Two arrested on murder charges following former WWE developmental wrestler’s death

A couple of arrests have been made on murder charges following WWE developmental wrestler Kevin Nikel’s recent death.

Earlier this year, the wrestling world mourned the loss of extremely talented wrestler Knuckles Madsen, also known as Ivan Warsaw (real name Kevin Nikel). Now, almost a few months later, two suspects have been arrested in connection with Nikel’s death. On November 17th, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Michael Hogue and Amanda Penny.

Hogue has been charged with first-degree murder, while Amanda Penny has been charged as an accomplice to first-degree murder. Both suspects also face firearm-related charges. Speaking to 5NEWS about the arrests, Nikel’s mother Susan Kinderman offered additional insight into the tragedy.

“We still don’t know exactly what happened when he got shot. The detectives have been pretty close lipped on that, which is good, but we’d still like to know exactly what happened and who did what. There was some kind of an argument. Maybe there was texting going back and forth. I think they enticed Kevin to meet up with them. I was told by the detectives that there was some kind of altercation. Shots were fired, and Kevin was killed, and that’s all we really know.”

Kinderman further confirmed that Perry was her son’s ex-wife while Michael Hogue was the “cohabiting romantic partner” of Amanda Penny. She said, “She was his first friend that he met in high school. They were dating, then they got married. They were happy for a long time, and then I guess they started to grow apart. And, you know, neither one of them were happy. Kevin took a job where he could be gone two weeks at a time, and things just progressively got worse, until they divorced.”

Nikel and Perry were high-school sweethearts who met each over two decades ago. Recent court records showed that the former couple had separated after ten years of marriage and finalized their divorce just days before Nikel was shot.

More details on Kevin Nikel’s murder case

Michael Hogue and Amanda Penny were the subjects of a bond hearing. Even though Penny is the alleged accomplice, in the state of Arkansas, her charge is seen as equivalent to a murder charge.Due to the nature of the case and Hogue’s criminal history, he was given a $750,000 bond, while Penny received a $500,000 bond.

According to Prosecutor Josh Robinson, an argument transpired between Nikel, Hogue, and Penny. Nikel was shot, but managed to gain control of the firearm and sought assistance nearby, ultimately succumbing to his injuries. Robinson indicated that before Nikel’s death, he told his rescuers that Hogue shot him and that he had disarmed Hogue.

Hogue and Penny’s next court date is January 5th, 2026.

Kevin Nikel was a former WWE wrestler and wrestled primarily in NXT under the name of Knuckles Madsen. His last NXT match took place at a live show on December 5th, 2013.