Jerry Bibb Balisok (September 8, 1955 – April 18, 2013) was an American professional wrestler known as Mr. X, and an FBI fugitive. He is best known for skipping bail, faking his own death, and convincing law enforcement officials he died in the 1978 Jonestown Massacre. Living under the fake identity Ricky Allen Wetta, Balisok was arrested in 1989 for attempted murder in King County, Washington. Once the fingerprinting process was complete, law enforcement officials learned Ricky Allen Wetta was indeed Jerry Balisok. His capture made national headlines across the United States, and drew national criticism towards the FBI investigators for not properly identifying the remains believed to be Balisok's.
Balisok's crimes, his life as a fugitive, and later apprehension were featured in the book, Wicked North Alabama, by Jacquelyn Procter Reeves.
Early life
Balisok was born in Biloxi, Mississippi to Coleman Balisok, a school teacher, and Marjorie Balisok, a hospital nurse. As a toddler, the Balisok family moved to Huntsville, Alabama, and Jerry graduated from Huntsville High School in 1973. Coleman died from a heart attack when Jerry was 13, leaving Marjorie to raise him as a single, working mother. As a standout high school wrestler, Balisok caught the attention of Buddy Fuller, promoter of Southeastern Championship Wrestling which ran events in the Huntsville area.
Pro wrestling career
After training in Florida, Balisok returned to Huntsville to begin his professional wrestling career in 1974. Before his first match, Balisok was informed that being paid as a pro wrestler might affect his amateur status. After watching a training session, Balisok drew interest from University of Tampa wrestling coaches, but was informed he would be ineligible for NCAA competition if he pursued a pro career. At the time, wrestling promoters advertised pro wrestling events as competition and not entertainment. It wasn't until 1989 when Vince McMahon announced outcomes were predetermined, and pro wrestling shouldn't be held to the same standards by state governments as other sports leagues. Fuller convinced Balisok to use the Mr. X gimmick, a character that had been utilized by numerous pro wrestling territories for decades. All wrestlers who had utilized the Mr. X character wore a red or white mask, and Fuller believed if Balisok hid his face, he couldn't be identified and would maintain his college eligibility.
After performing as Mr. X for a year, Balisok saved up enough money to attend the University of Tampa and join the wrestling team as a walk-on in hopes of earning a scholarship. However, Balisok was informed by the coaching staff they learned of his pro wrestling career and he was not eligible to join the team. Balisok was never told how the coaching staff found out, but he believed Buddy Fuller tipped them off so he could continue his pro wrestling career. Balisok left the Southeastern Championship Wrestling promotion soon after.
From 1975 to 1977, Balisok continued performing as Mr. X for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and Championship Wrestling from Florida. He had notable feuds with Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Wrestling II, and The Masked Superstar. Despite his 6'1", 300 lb. frame, Balisok was usually on the losing end of these feuds, because the Mr. X character had traditionally been used as jobber to other wrestlers. Despite his desire to change gimmicks, promoters were eager to keep Balisok in the Mr. X role to raise the profile of other performers on the roster by defeating a wrestler of Balisok's size.
In January 1977, Balisok was involved in a motorcycle accident. He had numerous injuries, including a fractured hip. Doctors had to place a pin into Balisok's hip, putting his professional wrestling career in jeopardy.
Check forgery and fugitive life
Instead of using his money to attend the University of Tampa, Balisok bought a motorcycle store in Huntsville, Alabama in 1974. While recovering from his motorcycle accident, Balisok began focusing more on his business. However, the FBI soon began investigating Balisok for check forgery. In 1977, Balisok was indicted on 13 counts of check forgery for writing bad checks over international lines. The prosecution accused Balisok of paying for motorcycle parts in Caribbean countries with fraudulent checks, written while he was performing on overseas wrestling tours . Under federal law, Balisok faced 10 years in prison for each count due to the dollar amount each check was written for.