The phenomenon of Netflix’s Tiger King is the gift that keeps on giving, especially in the sports world. Over the weekend, a wrestler who works for the promotion Ring of Honor told ESPN’s Brian Rowitz about the time he and two other wrestlers traveled to Joe Exotic’s Oklahoma’s zoo — a trip that turned into something very bizarre.
That time Joe Exotic’s zoo thought some pro wrestlers were spies for Carole Baskin
Alrighty then ...
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James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Former ROH world champion Matt Taven told Rowitz that he, Jay Lethal and Dalton Castle were traveling from Texas to Oklahoma City for a show when they saw billboards advertising Exotic’s zoo. Intrigued by the advertising, and knowing they had time to spare, the trio made a pit stop.
Things got weird when Lethal told the staff he was from Tampa, which happens to be the home of Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue.
“So they thought we were some sort of spies, instead of some random guys walking in without a family like everybody else to this tiger zoo. So they thought we were some sort of animal activists or spies.”
After some intense glares and speculation, the staff at Exotic’s zoo determined the wrestlers weren’t covert spies working for Big Cat Rescue. They were just three muscle-bound dudes who wanted to see some big cats.
Taven noted while the zoo didn’t seem as bad as it appeared on Tiger King, some of the tigers looked “sad.” Based on what we know about Exotic’s fate, it’s probably a good thing the wrestlers were able to convince the staff they weren’t actually spies.
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