7 Steve Blackman Tales That Verify Lethal Weapon Status

Few in WWE history matched Steve Blackman’s blend of real combat skill and raw toughness. A Shotokan karate master, 585-pound bench presser, and true martial artist, his life reads like a blockbuster action script: near-death illness, backstage brawls, and jaw-dropping feats of toughness. After surviving malaria in South Africa, Blackman returned to become the most feared man in the locker room. He earned his "Lethal Weapon" name through years of brutal training, not bravado. These seven stories don’t just back up his reputation. They show why wrestlers like JBL and Big Show (Paul Wight) learned the hard way: Steve Blackman wasn’t playing a role.

1. Steve Blackman’s Near-Death Experience That Almost Ended His Career Before It Started

Before he became one of WWE’s most feared locker room enforcers, Steve Blackman came face to face with death. Long before the "Lethal Weapon" nickname, there was a moment when his future in wrestling (and life itself) hung by a thread.

In a revealing interview with RF Video, Blackman recounted the terrifying experience that began just one day after arriving in South Africa for a show:

“The day after I got to South Africa, I started getting sick. And I kept getting sicker. I was so dehydrated I couldn’t even breathe.

“Every ten minutes, I was in the bathroom. I would chug waters, and I would chug sodas, anything I could get my hands on because every ten minutes, I felt like I had sand in my mouth, and I couldn’t breathe.

“I went to the hospital, and they kept me on an IV all night. We went through a few bags of IV’s and sent me back to the hotel. Six straight hours later, I would be so dehydrated, I couldn’t breathe again and had to go back. This went on for the whole week.

“At this point, they were flying out of Durban just once a week as this was in ’89, so if I didn’t get out on the Thursday coming up, I would have been stuck there another week, and I just knew I wouldn’t make it another week.

“When I arrived on the one Thursday, I weighed 267 pounds. When I got home seven days later, I was 232. When I got home, I drank and ate a lot of food the night before I went to bed and went to the doctor in the morning. So probably, I lost more than 35 pounds in 6 or 7 days. It was a nightmare.

“One of my friends was Gary Albright; he passed away as well. I was in Durban, and I was in the hospital, and I said, ‘Gary, you have to get me out of here. If I stay another week, I’m not going to make it. I don’t want to have my family go halfway around the world to retrieve my body, so I want to get the hell out of here.’

“So he scheduled one of his friends to pick me up.

“The guy drove me to the airport. I had enough cash on me to buy a ticket from Durban to Johannesburg.

“So now at home, I had my family buy me a ticket from Johannesburg all the way back home.

“You know, this was years ago, and I didn’t have a bunch of cash on me. They were paying for everything, but I had enough to cover the one ticket on the spur of the moment.

“I got to Johannesburg, and it came through fifteen minutes before the flight left. If it hadn’t come through, I would have been stuck there. I probably would have been there, because now I would have been in Johannesburg where I knew no one.

“So we fly and luckily I got on the plane there. And I was trying to keep from blacking out the whole time, and I would keep a bag full of sodas and water, whatever I could find because I couldn’t even breathe.

“From there, it was like a five-hour flight to Kenya. We had a five-hour layover in Kenya on the runway with the doors open, and it was about 120 degrees.

“From there, we flew nine hours to Amsterdam, where I had a 12-hour layover. I got to Amsterdam, and they didn’t even let me on the plane because I was so sick.

“I said, ‘Look, I don’t think I have anything contagious. It’s dysentery or malaria or something like that, but I don’t think it’s contagious. If I die, I’m going to die in the States. I made it this far; I’m going home.’

“So anyway, I was lying on the floor at the airport for twelve hours, and I would just crawl in the bathroom every ten minutes. One end or the other would be coming out. As soon as I would drink, I would go in again. It was just horrible.

“From there, we flew to New York City, but on that flight from Amsterdam to New York, I blacked out a few times. I know that they called a doctor on the plane, and he mixed up these packs for me, maybe blood sugar packs or something to keep reviving me, so to speak.

“I got to New York, and they had some kid wheel me off in a wheelchair. Whatever money I had in my hand, I don’t have any clue to this day what it was. I just gave it to him and said, ‘Just get me something to eat,’ because I wanted to see if I can keep some food and water down in my own country.

“He came back with a sub and a bottle of water, and it was the first time I ate and drank something and didn’t go to the bathroom. I’m like, I gotta stay down. I’m delirious on top of losing 35 pounds in 6 days. I haven’t slept now in days as I’ve been flying and all this trying to get home in 37 hours.

