Szatowski, Brunk plead guilty Thursday
By Kirsten Stanley/The Ironton Tribune
Friday, September 1, 2006 10:18 AM CDT

HANGING ROCK — Two professional wrestlers busted for drugs in Hanging Rock pleaded guilty Thursday in Ironton Municipal Court and will pay fines and court costs for their misdemeanor crimes.

Robert Alex Szatowski, also known as Rob Van Dam, and Terry Michael Brunk, also known as Sabu, from Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, showed up at the Ironton City Center shortly after 9 a.m. for their appearances before Judge Clark Collins.

For more than an hour, they sat alongside crowds of others also waiting for court to begin.

The wrestlers were greeted by several fans, but refused to talk to the media. When Brunk, Szatowski and his wife, Sonya, filed into the courtroom, the two wrestlers directed obscene hand gestures to the media.

Brunk, 42, was the first to be brought before Judge Collins Thursday. He pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of drugs. Another charge against him, possession of drugs paraphernalia, was dropped as part of a plea bargain.

Brunk was sentenced to 10 days in jail, but that time was suspended by Collins. The wrestler will have to pay a $500 fine and court costs.

Szatowski, 35, pleaded guilty to driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone and third-degree possession of marijuana.

A charge of possession of Vicodin was dropped because the wrestler had a valid prescription for the painkiller. Szatowski will have to pay $140 in fines and court costs.

The charges stem from a traffic stop July 2 by the Ohio State Highway Patrol on U.S. 52, near Patrick Street. The two were apparently driving from their winning matches at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, W.Va., earlier in the evening.

According to the OSHP, Szatowski — who is also referred to as Szatkowski — 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. Brunk was with reportedly in 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 has had a long, successful career with both the WWE and ECW. In the week after his arrest, the wrestler lost both championship titles and was suspended for a month without pay.

Brunk, who is a long-time training partner of Szatowski, has also had a successful career with the ECW, earning world heavyweight championship titles two times and tag team championship honors three times. He was fined $1,000 by the WWE as a result of his arrest.

The wrestlers competed on this week's ECW show. Brunk lost to Paul Heyman in an extreme rules match. Szatowski was disqualified during a match with Hardcore Holly.