Deputy Sheriff Recounts Saving Scott Steiner’s Life Backstage At IMPACT/TNA Event In 2020

The sheriff said had Steiner not been at the venue that day, he might not be here today.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IMPACT Wrestling was gearing up to present ‘TNA: There’s No Place Like Home.’ It was going to be a throwback show that was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic.

One of the names scheduled for the event was two-time IMPACT/TNA World Tag Team Champion Scott Steiner. There was a show that the promotion had on the lead-up to the throwback show, and it was at that event that Steiner had a health scare backstage.

He collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital. That situation was delved into on an episode of Talk’n Shop. Deputy Sheriff Chris Johnson was a guest on the show, and he recounted being partially responsible for saving Steiner’s life.

“Well, I was standing at the curtain, and I was watching — Scott (Steiner) was in the ring doing his promo because at the time, they were gonna do a TNA, I guess, old school versus IMPACT storyline. They had a lot of the originals there… So, Scott’s out there and he’s cutting his promo and he’s fired up as always, and he comes to the back and he did nothing in the ring but throw a clothesline. I mean, he took no bumps, he did nothing. So he’s walking to the back and I just happened to walk back there. For whatever reason, I just happened to go check on something, and Scott’s laying in the floor, and there’s people around him and they’re holding his hand and we’re talking to him… I’m getting closer to him and he’s purple. Like, his lips is purple, and I was like, ‘The brother’s not breathing. Why are we holding hands?’ And I know nobody at this point. I’m like, ‘Listen, we got to do this’ so, I jump in and I start the compressions, chest compressions, and I hear somebody like, ‘Why’s he doing that?’ And I’ll tell you why because if you’re unresponsive, even though you’re not breathing, if you’re getting blood pumped to your organs, they’re usually going to be okay. Even when you get shocked or whatever and come back. If you keep that blood pumping, you keep that blood going to the brain, you still got oxygen in your blood, you’re probably not gonna go brain dead… Let’s get this going… And there’s another guy that jumps in because I don’t know if you’ve ever done chest compressions but after so long, you’re winded. So another brother jumps in and he’s doing some chest compressions and we swap out a couple of times, and then they come in with the defibrillator and all the things and shock him and send him on his way and I’ll be honest, I told him this after we talked, I did not think he was alive when he left.”

Johnson said he learned that a few weeks before Steiner’s incident, he had a procedure done. He stated that had Steiner been at home instead of at the booking, things may have gone more left than they already did.

“Scott was on the phone with his wife — I can’t remember her name right now — but they were calling and letting everybody, ‘Hey, this has happened.’ What was very fortunate, I found out later is he had had a procedure done a couple weeks before that, and had he been home, and not taking that booking, we wouldn’t have Scott Steiner… It was going to happen either way.”

During the podcast appearance, Johnson stated that he is currently Head of Security at TNA Wrestling.

Alongside his brother Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Talk’n Shop with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.