“So now we’re in New York, and I have a five-hour layover before I fly to Harrisburg. I didn’t care if I passed out there. I didn’t care if I went to the hospital there. I didn’t even pick my luggage up. I said, ‘Leave it. Just get me to my gate and let me go.’ And I made it home.

“I was pretty delirious. I couldn’t even remember my girlfriend’s name for the first three or four days. I went to the doctor, and he said I probably had dysentery or probably had malaria from my symptoms because I was so bad.

“After about two weeks at home, I started feeling a little better.

“Then I went down there and got shots of cortisone, and with the cortisone, again, all of a sudden, I was getting sicker and sicker.

“I was completely screwed up. Everything came alive. I had bronchitis every six weeks for three years.

“I was just constantly sick until they figured out I developed an infection in my intestines from all these antibiotics, dysentery, cortisone reaction, and all of that stuff.

“About three years went by, and I went to ten different doctors. I spent every penny I had on medical bills.

“And then after all that, one doctor in Maryland finally figured out what it was.

“He said, ‘The problem is you’re going to have to take medicine for as long as you were sick because it was through the entire of my intestinal tract. That’s two to two and a half years on medicine.

“Then, one day after five and a half, six years, whatever it was, I woke up and it was like, ‘My God I can see clearly today! I can think clearly today!’ And then that was it.

“I spent ten minutes at the gym. The next day fifteen, and so on. And after about a year, I said, ‘I’m going back.’ But, I never thought I would be going back after all these years.

“For a few years, I thought I was going to die every night I went to bed.'”

2. The Incredible 6-Year Recovery That Brought Wrestling’s Deadliest Man Back from the Brink

Steve Blackman continued, “[Before catching malaria in South Africa], I came down to [Titan Towers], and I was pushed to go.

“I had a trial with them and said, ‘I want to wrestle with you guys.’ It was my ultimate goal. But I said, ‘I gave this guy my word that I would wrestle in South Africa, and he’s already got the fliers out.’ I hadn’t even worked a main event, but back then, it was no big deal.

I was talking with Pat Patterson and one of the other guys in the office. They were like, ‘Let us know when you want to start when you get back.’ They didn’t care.

“So anyway, I came back and some time went by, and they put me on a show. I was just so sick that it took everything I had not to blackout in the match.

“I had a fairly good match, but I just couldn’t do it. I was fighting to keep from passing out the whole time.

“About a year or two later, they put me on another one. I said, ‘Pat, I appreciate this.’ And I had a good match.

I wrestled Mike Sharp the one night, and I forget who I wrestled the other time, but we actually had a pretty good match, but they were pretty good houses.

Even Gene Okerlund came up to me at the time, and he goes, ‘I’m pretty sure we have a spot for you because your matches went pretty well.

“I told Pat, ‘Pat, I feel like livid hell. I’m still sick. I will never bother you again until I feel like I can come back.’

“So then around the end of ’96, ’97, whenever it was, I showed up to one of the events and talked with a person and said, ‘I think I’m ready to come back.’ I remember, but Vince may not remember.

“He was a little bit reluctant because I was out of the ring for six years. Pat and they gave me a chance and put me on the road for a little while, and my matches went well, and they put me back in Stamford in the ring over there for a week or two.

“I just spent a few weeks just polishing up and I, fortunately, got a shot, and I was back on the road for a while.

“I didn’t feel too bad with [getting back in the gym, getting muscle tone, athleticism, and coordination back] and believe it or not, when I was sick, and I don’t know how- I actually just stayed large.

“I gained weight, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t look overly heavy, but I did gain some weight. I was about 290 at one point when I first started going back to the gym. I just kept pretty good strength because my brother was in the gym with me each week.

“I’m like, I don’t understand. I just spent two or three years, or whatever it was, in bed. My strength was about the same! That was kind of bizarre.

“All I did was eat and sleep. I probably slept 18-20 hours a day for two and a half or three years. I couldn’t really function much. I was just exhausted.”

3. How Wrestling’s Toughest Guy Nearly Lost His Battle with Mental Health

Despite being one of wrestling’s most legitimate tough guys, his bout with malaria left him feeling down to a point where he even considering taking his own life.

“I couldn’t stand it,” admitted Blackman. “I had been working out from the time I was just thirteen years old, so not being able to train was eating at me. Not being able to bang on the heavy bags and wrestle people were driving me crazy.

“I couldn’t do anything physical. If I dropped down to the floor and did 50 pushups, I would be tired for two or three days.

