Dark Side Of The Ring Shows Clip That Sparked Abdullah's Hepatitis Controversy
Abdullah the Butcher is one of the most instantly recognizable wrestlers in the industry's history, largely because of the deep scars on his head brought about by decades of cutting it with a blade. Despite Abdullah's notoriety, he never wrestled a single match in WWE. He does now have his very own episode of Dark Side of the Ring though, not just because of the brutal form of wrestling he helped popularize, but because of the hepatitis lawsuit that has plagued him in later life.
The Hepatitis Lawsuit
That civil suit was a big focus of this week's Dark Side episode, even though Abdullah openly admitted he didn't want to talk about it when asked. That wasn't a problem as the man whose hepatitis Abdullah was deemed liable for was more than happy to tell his side of the story.
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That man is Devon Nicholson, better known to wrestling fans as WWE's Hannibal. If the name's not ringing a bell, that's because Nicholson's stay in WWE was extremely short-lived. WWE rescinded Nicholson's contract offer when blood tests detected he had hepatitis C. Further investigation by Nicholson led to him discovering footage of a match he had with Abdullah in 2007 in which the Hall of Famer can be seen using a blade on his finger to cut Nicholson's head.
Abdullah Was Liable
A court determined Abdullah was responsible for Nicholson contracting hepatitis and ordered Abdullah to pay $2.3 million in damages. Abdullah is yet to pay any of that money, probably because he doesn't have it. Images of Abdullah's current home were shown on Dark Side, one of which included an empty light socket through which water had been leaking.
There might be another reason why you've heard of Nicholson besides his short stint in WWE and hepatitis lawsuit against Abdullah. In 2021, while wrestling under a mask as Blood Hunter, Nicholson was involved in an infamous incident that ended with a referee needing staples in his head, suffering a severed artery. Nicholson grabbed the ref and stabbed him in the head with a fork multiple times, later determined as a planned spot that went way off the rails.
