A wrestling referee stabbed in the head with a metal spike by a performer says he lost almost 3 pints of blood after suffering a severed artery

• A pro wrestling referee suffered huge blood loss after a performer stabbed him with a metal object.
• Lando Deltoro told the Daily Beast he lost almost three pints of blood after suffering a severed artery.

A referee attacked by a professional wrestler in a stunt taken too far at a show in Texas says he lost close to three pints of blood and suffered a severed artery.

The incident transpired at a World Class Pro Wrestling event in Irving, Texas on Saturday, just after wrestler Devon Nicholson — who is known by the nicknames "Hannibal" and "Bloodhunter" — had fought ex-WWE star Carlito in a title match.

Nicholson won his scripted match against Carlito, real name Carlos Colón Jr, when he set upon the referee, Lando Deltoro.

In a video taken from the crowd and posted to social media, Nicholson is seen straddling Deltoro's back and pulling his head upwards. Nicholson then takes a sharp object and forcefully pushes it into the referee's forehead a number of times.

Deltoro's forehead begins to bleed soon afterwards, with him, Nicholson, and the wrestling ring's canvas stained with blood.

You can see footage of the incident below (WARNING — the footage contains graphic violence and blood):

In an interview with the Daily Beast, Deltoro said that the stunt was originally meant to involve him "blading" himself, a common move in scripted wrestling matches where performers lightly cut themselves with razor blades then mix the blood with sweat to create the impression of bleeding profusely.

However, what actually transpired was Nicholson repeatedly driving a spike into his head.

"I guess I didn't blade hard enough to his liking," Deltoro said in the interview with the Daily Beast, saying that he suffered a severed artery in his skull, and was told that he lost close to three pints of blood.

Deltoro said he went into hypovolemic shock — when the heart struggles to pump enough blood — during the incident.

After having emergency surgery, Deltoro posted a picture to his Twitter account showing multiple wounds on his forehead held together with surgical staples.

As a result of his actions, Nicholson was banned from competing with World Class Pro Wrestling in future, with the firm's boss Jerry Bostic saying in a video statement that the company will no longer be associated with him in "any way, shape, form, or fashion."

"I cannot, will not, condone what happened last night," he said. "It was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.

"What happened last night is never OK in wrestling, ever, or in anything, to be exact. Someone wanted the business for themselves and took something too far and someone could have lost their life because of it."

After the incident, Nicholson posted a video to his YouTube channel, in which he asserted that it was a stunt gone wrong, and that Deltoro was hired for the show specifically because he was a "bleeder."

"That referee was hired because he was a bleeder," Nicholson said in the video, which has since been deleted, per USA Today.

"He did not referee any other matches on the card. His sole purpose of why he was hired was to bleed."

"This referee was supposed to bleed from razor blade cuts. I assume he actually cut himself with the razor blades."

"He gave no indication to me – and you people can watch the footage – zero indication to me in the ring that he wasn't just selling and was legitimately hurt," he continued, per TMZ.

Nicholson also said he thought he had covered the top of the spike with his hand.

"If he had told me he was getting hurt, I would have stopped," he said.