Former Pro Wrestler John Nord, popularly known in WWE as The Berzerker, was arrested and placed in custody on March 23rd for multiple traffic violations in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Nord was scheduled to be interviewed by Independent Wrestler & Interviewer Hannibal, but the interview was reportedly canceled due to Nord’s arrest. Nord was set to be in attendance for The Markout at The Meadowlands Convention which took place on Sunday, April 7th, in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Public records indicate that Nord was arrested at 5:23PM on March 23rd and placed in custody. He was arrested on two counts: one was a felony charge for driving while intoxicated/operating motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance and the other a gross misdemeanor for driving after his license was canceled, which he was deemed “inimical to public safety.” In Minnesota, this term means that a driver who has been found to be unable to safely control their vehicle, but without presenting a serious danger to others. However, licenses are canceled as inimical to public safety when drivers are deemed to pose too great of a risk to others, which forfeits their legal ability to continue driving.
Nord was placed on a 60,000 bond for the felony DWI charge. Although there was not any confirmation that he posted bail, organizers for The Markout at The Meadowlands Event were told that he was not allowed to leave the state of Minnesota.
Former WWE star John “The Berzerker” Nord arrested for DUI and placed in custody. pic.twitter.com/ViBA9YOxUX
— Pancakes & Powerslams (@CraveWrestling) April 13, 2019
In 2018, an episode of Judge Mathis aired of Nord being sued for failing to pay two credit cards that was opened up for him from a friend who he met at a substance abuse facility that she worked at. Nord stated that he is in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and paid back the plaintiff with “205 valuable wrestling dolls.” The two credit cards totalled 4,759 dollars which Nord failed to repay. Nord stated that there was a 10,000 royalty check sent from WWE that he burned through, but another check that he expected which never came. The 205 wrestling dolls Nord gave her was in exchange for the promised royalty check, for her to sell online. The dolls played in Nord’s favor and reduced the judgment for the plaintiff to 3,059 dollars.
A few weeks ago, Christine Schmidt, The Plaintiff, said that, “Johnny is a Great person… Everyone’s a little bit flawed we’re not perfect.”
Nord initially became popular while competing for The AWA under the names of Nord The Barbarian & Yukon John. His most popular run was while competing for WWE from 1991 to 1993, with his biggest feud during this time being with The Undertaker. After his WWE run, Nord competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling and had a short stint in WCW before retiring.
