The other day I was at a party and we were reminiscing about wrestling and it got me thinking about all the wrestlers that have passed away over the years. Here is a list of some of the more famous wrestlers to pass away in the last 20 years and their cause of death:
Andre The Giant (46)–January 27, 1993–Heart attack.
Big John Studd (47)–March 20, 1995–Liver cancer.
Brian Pillman (35)–October 5, 1997–Arteriosclerotic heart disease.
Junk Yard Dog (45)–June 2, 1998–Died in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel.
“Ravishing” Rick Rude (40)–April 20, 1999–Heart attack.
Owen Hart (34)–May 23, 1999–Died from 50 foot fall from ceiling to ring.
Gorilla Monsoon (62)–October 5, 1999–Heart attack.
Yokozuna (34)–October 22, 2000–Heart attack.
“The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith (39) –May 18, 2002–Heart attack.
“Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig (44)–February 10, 2003–Acute cocaine intoxication.
Miss Elizabeth (42)–May 1, 2003–Died from a combination of alcohol and painkillers.
Crash Holly (32)–November 6, 2003–Drug overdose
Hawk (46)– October 19, 2003–Heart Attack
“Hercules” Hernandez (46)–March 6, 2004–Died in his sleep.
Ray “Big Bossman” Traylor (41)–September 22, 2004–Heart failure.
Chris “Skip” Candido (33)–April 28, 2005–Blood clot and complications due to surgery.
Eddie Guerrero (37)–November 13, 2005–Enlarged Heart due to years of drug use.
John “Earthquake” Tenta (42)–June 7, 2006–bladder cancer.
Bam Bam Bigelow (45)–January 19, 2007–Drugs.
“Sensational” Sherri Martel (49)–June 15, 2007–Accidental overdose.
Chris Benoit (40)–June 25, 2007–Suicide by Hanging
Brian “Crush” Adams (43)–August 13, 2007–Overdose of prescription medications.
Andrew “Test” Martin (33)–March 13, 2009–Overdose of Oxycodone
“Captain” Lou Albano (76)–October 14, 2009–Died in his sleep while battling cancer
Umaga (36) — December 4, 2009–Heart Attack
“Dr. Death” Steve Williams (49) –December 29, 2009–Throat Cancer
Ludvig Borga (47) –January 10, 2010–Suicide
As you can see, there have been many deaths in the last 20 years. Most of these deaths have been drug related; whether by overdose, use of steroids, or heart issues caused by addiction to pain killers. But most of these people knew the inherent dangers and expectations of becoming a professional wrestler. This is the life they chose and some have paid dearly for their mistakes.
Filed under: Sports | Tagged: "Captain" Lou Albano, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, "Sensational" Sherri Martel, "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Andre The Giant, Andrew "Test" Martin, Bam Bam Bigelow, Big John Studd, Brian "Crush" Adams, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Chris Candido, Eddie "Umaga" Fatu, Eddie Guerrero, Hawk, Hercules "Hernandez", John "Earthquake" Tenta, Junk Yard Dog, Ludvig Borga, Miss Elizabeth, Ravishing Rick Rude, Ray "Big Bossman" Traylor, Yokozuna
Thats weird haha I was doing a lot of web browsing on the deaths of wrestlers literally no more than 5 hours ago
Looks like you should have checked here first
that is depressing i had no idea the bossman and bam bam bigelow were dead!
Lets hope MLB and NFL don’t have a list like this in a few years.
SUCH A WASTE OF GREAT TALENT
hope you can put a stop to the sensely deaths of the wrestlers.
keep a better eye on thr wrestlers that have drug problems.
suspend them and put them in drug rehab centers.
I’ll see what I can do
i loved your page i have a question for you . wich wrestler from your page do you miss the mosted?
it is a great post — been getting a lot of hits lately, too.
i miss bam bam a lot, but there’s a few others here that i wish were still around.
i’m sure fro will be back to you with his answer soon…
Its a tough question becasue I liked a lot of the people here but I would have to go with Hawk just because I loved L.O.D so much. Andre was great also, how can you not love someone who has their own posse.
I think I would have to go with Hawk also, and Owen Hart. Owen Hart was fun to watch.
i loved watching eddie guerrero wrestle! i watched him since i was younger. he’s a good person to be around with. i really never met him but i wished that i could have when i did. i miss eddie guerrero so much,and so does a whole lot of people. R.I.P. eddie guerrero i miss you! :(
i would like to say bye and thanks for all the talented pros listed i spent years watching them entertain the world at its best losing you guys is a major lose to the world of entertainment i had special chances that most people will never have with these guys and gals and word will never replace the thanks to all the grate days and moments i just pray you guys are all in heaven looking down and waiting for the chance to return and do it all again good bye dear friends we miss you all may you all be at the right hand of the lord in heaven dont look at the friends as drug users because the pain they went through night after night to entertain the worlld was what took themm from us and drug were just to mask there wear and tear on there bodys wrestling is real and no one should ever talk down on any of my brothers in the game they did it all for the fans so please respect remember and love them all for ever thanks boys you are all champions for ever your pal dino we ll be missing you all happy to have known you as my friends angels fly too close to the ground we face the final curtin pease be with you all so long boys kay fabe
longest sentence ever
what frow said
i would love to see these wrestlers wrestle again. i just want to say hey and good bye to these wrestlers. i miss them so much and so does my boyfriend brian. i just love watching these wrestlers wrestle. they are the best kind of people on the earth. if someone agrees with me on this write something down on this website ppppllleeeeaaaasssseeee!!!!!!!!!!11
you have to add Test to that list also :(
your a liar sir, lex luger killed miss elizabeth not alcohol & pain killers!
