Chris Masters Rescued His Mother From A House Fire

To many in the younger demographic of wrestling fans, WWE Superstars are real-life superheroes, and in March 2013, Chris Masters became just that. Recently appearing on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," the former WWE star recalled a scary incident involving a house fire that trapped his mother inside her California apartment.

As Masters was completing his normal workout at Gold's Gym, he answered a phone call from his mother's neighbor, who indicated that something troubling was occurring inside his mother's residence. Masters quickly made the 10-minute drive to the apartment, and as he arrived, he realized something was definitely wrong. "I get there and it's an odd scene. I get there and my uncle, who was staying with my mom at the time is locked out ... But I start trying to make communication through the door and somebody starts speaking to me. It's a voice I don't recognize," he said.

After hearing the voice, Masters recognized that whoever was on the other side of the door, was not of sound mind and body. Upon assessing the situation, Masters admitted he considered kicking down the door, but didn't want to risk the safety of his mother, so he opted to call the police instead.

Masters later noted that during communication with the man behind the door — who had been rooming with one of the other neighbors — he heard his mother signal that a fire had started, so as the police arrived, they secured the perimeter and attempted to bust in the front door.

"They couldn't get the door down. They get the battering ram. A cop bigger than me with boots on — because I had athletic shoes, too — he couldn't get the door down. I kicked it three times, then they get the battering ram and it takes about three to four tries to get the door down," Masters explained.

As Masters backed away to make room for the police, he noticed flames emerging from the corner window. Acting quickly, Masters grabbed ahold of a hose hoping to extinguish the fire, before police officers stepped in to break several windows in. Running on pure adrenaline — and fear of his mother dying from the smoke — Masters mustered the strength to bear hug a tree and yank it from the ground, making way for him to crawl inside and rescue his mother.

As he scooped his mother to safety, Masters had one last thing to take care of. "I see them wrestling [the man] out in front of the apartment, and I rush over there, and I give almost an RKO-punt to his head when there was an opening," he said.