the man that did this crime. Here is the crazy part, Gonzalez returned to the arena with a new shirt. They ignored the main witness and still thought it was all a storyline. What a disgrace.

2. Neither Tony Atlas nor Dutch Mantell Received their Subpoena to Appear in Court

With the police wake up and realize this is a murder, they start to do interviews. Two key witnesses are Tony Atlas and Dutch Mantell. Both made similar statements to the police, and it was different stories from what others in the locker room were saying.

The police then let them know that they would get a subpoena to testify and appear in court. Well, Mantell got the subpoena, 10 days after the verdict was given. Tony Atlas never even got contacted ever again or had to go to court. This case was so poorly handled by the police.

1. How Jose Gonzalez Got Away With Murder

This was briefly mentioned but Gonzalez did eventually get arrested but was immediately bailed out. His artery immediately used the self-defense claim where Gonzalez was trying to protect himself from the crazy character Bruiser Brody.

They believed it because remember Puerto Rico like I said they believed that pro wrestling was 100% real. So, the Judge decided to acquit Gonzalez as they believed that Bruiser Brody was like that in reality. In the end, there was no justice for Bruiser Brody and that is the biggest shame out of all of this.

My Thoughts On the Documentary

This was a very depressing, but well-made documentary regarding Bruiser Brody. The immediate takeaway is that Jose Gonzalez got away with murder and Carlos Colon was involved with Gonzalez not getting charged. What wasn't mentioned in the documentary is that Carlos Colon knew a ton of politicians in Puerto Rico at that time and had the connections to help his friend

What makes zero sense at all is Colon’s company even still kept Jose Gonzalez employed after the incident. The fact he was still being hired/used in pro wrestling in that aftermath even, knowing what he did to Brody is a real disgrace. He's getting booked today in pro wrestling and even kids' birthday parties.

The producers of the show tried to get Gonzalez and Colon to interview for this documentary, but both declined. Of course, they would, because they knew that they were not going to come across well in this documentary. Carlos Colon especially doesn't even come off well in the interviews he does when talking about this incident or his journey in pro wrestling. The dude is a very shady person and it's another disgrace that he is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The only other person who doesn't come off great in this documentary is Abdullah the Butcher. Especially with some of the lies he told in this documentary. He doesn't have the strongest reputation either either, so this was unexpected.

Tony Atlas is the MVP of the documentary and he was a real true friend to Bruiser a Brody. I love the quote that the narrator Mick Foley used “There is an old saying in pro wrestling. Consider yourself lucky if you make it out with one true friend. On the night of Brody’s incident, he had that friend in Tony Atlas.”

One other thing too with Atlas. In previous interviews on YouTube where Atlas talks about Brody’s murder, not one time has he changed his story. He has said everything exactly as he has stated for many years with no changes.

Professional wrestling lost a legend on July 17th, 1988. Bruiser Brody is often known as one of the most violent wrestlers of all time. He is so influential to the wrestling business, especially to Mick Foley who was the narrator of this documentary. In the beginning, Foley wished that he had an opportunity to face him. What happened to Bruiser Brody will forever go down as one of the darkest moments in professional wrestling. Rest in Peace Frank Goodish aka Bruiser Brody.

Tony Atlas is the MVP of the documentary, and he was a real true friend to Bruiser a Brody. I love the quote that the narrator Mick Foley used “There is an old saying in pro wrestling. Consider yourself lucky if you make it out with one true friend. On the night of Brody’s incident, he had that friend in Tony Atlas.”

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