YouTube Personality Hannibal Seriously Injures Referee In Shoot Attack

A referee was left seriously injured after a shoot attack by YouTube personality Devon Nicholson, aka Hannibal of Hannibal TV, on Saturday, December 11.

Nicholson, who performs as The Blood Hunter at independent wrestling shows, repeatedly stabbed referee Lando Deltoro with a spike during a post-match attack at World Class Pro Wrestling's 'Christmas Star Wars' show in Irving, Texas. Deltoro was left bleeding profusely following the attack, having suffered a torn artery, and he later required surgery and several staples in his head.

The Blood Hunter faced Carlito at the show and Reddit user Colbafone, who claimed he was the referee for the match but not the official who was attacked post-match, noted Nicholson was "messed up" prior to the bout.

The original plan for after the match, according to Colbafone, was Carlito would brawl with Andrew Anderson to the back, taking the two men and Colbafone away from the ring. Deltoro would then head to the ring for a scheduled post-match beatdown from The Blood Hunter which would result in Deltoro blading after being hit with a spike.

However, it appears the referee did not start bleeding and Nicholson decided to attack Deltoro with the spike after choking out the referee. Nicholson then allegedly repeatedly hit Deltoro with the spike while the referee was unconscious, leaving him bleeding profusely.

Emergency services were then called and statements were given to the police while Deltoro was taken to the hospital. Colbafone also alleged that Kevin Sullivan, who manages The Blood Hunter, told the referee to "kayfabe the cops."

World Class Pro Wrestling promoter Jerry Bostic has since issued a statement, noting that the promotion will never work with Devon Nicholson again.

Bostic said, in part: "What happened last night is never okay in wrestling, ever. Or in anything to be exact. Somebody went into business for themselves and took something too far and somebody could have lost their life because of it. First off, I did not know what was going to happen in that match but to be honest I am not a fan of hardcore wrestling and I trusted that to be taken care of through other channels and that is my fault for trusting, number one.

"And number two, Devin proved he could not be trusted in that situation. I never in my life thought I would encounter a situation like this related to wrestling. Especially with my product. If you've been to one of my shows in the last 15 years you know you've never seen anything like that, period. And you never will again. We will take every step possible to ensure that never happens and one of those is obviously no longer working with The Bloodhunter or Hannibal."

A GoFundMe has also been set up for the injured referee, which you can find here.