Axl Rotten | Heroin Overdose Death

Brian Knighton, better known as the heavyweight wrestler Axl Rotten, was once a star in pro wrestling. Unfortunately, Knighton died of a heroin overdose in 2016 at the age of 44.

How Axl Rotten Died

In 2014, Brian Knighton experienced a spine injury that ended the career of professional wrestler Axl Rotten. It also forced Knighton to rely on a wheelchair and take up residence in the Anchorage Rehab Center, located in Salisbury, Maryland.

On February 4, 2016, the 44-year-old Knighton, who had been sharing the progress of his physical recovery, would tweet the following message to his fans:

“The way I do things may not be the way you do things but you will find out there is only 1 way. My away! #AxlsTruth.”

Around ten hours later the former superstar was found dead in a McDonald’s bathroom. He was in the presence of drug paraphernalia including an empty pill bottle, burnt spoon, and brown crystalline residue, according to the police report. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would confirm his cause of death as heroin overdose.

About Axl Rotten

Brian Knighton was born in 1971. As a teen, he was trained in wrestling by ‘80s and ‘90s American professional wrestler Rickly “Bad Boy” Lawless and former World Championship Wrestling star “Jumping” Joey Maggs in the city of Baltimore.

After quitting high school, a 17-year-old Knighton would debut on the independent wrestling circuit, taking the ring name “Axl Rotten” in an homage to musicians Axl Rose of Guns ‘n Roses and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. 

The name would stick, and Rotten would win his first titles in 1988.

The Bad Breed

By 1990, Rotten trained Jon Benson Williams who would take the role of Axl Rotten’s brother, Ian Rotten. 

Together, the Bad Breed would feature in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, Rotten’s own Maryland-based Universal Independent Wrestling Association, and the Texas-based Global Wrestling Federation.

On stage the two heavyweights wore classic 90’s patched English rocker denim jackets and colorful tights. They developed a reputation as hardcore fighters and colorful antagonists.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Following 1991 appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the Bad Breed would join the Pennsylvania-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion in 1993. 

They would compete tag team at ECW until the November to Remember event of 1994, losing to the Pit Bulls and, by pre-agreed stipulation, being forced to separate as a result.

Following this the two would develop a rivalry, facing off in an ECW Double Tables event in 1995. This set off a series of hardcore matches that went on for seventeen months through “hair versus hair” and “barbed wire baseball bat, barbed wire chair” scenarios.

The two would rejoin as the Bad Breed after Hardcore Heaven 1995, in which Axl would defeat Ian in an infamously bloody “Taipei death match” with broken glass fixed in their taped fists.

Rotten would also compete as a single in ECW heavyweight matches in 1996 before forming a new tag team with Jonathan Rechner, better known as “Balls Mahoney”, in 1997. The Hardcore Chair Swingin’ Freaks, as they were known, would remain a team until 1999, with occasional matches against one another as well.

Later Career

Along with a handful of other appearances, Rotten would feature in several World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) matches, alternatively reuniting with Ian Rotten and Balls Mahoney and then defeating Ian Rotten in yet another Taipei death match. 

However, he was released from the organization and fully eliminated from the roster at WWE.com in 2006 due to failing to attend a Raw event, a WWE vs. ECW Head to Head special, and an ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view event.

It was later revealed these absences were directly related to heroin abuse.

His final professional wrestling appearances included a few tag-team matches for the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, a one-night Total Nonstop Action Wrestling event that was part of the ECW tribute show Hardcore Justice, and a final tag team match with Kahoneys/Balls Mahoney for South Philadelphia Street Fight.

Axel Rotten’s History Of Substance Abuse & Rehab

There is no evidence that Knighton sought addiction treatment. Following his death, it has been reported that he struggled alone with recurring periods of drug addiction as well as the physical damage and chronic injuries caused by his highly demanding performances in the ring.

An autopsy of Knighton, as well as his former partner and heart-attack victim Jonathan Rechner, would confirm that Knighton and other pro wrestlers have suffered from the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). 

CTE is a degenerative condition suspected to have contributed to Knighton’s substance abuse and other physical and behavioral issues.

Recovery Is Possible

If you live with drug addiction, now is the time to get the help you need and prevent a tragedy like that of Knighton’s death.

At Ark Behavioral Health, we make recovery possible for individuals and families by providing professional care, ongoing support, and a strong foundation for lasting recovery.