Daughter Of Wrestling Legend Comments On Hannibal Stabbing Referee

Nearly a week after the incident, the wrestling world continues to react to Canadian wrestler Hannibal (real name Devon Nicholson) stabbing referee Lando Deltoro several times in the head with an iron spike during a World Class Pro Wrestling event in Irvin, Texas. The latest to react is Miranda Gordy.

The daughter of wrestler legend Terry Gordy, who had previously worked with both Deltoro and Hannibal, was contacted by news organization WFAA in Texas for her thoughts on the incident. Miranda Gordy, who will be making her debut in MLW in January, was blunt in her response.

"I've worked with Lando a bunch, and he's a sweet and passionate guy, and he put his trust in Nicholson," Gordy said. "There's a difference between a tiny cut versus someone assaulting you with a spike. It was unnecessary — it didn't do anything to help their storyline, and Lando didn't deserve it. You don't do that. It was a blatant assault on him."

Miranda Gordy also showed WFAA text messages she had sent to Jerry Bostic, CEO of World Class Pro Wrestling, back in June. In the text messages, she warned Bostic against using Hannibal, who she referred to as unsafe and "bad news."

The attack on Deltoro took place in a match between Hannibal and former WWE star Carlito, and resulted in Deltoro being rushed to the hospital with a torn artery in his head. He has since been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Deltoro, who has since claimed he was only paid $75 to referee the match, had a GoFundMe launched soon after to help with his medical bills. As of today, the GoFundMe has raised $8,365 out of the intended goal of $10,000.

Miranda Gordy is only the latest wrestler to comment on Hannibal's actions. WWE star The Miz, upon seeing the incident, suggested that Hannibal should be banned from wrestling, while New Japan star Will Ospreay suggested Hannibal should be charged with assault. Impact Wrestling's Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace also implored Deltoro to press charges against Hannibal on Twitter.

In a now private video on YouTube, Hannibal claimed that Deltoro was hired to referee only his match, specifically because he was expected to bleed. He also claimed the spike he used wasn't sharp, that he assumed he hadn't cut Deltoro but that the referee had actually bladed, that Deltoro never indicated he was in any pain and that Hannibal's visibility was poor during the incident due to him wearing a mask.

In a statement to WFAA, Hannibal repeated some of his claims from his original YouTube statement. He did express regret that Deltoro had gotten hurt, though he did not admit any wrongdoing.

"The attack on the referee after the match was a scripted angle," Hannibal stated. "The company provided the prop and had put the match just before intermission as they planned to change the canvas after the match due to the blood. The referee was hired only to take part in that attack; he was not scheduled to referee any matches that night to my knowledge. The referee sold himself on the job based on the fact that he had bled before in matches and knew how to bleed well. I feel horrible that he got hurt, and I am regretful about what happened, even though it was not intentional."

World Class Pro Wrestling CEO Bostic has already announced Hannibal will be banned from all future events going forward.