“I will never forget, I had an 85-pound dumbbell at home. I would pick it up and do one set of curls on this arm and another on the other arm, and I would just sleep for two or three days. It was just awful.

“There were many nights when I would have to keep thinking of reasons not to blow my head off.

“When you are sick for years, for me, an infection in my stomach and my vision was being distorted so I couldn’t even read a book. It’s one of those things, you know?

“There were about twenty times where I had to come up with reasons with my family not do something drastic.”

4. The Shocking Way Steve Blackman Saved X-Pac Sean Waltman’s Life

Steve Blackman not only was able to save his own life but the life of a friend, too.

In an interview with Sam Roberts, “X-Pac” Sean Waltman shared, “I remember one time [on meth], I was standing up for so, so long. So many days.

He continued, “Steve Blackman lived with me out in LA, and he was with me, and he was out of town. Thank God he came back into town.

“He probably saved my life because I had been standing there for probably two or three days. My f***ing feet were all swollen up, and the cowboy boots I was wearing were busted on the sides.”

5. The Time Steve Blackman Destroyed Big Show Without Even Getting Off His Back

In an interview on Kayfabe Commentaries with Sean Oliver, Teddy Long shared a story on Steve Blackman delivering a bit of rough justice to former WWE big man, Big Show (Paul Wight).

“Steve Blackman, you know, he was a karate expert or martial arts, guy. Well, he was lying on his back on the floor. I mean, just lying on his back.

“Big Show walked up in front of him and said something to him, and Steve told him, ‘Get f***ed,’ or something like that.

Long continued, “I saw Steve Blackman lay on his back, took both his feet, hooked Big Show, and took him down, and he never got up off the floor. That’s how tough and how bad he was.”

6. The REAL Story Behind Steve Blackman’s Legendary Airport Beatdown of JBL

The infamous airport incident between Steve Blackman and JBL has become one of wrestling’s most talked-about backstage stories, passed down through locker room whispers and pieced together from various wrestler accounts over the years. What makes this particular tale so fascinating is how different witnesses remember different details, creating a patchwork of perspectives that only recently found its definitive voice when Steve Blackman himself finally set the record straight.

Bob Holly’s account from his highly recommended autobiography, The Hardcore Truth, paints a vivid picture of the volatile relationship between these traveling partners. Holly revealed the broader context of JBL’s antagonistic behavior, sharing how “JBL liked to **** with people” and describing incidents like the time Bradshaw rammed Holly’s car “right through the stoplight into the middle of the intersection” during a road rage incident. “Steve Blackman was in the car with me, and he was pissed,” Holly recalled, noting that “Steve did not like that sort of thing at all.”

According to Holly’s version, the airport confrontation occurred at St. Louis at baggage claim after an early morning flight, with JBL “still drunk from the night before.” Holly described how Bradshaw began “patting Steve’s ***” despite repeated warnings, escalating until Steve warned him, “John, next time you do that, I’m going to knock your ****ing teeth out.”

When JBL persisted, Holly witnessed Steve “whip around and backhand Bradshaw, popping him with jabs in the face” before getting “his leg caught in a bag handle” that prevented him from delivering what could have been a devastating kick to JBL’s knees.

Holly’s account described how “John was walking back and forth like a bandy rooster, looking to fight” and how the tension followed them on their car ride with Ken Shamrock.

“That whole journey, Shamrock was poking and prodding Steve, telling him that Bradshaw was going to beat his ***. Steve wasn’t saying a word.” The confrontation eventually reached its climax at the arena, where Steve delivered his ultimatum: “If you’ve got something to say to me, you say it now, or I’m going to finish you in front of everybody.”

Holly concluded with Steve’s chilling assessment: “Bob, if it weren’t for that bag, John would be in intensive care right now.”

While Holly’s version captured the explosive nature of the confrontation and provided crucial context about the ongoing tension between the wrestlers, it wasn’t until July 2025 that Steve Blackman himself provided his own detailed recollection during a July 2025 interview with Chris Van Vliet, adding layers of context that had been missing from previous accounts.

According to Blackman’s telling, the trouble began long before they reached any airport, brewing during what should have been a routine flight between wrestling shows. The wrestlers were exhausted from their grueling schedule, and Blackman was desperate for a few hours of rest.

“We were on the plane. JBL and one of the other guys kept throwing stuff up a few rows up and hit me in the head. Well, I’m trying to sleep,” Blackman explained. “I mean, like, we don’t get a whole lot of sleep when you go to bed at midnight or 1:00 a.m. and you’re getting up at 5:00 a.m. for an early flight. I want a couple hours sleep on the plane.”

