Irving, Texas - It was like a scene out of a horror movie: Wrestler Blood Hunter/Hannibal, aka Devon Nicholson, seemingly lost control and brutally attacked a referee during a match.

In wrestling, matches are often scripted and usually planned down to the last detail so that unpleasant incidents can be avoided.

But wrestler Hannibal apparently didn't follow the rules during Saturday's World Class Pro Wrestling match in Irving, Texas.

Before the show began, the 39-year-old – who portrays a mental patient in his alter ego Hannibal – was reportedly not in a the proper headspace.

League official Colby Cowperthwaite, who was on hand that night, said on Reddit that he believes Nicholson appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"Bloodhunter went totally off the hinges and refused to listen to me," he wrote. "He tore the other referee up, then hid the weapon he used to do it."

The script apparently called for the wrestler to "attack" referee Lando Deltoro with a spike, but Deltoro was supposed to cut himself with a razor at the same time – out of the cameras' view – in order to make himself bleed.

Yet the stunt completely backfired, as can be seen in video from the event.

Hannibal apparently went off the rails and used the metal spike to stab the referee's head multiple times. The chaos was not properly planned or agreed upon beforehand.

He finally stopped when his girlfriend and Cowperthwaite seemingly intervened to pull him away.

Deltoro told The Daily Beast he went into shock caused by extreme blood loss and was taken to a nearby hospital. He needed seven staples and emergency surgery to repair a severed artery in his skull.

Nicholson was questioned by police, who have since closed the case without filing criminal charges.

He released a YouTube video on Monday defending himself.

The pro said he thought the bottom of his hand was covering the spike and that he was given "zero indication ... that [the referee] wasn’t just selling, and [was] legitimately hurt. He never said, 'Stop.' He never said, 'No.'"

Nicholson also apologized personally to the ref after he emerged from surgery, but reiterated that the official was hired specifically to be a "bleeder."

Deltoro responded on Twitter: "I just wanted to say [that’s] it’s very hard to talk when there is a 300 lbs man’s knee on your back and then being put in a choke hold while being stabbed repeatedly in the head with an iron spike."

He gave an update on Tuesday that he is suffering from a blood infection due to his injuries.

Afterwards, World Class Pro Wrestling announced it had banned Hannibal due to the incident, although the wrestler claims he had quit beforehand.

"It was one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever seen," said the company's CEO Jerry Bostic.

Deltoro admitted he took the referee job because he needed money before Christmas. He was paid $75 for the night.

"Most people are so ungrateful to be alive," he wrote afterwards. "But not me, not anymore.