Friends remember pro wrestler, educator killed in car wreck

“He was more than my tag team partner. He was my best friend.”

Richie “American G.I.” Scruggs’ ties to his comrade, “Prime Time” Brian Linder, were severed Aug. 23.

Linder, a 1997 Gardner-Webb graduate, beloved assistant principal and well-traveled independent wrestler died in a single-vehicle wreck that morning on U.S. 74 in Kings Mountain.

The news seemed to hit Scruggs harder than any slam or haymaker ever could.

“I’m close to my family, but Brian was closer than a brother.”

Scruggs said, at well over 6 feet tall and pushing 300 pounds, Linder appeared “larger than life” to many fans.

“Rippling muscles, the biggest smile in the world,” Scruggs, a coach at Burns Middle School, described. “My boys looked at Brian like he was a superhero.”

Scruggs and Linder, 35, of Shelby, tore through East Coast wrestling organizations from 1997 to 2007 as “U.S. Express,” capturing tag team gold in nearly every federation they worked.

Linder’s persona — seemingly an extension of himself — won over many crowds, Scruggs said.

“‘What time is it?’” Brian would ask.

“‘Prime Time!’” the crowd would answer.

Linder mowed down competition with his “power slam” finisher, Scruggs said, and captivated fans with an overhead body press — holding his opponent up with one arm, flexing with the other.

The duo cut a warpath from Florida to Pennsylvania.

“We had to turn down work and shows,” Scruggs said.

Local wrestling promoter Tim Dixon tapped Linder for work a few times. But Dixon’s most recent show wasn’t with Linder — it was for him.

A show Saturday night in Kings Mountain was dedicated in Linder’s memory, one met with an emotional roster of men whose bonds are earned by broken bones and bloodshed.

“It was a difficult night,” Dixon said. “Kind of hard to think, ‘Let’s have fun and have a wrestling show.’ But we said, ‘In his spirit, we're going to carry on.’”

Linder was a passenger in a Chevrolet pickup when the truck ran off East Dixon Boulevard and returned into the westbound lane.

The truck jumped a guardrail and hit a blue highway information sign just before the N.C. 161 exit ramp. Linder died on impact as a result of injuries sustained in the crash, police say.

The driver and two other passengers were transported to Cleveland Regional Medical Center, treated for minor injuries and released.

Linder was an assistant principal at Whitlock Junior High School in Spartanburg, S.C., and formerly served at Burns Middle School and in Cherokee County.

Bits of laughter burst out as Scruggs recalls life on the road with Linder — from a championship win in front of a hometown crowd to a broken leg outside Burger King. He pauses every now and again, only to repeat the same five words.

“He was my best friend.”