Hours after Fans United Wrestling’s “Last Call” from the Skybox Sports Bar in San Diego on January 15th 2015, allegations were coming forth that Jacob “The Riot” Diez was performing while intoxicated. Trust, about the only time that word matters in professional wrestling is behind the scenes. Then the word is a sacred bond, you literally put your life into the hands of someone else. “Wrestling under the influence is the same thing as driving under the influence.”
“I have hurled [in] wrestling too, at Santino Bros when I wrestled Hobo a little over a year ago. The bumps I was taking (for the moment) made me nauseous and I threw up out on the apron,” Eli Everfly said to me Monday. Everfly, Thursday night challenged for the “Nug Life” Championship against Jacob “The Riot” Diez (formerly known as Markus Riot). Diez was said to have gotten ill in the course of the match, vomiting, while wrestling.
After the incident allegations were that “[The Riot] was so drunk before his match on Thursday he literally threw up in the ring,” Jeff Dino [SoCal Pro Promoter] shared with members of SCU. Jose Alaniz [Oddity Wrestling Alliance Promoter] posted on Facebook acknowledging the incident asking “What is the meaning behind a performer just barfing all throughout his performance? -Illness -No Cardio -Lack of Endurance -A bit too Drunk -None of the above Most important what do the crowd/fans in attendance gets out of it?”
I reached out to Jacob, first hand to ask him about the allegations. “I have never wrestled drunk,” Diez responded when asked with the most obvious question. Diez acknowledge that he did in fact drink two beers earlier in the day; he attributed the incident to a combination of the beer, a few chicken wings, not having eaten before, and wrestling. Diez added, “I left to the show on an empty stomach and I was really nervous about wrestling later in the night. This was my first time working here since my girlfriend and I broke up. I was really anxious about wrestling. I had two beers, which I haven’t had any beers in a while, [she] didn’t like it when I drank.” “I honestly think it was the combination of the wings, carbonation from the [beer], the bumps & the fact that we were going like 100 miles an hour for 20 minutes. Thursday was probably one of the best matches we had against each other and was the last show at the skybox so we wanted to give it everything we had in us,” is how Eli responded when I had asked him why he thought Diez got sick during the match. He even joked, “For some people it literally took everything they had in them.” “The match was over; the [referee] raises Jacob’s hand as the victor. At that moment Jacob throws up. Immediately after the match I asked him if he hit his head, worried he suffered a concussion,” is how Jon Allen [FUW Promoter] described the events.
Neither wrestler nor Allen attributes the incident due to intoxication; I asked Eli (Jacob’s opponent) if he was aware that Jacob had been drinking before the show. “Yeah but that was like four hours before we went on so I didn’t see it as a problem. I would have [eaten] those wings too, they looked really good.” I asked Eli, knowing that Jacob had been drinking earlier if he had any concerns wrestling him or if at any point during the match he felt unsafe. “Hell no, Jorel is super safe. I’ve wrestled him like 20 times now. He always takes good care of me even with all the crazy stuff I do.”
Although unrelated to the incident on Thursday Night, Joey Ryan posted on his Facebook after their match at Vendetta Pro’s Reflexion. “Thanks to Jorel Jacob Diez for taking care of me tonight in a match where I wasn’t 100%. A true [professional.]”
Ultimately performing under the influence isn’t just a bad idea, it’s incredibly reckless. However by all accounts, the incident was more related to conditioning than intoxication.
