List of premature professional wrestling deaths
People associated with professional wrestling who died before age 65
According to a 2014 study by Eastern Michigan University examining professional wrestlers who were active between 1985 and 2011, mortality rates for professional wrestlers are up to 2.9 times greater than the rate for men in the wider United States population.[ 1] A 2014 report by John Moriarty of the University of Manchester and Benjamin Morris of FiveThirtyEight also found that the mortality rate for professional wrestlers was significantly higher than that of athletes in other sports.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Experts suggest that a combination of the physical nature of the business, no off-season , and potentially high work load (with some wrestlers fighting more than 100 and even 200 matches per year), along with the drug culture in wrestling during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s contributes to high mortality rates among wrestlers.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Another study ascribes the higher death rate largely to higher rates of cardiovascular disease compared to the general population with morbidly obese wrestlers being especially at risk.[ 10] [ 11]
Many promotions employ performers as "independent contractors " and do not offer company-sponsored group health insurance coverage in most instances. This is said to have a causal connection to their longevity , morbidity , and mortality . WWE performers' status as independent contractors was spotlighted by John Oliver on an episode of his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in March 2019,[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] with Oliver calling on WWE fans to protest at WrestleMania 35 .[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] WWE denied Oliver's critique.[ 15]
The concept of the untimely deaths of professional wrestlers was a frequent topic of discussion on the Opie & Anthony show.[ 16] After Scott Hall 's death in 2022, Bret Hart and Kevin Nash talked about the premature death of several wrestlers, mentioning the mental and body damage as possible causes.[ 17] [ 18]
List
Under 20
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
18
Janet Wolfe (Janet Boyer Wolfe)
NWA
June 13, 1933
July 27, 1951
Brain hemorrhage
Under 30
Hana Kimura
Reid Flair
Lance Cade
Trent Acid
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
21
Oro (Jesús Javier Hernández)
CMLL , UWA
December 24, 1971
October 26, 1993
Head injury during match[ 19]
21
Jeff Peterson
Independent circuit , ECWA , MCW , IPW
August 13, 1981
November 29, 2002
Leukemia
21
Chris Von Erich (Chris Adkisson)
WCCW , USWA
September 30, 1969
September 12, 1991
Suicide by gunshot[ 20]
21
Asahi (Name unknown)
Ice Ribbon , Actwres girl'Z
October 19, 2002
February 1, 2024
Car accident
22
Rey Celestial (Oscar Leonardo Torres Parra)
AAA , CLL , DTU
August 29, 1995
September 17, 2017
Struck in a hit and run
22
Hana Kimura
World Wonder Ring Stardom , ROH , Wrestle-1 , various Japanese Promotions
September 3, 1997
May 23, 2020
Suicide by hydrogen sulfide inhalation
22
Mass Transit (Erich Kulas)
ECW , independent circuit
October 17, 1979
May 12, 2002
Complications from gastric bypass surgery [ 21]
22
Mirai (Chiemi Kitagami)
AJW , K-DOJO , Atoz
November 17, 1982
September 14, 2005
Drowned in bathtub; possibly suicide
22
Spider (Daniel Quirk)
NWA New England , independent circuit , WXW , ACW
July 19, 1982
May 28, 2005
Head injury in match
23
Edouard Beaupre (Joseph Édouard Beaupré Piché)
N/A
January 9, 1881
July 3, 1904
Tuberculosis
23
Chri$ Ca$h (Christopher Bauman Jr.)
