BoxRec

A disturbing list, I included just the ones I knew of. Is this the most drug infested "sport" in the world? Many of these I didn't even know were dead. Majority are drug overdoses & heart attacks.

2007
Brian Adams 43 yrs (AKA Crush) - Unknown
Chris Benoit 40 yrs - Suicide
Nancy Benoit 43 yrs - Murdered
Sherri Martel 49 yrs - Drug Overdose
Bad News Brown 64 yrs - Heart Attack
Bam Bam Bigelow 45 yrs - Drug Overdose

2006
John Tenta (AKA Earthquake) 42 yrs - Bladder Cancer

2005
Eddie Guerrero 38 yrs - Acute Heart Failure

2004
Big Bossman 42 yrs - Heart Attack
Hercules 46 yrs - Heart Disease

2003
Crash Holly 32 yrs - Drug Overdose
Road Warrior Hawk 46 yrs - Heart Attack
Miss Elizabeth 42 yrs - Drug Overdose
Mr Perfect 44 yrs - Drug Overdose

2002
British Bulldog 39 yrs - Heart Attack

2000
Yokozuna 34 yrs - Heart Attack

1999
Owen Hart 34 yrs - Wrestling Stunt
Rick Rude 40 yrs - Heart Failure

1998
Giant Haystacks 52 yrs - Cancer
Junkyard Dog 45 yrs - Car Accident

1997
Brian Pillman 35 yrs - Heart Disease

1995
Big John Studd 46 yrs - Liver Cancer

1993
Dino Bravo 44 yrs - Murdered
Kerry Von Erich (AKA Texas Tornado) 33 yrs - Suicide
Andre The Giant 46 yrs - Heart Failure

1992
Buzz Sawyer 32 yrs - Drug Overdose

Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington is missing off the list. You could arguably include all the Von Erich's. The bloke that played half of the Body Donnas (was is Skip?) is missing off there, as is Brian Christopher who I think is dead too.

How Jake the Snake isn't dead with his crack habit is beyond me.

Oli and I could have a wet dream with this thread.

Think we did something similar a few years ago and the list got huge, I wonder if we can find it.

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington is missing off the list. You could arguably include all the Von Erich's. The bloke that played half of the Body Donnas (was is Skip?) is missing off there, as is Brian Christopher who I think is dead too.

How Jake the Snake isn't dead with his crack habit is beyond me.

Oli and I could have a wet dream with this thread.

Chris Candido is the guy who played Skip.

Brian Christopher is still alive i think. He's Jerry Lawler's son.

Also having written up these I had a look into the Dino Bravo murder and Von Erich suicide.

I previously believed that Von Erich committed suicide because of depression steming from an accident that led to his foot being amputated, but that wasn't the case - I hadn't realised the accident was in 1986, four years before he even moved to the WWF.

As for Dino Bravo, he was found in his home having been shot up to ten times in the back of the head, with the reason widely believed to have been his involvement in illegal cigarette smuggling.

The Owen Hart death was nasty:

"On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart was in the process of being lowered via harness and rappel line into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a booked Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer's new "buffoonish superhero" character, he was to begin a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would act "entangled", then release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedic effect – this necessitated the use of a quick release mechanism. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done previously on the Sunday Night Heat before Survivor Series 1998. This time, something went wrong with the stunt harness, apparently triggering the release mechanism early as he was being lowered. Hart fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, landing chest-first on the top rope, approximately a foot from the nearest turnbuckle, throwing him into the ring. In Mick Foley's autobiography Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, he claims that following the fall, Hart attempted to sit up and did so before falling back.

Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper Arena due to the height involved. Hart's wife Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath – at the moment of the fall, a pre-taped vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast as well as on the monitors in the darkened arena. After, while Hart was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring, the live event's broadcast showed only the audience. Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. Hart was transported to the Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. (Hart had actually died while still being tended to in the ring.) The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt chest trauma".

The quiet man 2004 wrote:

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington is missing off the list. You could arguably include all the Von Erich's. The bloke that played half of the Body Donnas (was is Skip?) is missing off there, as is Brian Christopher who I think is dead too.

How Jake the Snake isn't dead with his crack habit is beyond me.

Oli and I could have a wet dream with this thread.

Chris Candido is the guy who played Skip.

Brian Christopher is still alive i think. He's Jerry Lawler's son.

