Thanks to Mike Informer and Bob for this article:

Ironton Online | Monday, July 03, 2006

Wrestling stars busted in Hanging Rock
By Kirsten Stanley/The Ironton Tribune

Monday, July 3, 2006 10:10 AM CDT

HANGING ROCK — Two wrestling superstars from Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment may be tough in the ring, but they didn’t have enough muscle to escape drug charges after being stopped Sunday night by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Robert Alex Szatowski, aka WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam, and Terry Michael Brunk, aka Sabu, also a former ECW champion, were pulled over on U.S. 52, near Patrick Street in Hanging Rock at about 10:15 p.m. The two were apparently driving from their performances at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena earlier in the evening.

According to the OSHP, Szatowski was initially stopped for speeding. When troopers approached his vehicle, they smelled marijuana and performed a search. Troopers found the wrestler in possession of 18 grams of marijuana and five Vicodin, prescription pain pills. Brunk was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and also had nine pills that were not immediately identifiable, but were known to be controlled substances, according to the OSHP. Both were cited and posted bond at the scene.

Szatowski, of Battle Creek, Mich., has had a long, successful career with both the WWE and ECW. In addition to being the current champion of both, he has been intercontinental champion six times, hardcore champion four times and has been a part of several championship tag team duos.

He is scheduled to wrestle tonight on WWE Raw and is also wrestling Tuesday night to retain his WWE and ECW titles during the “Extreme Rules Match” on the Sci-Fi channel.

Brunk, who lists his hometown as Bombay, India, on the WWE Web site, has also had a successful career with the ECW, earning world heavyweight championship titles two times and tag team championship honors three times.

Both Brunk and Szatowski are scheduled to appear at 10 a.m. Thursday in Ironton Municipal Court. Both wrestlers won their matches last night in Huntington, W.Va. Van Dam defeated the Big Show and Sabu defeated Justin Credible.

This reminds me of when Iron Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were busted by Newark Airport many, many years ago.  Duggan rented a car at Newark Airport and Sheik tagged along.   He was drinking a beer and smoking a joint while driving and got pulled over after a state trooper saw him drinking the beer. When the cops pulled him over, they smelled the pot and searched him, Iron Sheik, and the car. They found more joints on Duggan and three grams of cocaine on Iron Sheik. It was on the New York Post the next day. His family was supportive of him, as he flew home to Louisiana, where he lived at the time, and took his phone off the hook, so his family in New York got all of the media attention. Vince told him to turn in his airline tickets and go home then, a few days later, held a meeting where he claimed that neither Duggan nor Iron Sheik would ever work in the WWF again.