Wrestling Industry Veterans Warned To ‘Stay Away’ From Jimmy Snuka Years Ago

On the most recent episode of MLW Radio (“MLW Radio Extra – MSL Is Back”), former WWE writer Court Bauer and industry stalwart Mister Saint Laurent discussed a number of topics related to the world of professional wrestling, including the pending murder charges against WWE legend Jimmy Snuka. This show featured Saint Laurent’s return to the program after a public dust-up with co-host Konnan. Konnan was not part of the new episode.

Both Bauer and Saint Laurent noted that they were not close with Snuka and made comments at various times throughout their conversation indicating that they could not say for sure if Jimmy Snuka is actually guilty of the criminal charges that he currently faces. As previously reported by Inquisitr, Jimmy Snuka was recently indicted on charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the 1983 death of his then-girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. The criminal investigation into Argentino’s death was reopened in 2014, due in part to a lengthy story that was published by a local newspaper. Jimmy Snuka himself has made a number of unusual comments about circumstances surrounding Argentino’s death in recent years, both in his 2012 autobiography and in subsequent radio interviews.

Mister Saint Laurent indicated that Jimmy Snuka’s role in the death of Nancy Argentino was something of an open secret in the wrestling industry, sharing that he was told early in his career to watch himself around the legendary grappler.

“I don’t know if it’s true. I have no way of knowing,” Mister Saint Laurent said. “All I can say is that one of the guys that broke me in was broken in by Buddy Rodgers and Buddy Rodgers always insisted that: a) It was true, and b) [Argentino] wasn’t the only one. So, from the day I was broken in — back then, Jimmy was coming to a lot of the shows in south Florida, he had a school down there at one point — I was always warned: Stay away from Jimmy Snuka. He’s a shady guy. He gets coked up. He kills hookers. Again, these are allegations, I’m not saying it’s true but this is what I was told.”

It’s worth noting that during a recent appearance on The Jim Cornette Experience, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer said that the widow of Buddy Rodgers spoke to investigators regarding Snuka’s history of domestic violence with his wife. Rodgers and his wife were once neighbors with Jimmy Snuka.

After hearing Saint Laurent’s story, Court Bauer joked that the tale could potentially create liability issues for MLW Radio. MSL reiterated that he didn’t know how true the stories were, noting was only repeating what he had heard over the years.

Bauer added that he had never heard what Court Bauer had shared but he did recall a situation in which he too had been told to steer clear of Snuka. Bauer said he was “just breaking into the business” at the time and saw Jimmy Snuka at an awards banquet for Wild Samoan Wrestling Federation. According to Bauer, Snuka was drinking and dancing and seemed to be having a good time at the event. He indicated that at one point, Snuka even sat next to him and was buying drinks for people but when the crowd started to thin out, he was approached by someone at the event who suggested that it was time to wrap things up for the night.

“The bar is starting to clear out and then another Samoan wrestler comes to me. He says, ‘Hey brotha, it’s time for you to head back to your room.’ I was like, ‘All right, what’s up?’ He said, ‘You don’t want to be the last one drinking with Jimmy.'”

Bauer said he understood that Snuka had an argument with the unnamed wrestler over the comment but added that he was not really sure of the details.

Jimmy Snuka is currently free on $100,000 bond. According to WrestleZone, a preliminary hearing in the murder case is scheduled for October 7. WrestleZone also noted that attorney William E. Moore, who accompanied Snuka when he surrendered to authorities, is no longer representing Jimmy Snuka in the case.

[Main image via WWE]