well all theses people are the best shouldnt have died like they did but bambam is the man he was my favorite an no lex luger didnt kill miss elizabeth need to check up on your wrestling more often she died for pills an drinkin
i agree with justin lex luger killed elizabeth.
These wrestlers shoulnt have died, they should of be alive right now, but that was their destiny.Wathing all of these wrestlers
the wrestlers ive missed most are jyd bam bam and hawk but my all time dissapointment was the 8th wonder of the world andre the giant RIP
rest in paradise
I remember andre the giant back when I was just a child.He was and still is my favorite wrestler even if he is dead.So to him I say rest in peace and rest in paradise for you were loved by so many around the world including me!!!
All the wrestlers on this page died way before there time.
And yes you are right if you live by the sword then sometimes you die by it.
Owen Hart was really unlucky as it just should not of happened.
Being an Englishman the wrestler i miss is not on your list here and that would be chris adams who i first saw on these shores (uk) tagging with
clive myers / chris was involved with jeannie back then.
Have any of you checked out the british wrestlers reunion web site as there is a list of wrestlers that have passed over.
You will be amazed has too who has left us from the golden age of british wrestling (check out the british wrestlers reunion web site and enjoy a trip down memory lane)
Most Dies From Heart Attacks :S
Intesrtng , Well done.
I know most people dont mention him cause of what he did. And i am verry dissapointed in what he did but i miss what benoit used to be 4 hourse men was the stuff. sorry if i offend any one
get off my plane
haha. “kill man woman and child a la chris benoit” avgjoe and sean p must hang out
Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero. Those two deaths hit me the hardest. It’s a sad thing to be involved in, sometimes. Being a long term wrestling fan and watching so many of your heroes die young, it’s awful.
Even worse obviously for the families and friends and co-workers.
Most of them die towards the end of their career or even way after retirement, and it’s always sad. But Eddie and Owen were two genuine favourites of mine at the times of their deaths.
chris benoit committed suicide by shooting him his wife an son not hanging
Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his son, and hung himself with a cord in his weight room. If your going to try to correct someone make sure you get your facts straight.
this guys and gals entertained me in my life i missed watching them, when my time comes i’ll be watching them again,probably in another life.
steriods and drugs kill peolple who do not know how to use them am abobdy buluider that speaks for it self and i have been in the sport for a long time these guys where just damn and thought they could do what they wanted and they paid for it thats all there is to it
so, donald, you’re saying you know how to use steriods and drugs properly? by the looks of your grammar, i think you may be brain-dead by result of years as a drug taking “abobdy buluider.”
maybe it’s a dialect you’re not familiar with…
Greetings from finland.You can add Ludwig Borga on that list.Shot himself and was found dead 10. january 2010
Fro wanna get on this? clearly our fans demand it.
I would if I could
I’m saddened by the death of Rick Flair whom is missing from the above list and also i did’nt know that Umaga and Dino Bravo are dead, this is so sad.
egg?
I would also be sadden by Ric Flair’s death, if he was actually dead
I admire the wrestlers who have past attempt at immortality may they be a reminder to us all that only are souls will last forever.
what’s a soul?
musta been squaaash.
i am sorry for those who died in the past 20 years exept umaga
Why not Umaga? He was an entertainer just like all the others. Did he die in some other way that’s unacceptable to you than anyone else did? If so, how was his heart attack really any different than anyone else. Jose, I think you’re really just a straight up asshole that really has no clue what the fuck he’s talking about. You shouldn’t have even left a comment on this post, you sound like an idiot!!!
is there a library with wifi that is on the short bus route where all these degenerates go and comment on a wrastlin’ post thats over a year old?
people google “dead wrestlers” a lot. a few people have dropped links to this post around the internet, too. so tecb is one of the first sites to come up if you’re searching for a list like this.
plus, these bastards keep dying. also, this post can continue to be updated for another three years before either a) the title is edited, or b) fro goes for an entirely new post, so i’m guessing these dudes are going to be with us for a while.
i don’t really care, though — hits on this post = front page hits. one day a hip-hop and baseball fan will look up “dead wrestlers” and be happy when he gets here.
abobdy buluider’s 4 life, bitch.
I ain’t hatin’, just wish they could put together words better. I creek dis blog daily was also on some simpleton shit, just searching for frieda pinta. my mayo sandwich post is going to be the next bananas post.