Cheers. I had a feeling that I remembered Lawler being off air from it, but I'm obviously wrong. I made the same mistake with Horace Hogan.

Kerry Von Erich (AKA Texas Tornado) 33 yrs - Suicide

It's terrible what happened to the Von Erich family.

Kerry Von Erich (AKA Texas Tornado) 33 yrs - Suicide
David Von Erich 25 yrs - Unclear how he died
Mike Von Erich 23 yrs - Suicide
Chris Von Erich 21 yrs - Suicide
Jack Von Erich, although not a wrestler, he would have been. He died when he was a child - electrocuted

The only brother left is Kevin Von Erich.

well check out this website.

http://www.geocities.com/deadwrestlers1/index.htm

johnswan1 wrote:Also having written up these I had a look into the Dino Bravo murder and Von Erich suicide.

I previously believed that Von Erich committed suicide because of depression steming from an accident that led to his foot being amputated, but that wasn't the case - I hadn't realised the accident was in 1986, four years before he even moved to the WWF.

As for Dino Bravo, he was found in his home having been shot up to ten times in the back of the head, with the reason widely believed to have been his involvement in illegal cigarette smuggling.

The Owen Hart death was nasty:

"On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart was in the process of being lowered via harness and rappel line into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a booked Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer's new "buffoonish superhero" character, he was to begin a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would act "entangled", then release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedic effect – this necessitated the use of a quick release mechanism. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done previously on the Sunday Night Heat before Survivor Series 1998. This time, something went wrong with the stunt harness, apparently triggering the release mechanism early as he was being lowered. Hart fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, landing chest-first on the top rope, approximately a foot from the nearest turnbuckle, throwing him into the ring. In Mick Foley's autobiography Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, he claims that following the fall, Hart attempted to sit up and did so before falling back.

Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper Arena due to the height involved. Hart's wife Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath – at the moment of the fall, a pre-taped vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast as well as on the monitors in the darkened arena. After, while Hart was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring, the live event's broadcast showed only the audience. Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. Hart was transported to the Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. (Hart had actually died while still being tended to in the ring.) The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt chest trauma".

Thanks for that John.

That's interestingly different to the report in Power Slam where it was stated as a mis-communication between the Rig-man and Owen. Owen had told him he was ready to go but the Rig-man hadn't fasten his harness yet and said "okay" to acknowledge him. Owen thought he meant he was okay to jump, so did.

I think his death was confirmed by Jim Ross just before Golddust fought Jeff Jarrett, but my memory is shit nowadays.

Was it a car accident that Kerry had?

"On June 4, 1986, Kerry was in a motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life and left him with a dislocated hip and a badly injured right leg. Doctors eventually had to amputate his right foot. (According to brother Kevin, Kerry injured the foot following surgery by attempting to walk on it prematurely, crushing the bones beyond repair and thus forcing the doctors to amputate it.) He was able to continue wrestling after the accident with a fused ankle."

Also, on a lighter note not involving death, I stumbled across this involving Fred Ottman (AKA Tugboat) . Take a read and then watch the video from 3:30 min onwards....

The Shockmaster incident

In 1993, Ottman would find himself the victim of one of the most embarrassing moments in wrestling history. WCW had recently signed Ottman from the WWF, and he was to make his debut in a match alongside Sting, Dustin Rhodes, and Davey Boy Smith. He would be their mystery partner in the upcoming eight-man tag match against the heel team, Sid Vicious, Big Van Vader, and Harlem Heat (comprised of brothers Kole and Kane) at Fall Brawl.

When Sting and Smith were about to unveil their mystery partner, they did so during a live interview (on A Flair for the Gold, hosted by Ric Flair) in front of the WCW audience together with Sid and Harlem Heat. Sting would say, "All I have to say is... our partner is going to shock the world because he is none other than... The Shockmaster!" The camera zoomed in on a particular section of the set where two torches set off a small pyrotechnics explosion in front of a sheetrock wall. The Shockmaster was supposed to make his entrance by crashing through that wall in his new attire, consisting of a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet painted silver and covered in glitter, a pair of jeans, and a long black vest.

As the camera was in for a close up, the upper part of his body broke through the wall, but the rest of his body did not, causing Ottman to fall through the rest of the wall. He slid across the floor, and his helmet rolled off long enough for audiences to see who it was while he scrambled to put it back on. Even the announcers were speechless. However, Flair was heard to say "Oh, God!" at what happened, and shortly afterwards Davey Boy Smith was heard saying "He fell flat on his arse! Fell flat on his fornicating arse!"

