Devon Nicholson

Early life

Devon Nicholson, from Orleans, attended Cairine Wilson Secondary School and achieved success in scholastic wrestling. He won a gold medal at the 2001 Junior National Championships in London, Ontario. A month later, he gained a spot on the Canadian Junior National Team after winning the National Team trials in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nicholson won the OFSAA wrestling high school championships in 2000 and 2001 without a single point scored against him. Despite amateur wrestling success, Nicholson turned down scholarships to pursue his dream of being a professional wrestler.

Career

Nicholson started his professional wrestling career in 2001 with Stampede Wrestling, after training in the Hart wrestling family dungeon from the age of 19. In Stampede Wrestling, he played the Kid Nichols character, while in the promotion Matrats, he had the ring name Matt Lust.

By 2007, Nicholson had established his professional wrestling character as the madman Hannibal, which Nicholson said was named by Bushwhacker Luke. He has wrestled against AJ Styles, Jinder Mahal, James Storm, Abyss, Kevin Nash, Sycho Sid and Tommy Dreamer. In 2011, Nicholson sued WWE for discriminating against him due to hepatitis C; the lawsuit was settled in 2012.

According to Nicholson, from 2009 to 2012 he had taken interferon and ribavirin to treat the disease, but ended the treatment due to the side effects. This is Hannibal, a 2013 documentary about Nicholson, detailed that he first retired from professional wrestling in September 2011 to focus on his health. In August 2007, Nicholson wrestled Shreve in a match that saw Shreve using a fork and coffee pot to bloody Nicholson, who later said that he was hospitalized due to the continued bleeding, requiring 25 stitches. In March 2009, Slam! Wrestling published an article where Nicholson and Shreve were complimentary of each other; Nicholson said he was "very impressed" by Shreve, who was "just so realistic", while Shreve said Nicholson was "really good" and "he has given me a run for my money". In 2011, Nicholson sued Abdullah for $6.5 million in the Ontario Superior Court for negligence, assault, and battery, accusing Shreve of spreading hepatitis C to Nicholson in a May 2007 professional wrestling match. Nicholson accused Shreve of taping a razor blade to Shreve's finger which cut both Shreve and Nicholson, passing the disease through their blood. Nicholson also stated that he did not consent to being cut, and that Shreve had "prematurely ended" his professional wrestling career; he instead became a personal trainer in Ottawa at the Ray Friel Centre. Later in 2014, Nicholson worked in a group home. According to Nicholson, he received a recommendation in 2012 from fellow wrestler and hepatitis C sufferer Billy Graham to speak to his doctor, Hector Rodriguez-Luna, who recommended that Nicholson undergo experimental treatment with telaprevir, a drug commonly used to treat hepatitis C genotype 1, although Nicholson had hepatitis C genotype 2.

The city government's largest employee union, CUPE Local 503, appealed Nicholson's 2013 firing as a gym attendant. An arbitration panel ruled in December 2016 that Nicholson should not have been fired, instead ruling for a two-month suspension and a job transfer to another city facility. In December 2018, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario dismissed Nicholson's allegation that the city had discriminated against him by banning him from municipal recreation facilities when he was undergoing treatment for hepatitis C. The tribunal ruled against Nicholson, stating that he had failed to provide sufficient medical evidence about his behaviour and his treatment. After the match, Nicholson repeatedly stabbed referee Lando Deltoro, whose real name is Pablo Fraga, with a spike, causing Deltoro to bleed profusely with a severed artery in his skull. According to Deltoro, he suffered hypovolemic shock and a panic attack from the blood loss. Deltoro required seven staples and emergency surgery for the injuries.

According to Deltoro, the script for the post-match event was that Nicholson would hit him with the spike, after which Deltoro would "go down, blade" himself with a razor to induce bleeding, "and then roll out and just wobble off". Deltoro suggested that the incident occurred because he "didn't blade hard enough to [Nicholson's] liking", and also indicated that Nicholson "was not around" backstage before the incident for Deltoro to ascertain "how we're going to do this". In response, Deltoro said that he could not talk because he was "starting to pass out" as Nicholson was kneeling on his back, choking him and stabbing him with the spike.

WCPW referee Colby Cowperthwaite, who pulled Deltoro away from the attack, accused Nicholson of going "totally off the hinges", not listening to instructions, and hiding the spike; Cowperthwaite also claimed that "something was off" with Nicholson that night, as he was not walking properly.

On December 12, WCPW CEO Jerry Bostic banned Nicholson from working with them again as a result of the incident, indicating that Nicholson "took something too far and someone could have lost their life because of it"; on December 13, Nicholson claimed that he had actually "quit" before he was banned, "to focus on running my own company in Canada for now". Deltoro stated that Nicholson called him to request "forgiveness", which Deltoro gave, indicating that he wanted Nicholson to "get help" if he has "demons".

Deltoro, who continues suffering from depression, headaches, memory loss and physical scarring, launched a lawsuit in August 2023 against Nicholson and WCPW CEO Jerry Bostic seeking "$250,000 for physical pain, mental anguish and lost wages."

Legal issues Nicholson was arrested for assaulting a woman in August 2022. After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that Nicholson had not committed any offence, and all charges against him were withdrawn. The woman was found guilty of assault, threats and mischief and Nicholson was cleared of all charges.

Championships and accomplishments Combat Revolution Wrestling CRW Quebec Championship (1 time) Great North Wrestling GNW Canadian Heavyweight Championship (3 times) GNW World Television Championship (1 time) Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him #387 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 2015 Southwest Wrestling Entertainment SWE Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)