Wrestling star Hannibal has been banned by World Class Pro Wrestling after repeatedly stabbing a referee in the head.
Hannibal - who’s real name is Devon Nicholson - defeated fellow star Carlito before turning on referee Lando Deltoro with a spike leaving a pool of blood in the ring.
The terrifying scenes left Deltoro in agony whilst the rampaging Nicholson seemed unaware of the harm he was causing.
Following severe injuries to his head the referee was rushed to hospital and had his skull stapled.
He then took Twitter to confirm he was back home recovering, as he tweeted: “Recovering at home.
"Still a bit fuzzy and pain, yes lots of pain. But I'll live. Thank you all for the outpouring of love and support."
Nicholson - who has 300,000 subscribers on YouTube - released an apologetic video pleading his innocence, claiming he was unaware that Deltoro was struggling in pain.
The wrestler said: “What happened, this referee was supposed to bleed from razor blade cuts. I assume he actually cut himself with the razor blades.
"He gave no indication to me - and you people can watch the footage - zero indication to me in the ring that he wasn't just selling and was legitimately hurt.
"If he had told me he was getting hurt, I would have stopped. He knows that I didn't mean to hurt him."
Despite expressing his guilt and apology the YouTube star has been banned by World Class Pro Wrestling, as the organisation’s boss Jerry Bostic announced they would be disassociating themselves from the fighter.
Do you believe Nicholson's innocence plea? Let us know in the comments section.
Bostic said: “World Class moving forward will not be associated with Devon Nicholson. I cannot and will not condone what happened last night."
Amongst the criticism of Nicholson Japan New Pro Wrestling’s Will Ospreay took to Twitter to slam the fighter.
He posted: “The business is about trust & at times can be the Wild West but once that trust is abused it can not be repaired. Unacceptable."