Dusty Rhodes, later claimed on WWE 24/7's Legends of Wrestling Series, that a 2x4 was placed on the bottom of the wall, which wasn't there on a successful rehearsal, which caused Ottman to fall through as opposed to crash through. He also joked that his son young Cody was watching with friends and cringed asking "I think that was Uncle Fred".

Despite this, The Shockmaster resumed his entrance as if nothing had happened, and he continued walking up to Sid and Harlem Heat. The interview is generally considered one of the most laughable in wrestling history, with the Shockmaster verbally threatening the four heels with, "They call me The Shockmaster. You've ruled the world long enough, Sid Vicious. Get ready! Come on, you want a piece of me? You want a piece of me? Come and get me." He continued the humiliating rant by messing up Vicious' name, saying "Come after me, Stid! I'm ready." The audience was dumbfounded, giving no reaction whatsoever and the heels were clearly trying to stop themselves from laughing while he delivered his threat.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z0422hQmmk

Some people might know Tugboat as Typhoon.

He was in a tag team called The Natural Disasters with Earthquake (John Tenta).

That Shockmaster incident was appalling. Even without the embarrassing fall, the dialogue makes it look a poor angle.

Does anyone watch TNA?

The quiet man 2004 wrote:That Shockmaster incident was appalling. Even without the embarrassing fall, the dialogue makes it look a poor angle.

Does anyone watch TNA?

From time-to-time. Reminds me of WCW crica 98, just without the N.W.O.

And what the fck is it with Samoa Joe, he must be married to a Jarrett!?

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington is missing off the list. You could arguably include all the Von Erich's. The bloke that played half of the Body Donnas (was is Skip?) is missing off there, as is Brian Christopher who I think is dead too.

How Jake the Snake isn't dead with his crack habit is beyond me.

Oli and I could have a wet dream with this thread.

Dynamite Kid is still alive as far as I'm aware.

Fernzy wrote:

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington is missing off the list. You could arguably include all the Von Erich's. The bloke that played half of the Body Donnas (was is Skip?) is missing off there, as is Brian Christopher who I think is dead too.

How Jake the Snake isn't dead with his crack habit is beyond me.

Oli and I could have a wet dream with this thread.

Dynamite Kid is still alive as far as I'm aware.

I really need to stop killing wrestlers.

johnswan1 wrote:
As for Dino Bravo, he was found in his home having been shot up to ten times in the back of the head, with the reason widely believed to have been his involvement in illegal cigarette smuggling.

Rick Martel confirmed that Bravo was skimming money for himself when smuggling cigarettes into Canada. What slealed Bravo's fate was that he wa involved in a cocaine deal where he would pick up a large shipment of it from a warehouse and take it to a designated safe house but he didn't make the pick up.
When the other guys invloved in it went to the warehouse to get it themselves a few days later, they were swarmed by cops, arrested and the cocaine seized.

Bravo was assassinated for that shortly afterwards. Police said there was no evidence of a break in so the person who killed Dino was in the house with him as a guest. They assume the guy went to the bathroom and came back with a pistol and shot Dino several times in the back of the head while he was watching television.

johnswan1 wrote: 2002
British Bulldog 39 yrs - Heart Attack


1995
Big John Studd 46 yrs - Liver Cancer

The Bulldog's heart attack was brought on by years of steroid and cocaine abuse. Take a look at him on youtube when he just started wrestling in England and look at him a few years later in the WWF. The ammount of muslce he artificially added to his body is insane.

Studd died from Hodgkinson's disease which was accelarated by his HGH abuse. He was always jealous of Andre The Giant and want to make himself bigger so he began taking large quantities of HGH because he believed it to be safer than regular steroids.

Gordon Solie actually lost his job in WCW for arguing that Studd shouldn't have been inducted into their hall of fame due to his steroid related death and the fact that the wrestling industry in America was still reeling from the Vince McMahon steroid trial.

Shittier than the Shockmaster - The Yet-Tay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJKDGXvr7ig

Surprised Hogan hadnt leg dop off a cliff yet!?With the bullshyt surrounding his life and family.

Lets have it right, I am no fan of muscle marys running around in spandex pants, (or wrestling for that matter ), but there is something intruiging about the way they all seem to drop dead at relatively young ages.