CZW
July 13, 1982
August 18, 2005
Motorcycle accident
23
Emiko Kado
JWP , ARSION
January 28, 1976
April 9, 1999
Intercerebral bleeding in match
23
Shane Shamrock (Brian Howser)
MCW , MEWF , IPWA
February 8, 1975
August 18, 1998
Shot by police
23
Mike Von Erich (Michael Adkisson)
WCCW , NWA , NJPW
March 2, 1964
April 12, 1987
Suicide by drug overdose [ 20]
25
Reid Flair (Reid Fliehr)
AJPW , WCW , NWA , SSW , Lucha Libre USA
February 26, 1988
March 29, 2013
Drug overdose[ 22]
25
David Von Erich (David Adkisson)
WCCW , NWA St. Louis , NWA , AJPW
July 22, 1958
February 10, 1984
Acute enteritis [ 20]
26
Kasavubu (Jimmy Banks)
Stampede Wrestling , WWWF , NWA , IWE
May 14, 1956
July 27, 1982
Heart attack during operation
26
Kurtis Chapman
Revolution Pro Wrestling , Progress Wrestling , GCW , various British promotions
December 19, 1997
December 29, 2023
Unknown
27
J.C. Bailey
CZW , IWA Mid-South , IWA East-Coast
August 23, 1983
August 30, 2010
Intracranial aneurysm
27
Masakazu Fukuda
WAR , NJPW
May 17, 1972
April 19, 2000
Head injury in match
27
Russ Haas (Thomas Russell Haas)
ECWA , CZW , MCW , HWA , WWF , JAPW
March 11, 1974
December 15, 2001
Heart failure
27
Louie Spicolli (Louis Mucciolo Jr.)
WWF , ECW , WCW , UWF , AAA , FMW
February 10, 1971
February 15, 1998
Drug overdose[ 23]
28
Art Barr
PNW , WCW , AAA , EMLL
October 8, 1966
November 23, 1994
Heart attack caused by a drug overdose[ 24]
28
Gino Hernandez (Charles Wolfe Jr.)
WCCW , SCW , Houston Wrestling , NWA , UWF Mid-South
August 14, 1957
February 2, 1986
Possible drug overdose or murder [ 25]
28
Ricky Lawless (Medardo Leon Jr.)
ICW , NWF , independent circuit
December 3, 1959
November 30, 1988
Murder
29
Trent Acid (Michael Verdi)
ROH , CZW , BJPW , JCW
November 12, 1980
June 18, 2010
Drug overdose
29
Lance Cade (Lance McNaught)
WWE , HWA , OVW , MCW , FCW , AJPW
March 2, 1981
August 13, 2010
Heart attack caused by drug overdose[ 26]
29
Plum Mariko (Mariko Umeda)
JWP , AJW , Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
November 1, 1967
August 16, 1997
Head injury in match[ 19]
29
Bobby Shane (Robert Schoenberger)
NWA , CWF , CCW , CSW , GCW , WCW Australia
August 25, 1945
February 20, 1975
Drowning from plane crash
29
Chris Taylor
AWA , AJPW , NWA
June 13, 1950
June 30, 1979
Cardiomyopathy
29
Clarence Whistler
N/A
February 24, 1856
November 6, 1885
Pneumonia
Under 40
Jay Youngblood
Crash Holly
Chris Candido
Lonnie Mayne
La Parkita
Brain Damage
Yokozuna
Kerry Von Erich
Owen Hart
Umaga
Ray
Eddie Guerrero
Rikidōzan
Davey Boy Smith
El Solitario
Ashley Massaro
Shad Gaspard
Jay Briscoe
Bray Wyatt
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
30
Zubair Jhara (Muhammad Zubair Aslam)
Wrestled in Pakistan, NJPW
November 24, 1960
September 10, 1991
Heart failure
30
Sara Lee
WWE
June 7, 1992
October 5, 2022
Suicide by combined drug intoxication [ 27]
30
Pierre Lefebvre
GCW , WWF , Lutte Internationale , ESA , NWA , UWF
February 24, 1955
December 24, 1985
Car wreck[ 28]
30
Rick McGraw
WWF , NWA , Lutte Internationale , MACW , GCW , SCW , WWA