The situation escalated as Blackman’s patience wore thin with each interruption. He approached JBL multiple times, attempting to defuse the situation diplomatically.

“I walked back after he did it a few times. I said, ‘Look, guys, I’m trying to get some sleep. I’ve had enough. Okay?’ I walk back and sit down. They do it again. So, few more minutes goes by. I walk back like, ‘Guys, I’ve had enough.'” Despite his repeated warnings, the harassment continued, pushing Blackman closer to his breaking point with each incident.

“The only reason I didn’t start swinging right there is because I knew there’d be 20 air marshals waiting for me when we landed. So, I’m like, let me go back and sit down,” he recalled.

This calculated restraint would prove to be the calm before the storm, as JBL and his companions continued their antics throughout the flight.

“They did it a couple of more times and I am just fuming and I’m like, I wanna sprint back this aisle and just go now. I gotta hold it, hold it.”

The tension that had been building throughout the flight reached its explosive climax at the baggage claim area, where hundreds of travelers were going about their normal routines, completely unaware they were about to witness one of wrestling’s most legendary real-life confrontations.

“We get to the baggage claim. I walk up and Bradshaw comes up and stands right beside me. Comes up and bumps me right up against me,” Blackman recounted. This final provocation was the match that lit the fuse on hours of accumulated frustration and disrespect.

“I took my sunglasses off, handed it to one of the guys. I came with a backhand from the floor. I backhanded him. I didn’t hit him as hard as I could because I didn’t want him to split his head open on the floor, but I cracked him. He flew.”

Blackman continued, “I turned around, I went one, two, uppercut, bombed him. He went flat on his back at baggage claim, and there were 500 people there.”

Just as Bob Holly had described in his version, fate intervened in the form of an oversized piece of luggage that temporarily evened the odds.

“Just as I hit him the last time, my foot went through a duffel bag on the floor. It was like a puzzle. My foot must have went right through a certain way. There’s this big duffel bag and I couldn’t get it off my leg. I’m kicking, pulling. Well, I don’t know the time. A little bit of time goes by. Well, he’s awake and back to his feet.”

This bizarre twist gave JBL the opportunity to recover and mount a comeback, though Blackman’s superior defensive skills quickly became apparent.

When JBL regained his footing and returned to the fight, he encountered the same problem that had frustrated countless opponents in legitimate combat sports – Steve Blackman was nearly impossible to hit cleanly.

“He comes back swinging. I see the punch coming, I slip. He throws another one, I slip, slip. After that, a whole bunch of guys grabbed everybody and pulled us apart.”

The aftermath of the airport brawl revealed the unique dynamics of the wrestling business, where even the most explosive backstage incidents had to be managed within the context of the show business aspect of sports entertainment.

“Well, naturally, it was so many people at baggage claim, it was a pay-per-view day. So some of the guys from the office had already told Vince McMahon and stuff. We get to the arena. Well, Vince must’ve beelined right for me,” Blackman recalled.

“I’m walking down the hallway, and he comes up, and Vince, obviously, he can be cynical. He comes straight up to me, he’s like, ‘Steve, Sunday morning in the airport? That’s great. That’s great.’

“I’m like, ‘Vince, I’m sorry it happened in the airport. I can’t say it won’t ever happen again, but I can promise you it won’t happen in the airport.'”

Rather than let the situation fester, McMahon orchestrated a backstage resolution that would either end the conflict or potentially create an even bigger problem.

“So we go walking back. I go put my shoes on and I said, ‘Go tell Bradshaw to lace up.’ And he comes up, he goes, ‘Steve, if you put me on the spot out there,’ he goes, ‘I’m gonna have to fight.’ I said, ‘Well, I expect you too!’

“He goes, ‘Well, what do I have to do?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna tell you what—’ I said, ‘You can apologize in front of everyone in the cafeteria for being a complete ***hole.’ I said, ‘Or we’re gonna go again right there,’ and I said, ‘I’m gonna hit a whole lot harder this time.’

“So he walks in, he was in his sneakers and gym shorts. He was ready. I mean, he’s no punk. He goes, ‘I apologize for being an ***hole,’ whatever, blah, blah and we let it go.”

Blackman reflected on the devastating speed and precision of his assault, details that helped explain why the incident became such an enduring legend among wrestling fans and insiders.