Just take a look at this list:

Chris Von Erich - 21
Mike Von Erich - 23
Louie Spiccoli - 27
Art Barr - 28
Gino Hernandez - 29
Jay Youngblood - 30
Rick McGraw - 30
Joey Marella - 30
Ed Gatner - 31
Buzz Sawyer - 32
Crash Holly - 32
Kerry Von Erich - 33
D.J. Peterson - 33
Eddie Gilbert - 33
The Renegade - 33
Chris Candido - 33
Adrian Adonis - 34
Gary Albright - 34
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34
Owen Hart - 34
Yokozuna - 34
Big Dick Dudley - 34
Brian Pillman - 35
Marianna Komlos - 35
Pitbull #2 - 36
The Wall/Malice - 36
Emory Hale - 36
Leroy Brown - 38
Mark Curtis - 38
Eddie Guerrero - 38
John Kronus - 38
Davey Boy Smith - 39
Johnny Grunge - 39
Vivian Vachon - 40
Jeep Swenson - 40
Brady Boone - 40
Terry Gordy - 40
Bertha Faye - 40
Billy Joe Travis - 40
Chris Benoit - 40
Larry Cameron - 41
Rick Rude - 41
Randy Anderson - 41
Bruiser Brody - 42
Miss Elizabeth - 42
Big Boss Man - 42
Earthquake - 42
Mike Awesome - 42
Biff Wellington - 42
Brian Adams (Crush) - 43
Ray Candy - 43
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43
Dino Bravo - 44
Curt Hennig - 44
Bam Bam Bigelow - 45
Jerry Blackwell - 45
Junkyard Dog - 45
Hercules - 45
Andre the Giant - 46
Big John Studd - 46
Chris Adams - 46
Mike Davis - 46
Hawk - 46
Dick Murdoch - 49
Jumbo Tsuruta - 49
Rocco Rock - 49
Sherri Martel - 49
Moondog Spot - 51
Ken Timbs - 53
Uncle Elmer - 54
Pez Whatley - 54
The Angel of Death - 54
Eddie Graham - 55
Tarzan Tyler - 55
Haystacks Calhoun- 55
Giant Haystacks - 55
The Spoiler - 56
Kurt Von Hess - 56
Moondog King - 56
Gene Anderson - 58
Dr. Jerry Graham - 58
Bulldog Brown - 58
Tony Parisi - 58
Rufus R. Jones - 60
Ray Stevens - 60
Stan Stasiak - 60
Terry Garvin - 60
Boris Malenko - 61
Little Beaver - 61
Sapphire - 61
Shohei Baba - 61
Dick the Bruiser - 62
Wilbur Snyder - 62
George Cannon - 62
Karl Krupp - 62
Dale Lewis - 62
Gorilla Monsoon - 62
Hiro Matsuda - 62
Bad News Brown - 63
Bulldog Brower - 63
Wahoo McDaniel - 63

(List taken from:)
http://prowrestling.about.com/od/whatsr ... deaths.htm

I know drug abuse and poor diet/health contribute to many of the early deaths but it does give a dark edge to their pantomime, circus lifestyle..

Samoa Joe is one of the best wrestlers around today. AJ Styles is currently the best wrestler on TV.

i watch TNA now and again and to be honest the only thing good about it is kurt angle(who unfortunately may end up in a wheel chair) and AJ styles
I cant stomach Mike tenay for longer than an hour

Can anyone help me with this trivia, there was a Wrestler who joined the WCW in 99ish that had a big of buzz about him. I think his name was Joe, or Joey, with an Italian surname that died soon after he signed for WCW.

I cannot find anything on him on the net.

Exoddus wrote:

Kerry Von Erich (AKA Texas Tornado) 33 yrs - Suicide

It's terrible what happened to the Von Erich family.

Kerry Von Erich (AKA Texas Tornado) 33 yrs - Suicide
David Von Erich 25 yrs - Unclear how he died
Mike Von Erich 23 yrs - Suicide
Chris Von Erich 21 yrs - Suicide
Jack Von Erich, although not a wrestler, he would have been. He died when he was a child - electrocuted

The only brother left is Kevin Von Erich.

Ye Gods. I barely watch WWE now but used to tune in now and again. Never heard of these. Sounds incredible, in a very tragic way.

Can someone give me a brief catch up lesson on these poor guys?