Folks, it’s not every day you see a former TNA World Champion tangled up in legal drama that sounds more like a soap opera than a match card. Rich Swann, who’s no stranger to the spotlight, found himself in a courtroom this past Wednesday, facing charges of public intoxication and disturbing the peace. Now, we love some drama in the ring, but this? This is a bit too real.
Swann, choosing the classic legal move of “nolo contendere” (that’s lawyer speak for “I’m not saying I did it, but I’ll take the penalty”), will cough up $500 and serve six months of probation. Not exactly the kind of belt you want around your waist, huh?
In the latest chapter of his misadventures, Swann was reportedly trying to channel his inner door-to-door salesman when he approached a neighbor’s apartment while intoxicated. His greeting party? A father-son duo, one of whom politely mentioned he had a gun. As if that wasn’t enough, another neighbor claimed Swann followed her after she picked up her son’s packages—guess he wasn’t delivering fan mail that day!
After the arrest, Swann took a pit stop in rehab, showing off his 60-day sobriety coin like it was a championship title. Props to him for turning things around, but this was his second strike, with the first incident happening back in 2022 at—you guessed it—the same apartment complex.
TNA, ever the responsible party, finally got wind of the arrest last month. Their statement? “TNA Wrestling takes any and all charges against its performers seriously. Rich Swann is responsible for his own personal actions.” Translation: We’re not touching this one with a ten-foot pole.
Before his suspension, Swann was teaming up with former WWE star AJ Francis as First Class. His last hurrah in the ring was an August loss to Mike Bailey for the X-Division Championship—quite the bummer way to exit stage left.
As for Swann’s future with TNA? That’s about as clear as a ref bump in a title match.