Brian Christopher Lawler, the former WWE star, passed away last week.
Known by the ring name 'Grandmaster Sexay', he was the son of wrestling legend Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and came into his own during the federation's 'Attitude Era'. It is believed that the 46-year-old completed suicide, although an investigation into the circumstances of his death is still underway.
Lawler was an inmate at the Hardeman County Jail at the time, having been incarcerated since July 7 on DUI and evading arrest charges. "Lawler was transported to Regional One Medical Center in Memphis where he died Sunday afternoon," the TBI said. "At this time, we do not suspect foul play. However, our investigation remains active and ongoing."
He was laid to rest in his hometown, Memphis, over the weekend, and in the following days, friends, family and colleagues paid tribute to him across social media. One of those former colleagues was Dwayne Johnson, who had been a friend to Lawler after meeting him during his stint at WWE.
Johnson posted photos of him with Lawler this weekend, along with a shot of his final resting spot, and a touching tribute to his friend:
"Spent all week trying to process the hard loss of my good bud, Brian Christopher Lawler.
"He became a great friend the day I stepped foot in the small wrestling territory in the south known as the USWA to start my pro wrestling career.
"We rode together daily (1500 miles per week) trained together at any gym we could find, ate together at any Waffle House off the highway, wrestled together in flea markets to state fairs, shared motel rooms together, and would always dream (and talk shit;) about what life would be like once we made it to the big leagues of the WWE.
"Once we both finally made it to the big leagues of the WWE, nothing changed... we still did everything together. Including having nightly Madden tournaments after our wrestling matches in our motel room and then we’d extend our competitive spirit to a rowdy game of Wiffle Ball. Imagine us acting like crazy Wiffle Ball idiots at 2am in the parking lot of the Motel 6. Our jaws would hurt from laughing so hard.
"Then we’d finally take our butts to bed, hit the gym in the morning, drive 200 miles to the next town to wrestle and start the night all over again."
Johnson went on to speak about how he didn't know that Brian was suicidal, but understands that his internal pain must have been great.
"I’ll miss you man and the times we had.
"Thanks for being a great friend.
"Thanks for being my boy.
"My love, light, support and strength to Brian’s father, Jerry Lawler and Brian’s mother, Kay as well as Brian’s family and friends."
Our thoughts are also with Brian's family and loved ones during this difficult time.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, contact Your Life Your Voice on 1 800 448 3000, Samaritans on 116 123 or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline on 1 800 273 8255. For recorded information, call Mind on 0300 123 3393.