Dundee’s wrestling heroes have reacted with horror to escalating threats from the US aimed at ruining their shows.
Management for former WWE star Chyna claim she is owed thousands of pounds from her visit to the city and Caird Hall in August.
And that has seen them threaten legal action and even warn that they will put a stop to the pipeline of stateside names jetting into Scotland for bouts.
Speaking from the US, Good Guy Entertainment’s Anthony Anzaldo went so far as to claim he would leave Scottish Wrestling Entertainment (SWE) “unable to book a puppet show” unless it pays out.
SWE deny any wrongdoing, however, and believe the claims for cash are driven more by a desire for publicity than any genuine belief on the part of her agents that they are owed money.
Chyna is seeking a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, while her management team are also filming a documentary entitled The Reconstruction of Chyna.
SWE boss David Low wrestler Bravehart to fans admitted he was “bewildered” by what had happened after years of successful dealings with US stars.
He believes his team will retain the backing of those who have supported them over the years, no matter the claims being made by Mr Anzaldo.
Nonetheless, he admitted it had been a worrying few weeks for the team, who have been behind an increasingly successful and diverse set of shows.
“We have worked with so many stars over the years and they know that we would never do anything like this,” he said.
“I know that we have done absolutely nothing wrong and it is so disappointing that this has happened.”
Mr Low said he was already pushing ahead with the planning for events later this year and is confident that US stars will play a key part alongside himself and fellow Scottish wrestlers.
That should see Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase return with Ted a long-time supporter of the SWE.
While Mr Low is adamant that he has fulfilled the terms of the contract agreed with Chyna’s team, and has the emails to prove it, her management contend they have been duped.
Anzaldo said his client had been left without thousands of dollars promised by SWE for her appearance at autograph signings and at the Caird Hall.
He told The Courier SWE would fail to take the threat seriously at its peril.
“The story is simple,” he said.
“SWE made a deal with us to bring Chyna to Scotland as their headline act and they didn’t pay.
“I’m sorry it has come to this and hopefully SWE realise they need to sort this out but they cannot think they can just ignore us.
“We are not going away and they should know that we deal with a great deal of the wrestling talent in the US.
“There are many people who are not happy about how this has gone down.
“They’ll no doubt be looking for stars for future events, but they won’t be able to book a puppet show until they pay the money promised.”