The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino

This "Dark Side of the Ring" episode from season 1 number five "The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino" is one tragic and revealing eye opening looking at a life that was gone way to soon. I remember as a kid when I would watch "World Class Championship Wrestling" on Saturday afternoons, this heel and bad guy was one interesting guy to watch and cheer against as him and counter part Chris Adams were over the top in and outside of the ring. The episode tells thru interviews of those in the Texas league of how that Gino was a hard living party animal and he carried his ring personality outside of the ring and lived wild. You name it Hernandez had the vices of sexy woman, pricey cars, and clothes, and he did the booze and coke. However revealing and shocking was his ties to the Texas underworld as this very well could have caused his early exit. Good informative episode that ties up some loose ends and gives answers a must see for any vintage "World Class" or wrestling fan as Gino is long remembered and it pays tribute as he will never be forgotten.

Of all the pro wrestling personalities highlighted in the "Dark Side of the Ring" series, Gino Hernandez is the only one I never saw wrestle and have no real knowledge of, other than his brief association with Chris Adams in the mid Eighties. It appeared that he had a real bright future in the entertainment sport, but his flashiness in the ring was matched with the same sort of lifestyle outside it, and this episode explores how it might have contributed to his untimely death. On-camera notables for this program include promoter and booker David Manning, manager and booker Bruce Prichard, wrestlers Jake 'The Snake' Roberts and Kevin Von Erich, along with Hernandez's ex-wife Janice Gillespie and their daughter Lisha. Much of the story involves Gino's life outside the ring as a gambler, hard drinker and drug abuser, who's intense paranoia derived from an association with underworld characters and drug traffickers. Having died in February 1986, a long held opinion by his mother Patrice Aguirre, was that Hernandez was a murder victim due to his unsavory relationships. For example, a shady character named John Royal, unknown to his mother and ex-wife, showed up at Gino's funeral and paid the expenses for his burial, while at the same time seeming to threaten the mother about pressing the murder angle. The end of the program suggests that another unknown person knew how Hernandez really died, and his altered voice proceeds to assure Ms. Aguirre that her son's death was strictly the result of his drug use. The actual death certificate states the manner of death as acute cocaine intoxication, after the police dropped their homicide investigation into the fatality.

One shouldn't expect to be surprised by the inconclusive nature regarding the death of Gino Hernandez. There are enough testimonials from both sides to consider both the murder angle and the overdose theory. I found the statement by the unnamed, unknown character near the end of the program, particularly since it's now three decades gone by, to almost seem like another wrestling angle to explain what happened to Hernandez. The mother seemed reasonably assured by this obscure character, and I hope for her sake she's found some closure, but for this viewer, the case of Hernandez's death is still pretty much an open question.

Gino Hernandez was a rising star in American wrestling. He had good looks, wrestling skills and the crowd loved to hate him.

He as found dead in 1986 at the age of 28. The police found his decomposed body.

Originally the police thought it was homicide. Later his death was recorded as an accidental drug overdose.

Gino's mother for years speculated if her son was murdered. He had hung around with underworld gangster types and drug dealers. This view was shared by Gino's ex wife.

Fellow wrestler Jake Roberts said that Gino was a heavy drug user. If Gino was apprehensive that he might have been watched or followed. It might just be a side effect of his drug use.

This documentary was more speculation with little hard evidence. Some wrestling fans once speculated that a fellow wrestler might have killed him.

There were recorded voice interviews with a few underworld types but these people could had been anyone. This was low rent tabloid reportage.