“I think I hit him four times in a second because I remember the sequence. Because I turned and it was like, I went, one, two, uppercut and then bomb. It was a pop, pop, pop, pop. He dropped flat on his back.”

The fight’s aftermath included an unfortunate encounter with innocent bystanders, adding another layer of consequence to the public confrontation.

“Some elderly guy must have gotten elbowed by one of us or knocked backward, and he had blood coming out of his ear,” Blackman recalled. When the man’s son confronted them about the injury, Blackman initially showed appropriate remorse and concern.

“I looked over the guy said I’m sorry I’m I’m really sorry about that.” However, when the confrontation escalated beyond reasonable bounds, even Blackman’s patience with civilians had its limits. “I said dude I said I said I’m sorry twice okay and his father’s standing there he looks okay now or whatever the guy said something the third time I said I said I’ve had enough.”

The moment was witnessed by Stone Cold Steve Austin, whose reaction provided a perfect punctuation to the surreal scene.

“Austin heard me say that. I look over and he’s standing there cracking up.”

The business ramifications of the airport incident reflected WWE’s approach to managing talent behavior during an era when the line between character and reality was often deliberately blurred.

“They kept me and Bradshaw off TV for like a month as a punishment, fined both of us,” Blackman revealed. The punishment was relatively mild considering the public nature of the incident, suggesting that WWE management understood the context and provocation that led to the confrontation.

Bob Holly’s perspective on Steve Blackman extended far beyond just this one incident, painting a picture of a man whose reputation for danger was matched only by his loyalty as a friend. “Steve Blackman is probably the most dangerous man on the planet. If you piss him off, you might end up going missing. Somehow, though, I got away with it,” Holly wrote, describing their relationship as traveling partners who “had the same schedule – wake up early, eat, work out, and go to the show.”

Holly’s ability to “get away with” pranking Blackman, including terrifying him during dangerous highway driving, spoke to the unique bond between the two wrestlers and Holly’s understanding of exactly how far he could push his friend’s boundaries.

Today, both Steve Blackman and JBL look back on the incident with the perspective that only time and mutual respect can provide.

“We laugh about it now,” Blackman said. “JBL actually talked about on a podcast recently. Oh, he laughs about it now, too. He doesn’t care. That guy’s great. I mean, back then I was pissed at him, but couple days later, we laugh about it. Nobody cares anymore. That’s where you have to be.”

This reconciliation speaks to the unique culture of professional wrestling, where respect is often earned through conflict and where yesterday’s adversaries can become today’s friends through shared understanding of what it means to be truly tough.

7. Where Wrestling’s Most Feared Competitor Disappeared to After WWE

After being sidelined with neck injuries, Steve Blackman sat out the rest of his contract with WWE and left the company in October 2002.

He has made only a few wrestling appearances since, most notably on the Raw 15th Anniversary Special on December 10, 2007, where he took part in a battle royal and was eliminated by Flash Funk.

In 2003, Blackman opened a self-defense school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, called BlackmanMMA, where he taught jujitsu and wrestling.

“After I got out of wrestling, I had an MMA school. I had that for about 13 years, and then once my kids were born, I just didn’t have the time for that,” Blackman revealed in his July 2025 interview with Chris Van Vliet. He operated the training facility until closing it to focus on family life and his expanding bail bonds business.

Blackman transitioned into the bail bonds industry, launching Blackman Bail Bonds in central Pennsylvania.

“I had also started a bail bonds business two or three years after the MMA started. So I’ve been focusing on my bail bonds business for the last 17 years now,” he explained. His company operates 24/7 throughout Harrisburg and surrounding counties, with Blackman personally handling client meetings and bail postings.

Remarkably, Blackman revealed (at the age of 61 at the time) that he had been feeling significantly better after undergoing a second neck operation to remove bone spurs that had plagued him throughout his wrestling career.

“Sometimes I feel good. Especially after my second neck operation. I don’t have those headaches all day, every day,” he admitted, adding that the idea of returning to the ring “crosses my mind sometimes.”However, he noted he hasn’t discussed any potential WWE return with anyone in an official capacity, though he acknowledged it would be “fun to go back there and do a hardcore match or something like that.”

Today, Blackman continues operating his successful bail bonds business while remaining open to the possibility of one final wrestling appearance, proving that even in retirement, “The Lethal Weapon” remains as unpredictable as ever.

These stories may also interest you:

• Meng: Tales of Wrestling’s Toughest S.O.B.
• Harley Race – Tales of His Tenacity and Strength
• Blue Meanie and the Real-Life Fight with JBL 

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