Pat Sajak tackling a 'Wheel of Fortune' winner on live TV still remains a truly bizarre moment

Generations grew up watching Pat Sajak host "Wheel of Fortune" before he retired after hosting the show for more than four decades. But during this time, he had several memorable moments apart from some controversial blunders. In one episode last year, he even showed off his wrestling skills by tackling a contestant into a choke hold, on stage. It wasn't an act of aggression but only retaliation as the contestant, Fred Jackson had swept the game clean. While viewers were concerned about the player's safety, he later defended Sajak's move in an interview with TMZ.

Pat Sajak The Pro-Wrestler

The longtime emcee attempted to wrestle the contestant on a Hawaiian-themed episode. He had introduced Jackson as a man of many talents, including drama teacher, bar trivia host, and pro wrestler. While Jackson only wrestled for fun, he wasn't fooling around on the show at all. Jackson swept the game clean by making perfect guesses in almost all of his puzzles. In the clip shared on YouTube, Jackson decimated every puzzle that was put in front of him, denying his competitors any chance to win. Even the long-time host was surprised to see such gameplay and at one point he called the show "Fred 'The Fletcher' Jackson Show."

Sajak even apologized to the other players noting that it's a rare occurrence when a contestant sweeps everything making clean guesses every time. "You want me to body slam him? I can do that," Sajak asked the other contestants. Jackson eventually made his way to the bonus round where he continued the unstoppable winning spree. In the end, he won a whopping $75,800 after the final round, and let out an exasperated breath.

After hugging his family members on the stage, Jackson threw his arms up in the air to celebrate. At this moment, Sajak crept up behind him and put him in an arm bar while attempting a choke hold. 

Just for Fun

Following the episode, some fans of the show who witnessed Jackson's blistering gameplay were concerned about his well-being and safety. Thus, in a follow-up interview with TMZ, Jackson assured everyone that he was 'a-okay' and totally safe after the taping. Jackson defended Sajak's move saying that he absolutely loved the moment being a pro wrestler and a "showbiz guy". He referred to the moment as one of the highlights of the episode. Addressing the backlash from the audience, he said that he was the only one who could potentially be upset about it, but he wasn't at all.

He shared that he found it super funny and revealed that it wasn't staged or scripted at all. "I was trying to counter it but he held it super tight," Jackson said. "He is stronger than he looks," he added.

He added that the criticism online was a little unfair to the host and he hopes him clarifying the situation will help ease things out. At the end, he mentioned that even though Sajak's grip was strong, it did not hurt him at all and it was all done in good spirit.