March 19, 1955
November 1, 1985
Heart attack[ 29]
30
Giant Ochiai (Takayuki Okada)
Battlarts , WJ
May 8, 1973
August 8, 2003
Subdural hematoma
30
Johnny Perry
Unknown
October 24, 1972
November 21, 2002
Heart failure
30
Larry Sweeney (Alexander Whybrow)
Chikara , IWC, ROH , CZW , IWA Mid-South , PLW
February 18, 1981
April 11, 2011
Suicide by hanging
30
Jay Youngblood (Steven Romero)
AWA , NWA , MACW , MLW , CWF , AJPW
June 21, 1955
September 2, 1985
Heart attack[ 30]
31
Christin Able (Josh Burgess)
ROH , AAW Wrestling , independent circuit
January 11, 1985
April 14, 2016
Unknown
31
Ed Gantner
CWF , MACW
February 4, 1959
December 31, 1990
Suicide by gunshot[ 31]
31
Gene Lipscomb
NWA , NWA San Francisco
August 9, 1931
May 10, 1963
Drug overdose
31
Scott Peterson
PNW , NWA
June 10, 1963
July 25, 1994
Motorcycle accident
31
Kazuharu Sonoda
AJPW , NWA , WSS , WCCW , CWF , MACW
September 16, 1956
November 28, 1987
Plane crash (South African Airways Flight 295 )
31
Frank Speer
Unknown
May 27, 1907
June 10, 1938
Bronchial pneumonia
31-32
Sorakichi Matsuda (Koujiro Matsuda)
N/A
1859
August 16, 1891
Tuberculosis
32
Steve Bradley (Steve Bisson)
WWF/E , PPW , OVW , NECW , HWA , WWA
December 10, 1975
December 1, 2008
Unknown
32
Jaime Cardriche
Pacific Wrestling Alliance
March 28, 1968
July 28, 2000
Complications during gallbladder surgery
32
Adam Firestorm (Adam Dykes)
ECCW , Stampede Wrestling , various promotions in Western Canada and Pacific Northwest
November 25, 1976
November 5, 2009
Suicide
32
Crash Holly (Mike Lockwood)
WWF/E , ECW , FC !Bang! , APW , TNA
August 25, 1971
November 6, 2003
Suicide by drug overdose and alcohol poisoning[ 32]
32
Billy McCrary
NWA , NJPW
December 7, 1946
July 14, 1979
Motorcycle accident[ 33] [ 34]
32
Buzz Sawyer (Bruce Woyan)
NWA , WWF , UWF , WCCW , MACW , WCW
June 14, 1959
February 7, 1992
Cocaine-induced heart attack[ 19] [ 35]
32
Frank Townsend
NWA , MLW , CWC , ASW , JWA , Joint Promotions
March 20, 1933
May 15, 1965
Drowning in boating accident; considered a missing person
32
Kris Travis
TNA , RPW , PCW , ICW , PROGRESS
December 16, 1983
March 31, 2016
Stomach cancer
33
Karsten Beck (Karsten Pitann)
WXW , BJPW , CZW , various European promotions
November 25, 1986
October 15, 2020
Brain cancer
33
Jim Browning
N/A
March 31, 1903
June 25, 1936
Pulmonary embolism
33
Chris Candido
WCW , WWF , ECW , SMW , NJPW , TNA
March 21, 1972
April 28, 2005
Acute pneumonia[ 36]
33
Eddie Gilbert (Thomas Edward Gilbert Jr.)
NWA , WCW , UWF , WWF , USWA , ECW
August 14, 1961
February 18, 1995
Heart attack[ 37]
33
Paul E. Normous (Paul Fauchs)
OVW , ECWA , independent circuit
April 15, 1975
January 16, 2009
Drug overdose
33
Michel Martel (Michel Vigneault)
Stampede Wrestling , WWC , IWE , NWA
October 4, 1944
June 30, 1978
Heart attack after match
33
Moondog Mayne (Ronald Mayne)
NWA , WWWF , PNW
September 12, 1944
August 13, 1978
Car accident
33
Gran Naniwa (Yoshikuni Kimura)
Michinoku Pro , AJPW , ECW , WAR , NJPW
February 15, 1977
October 6, 2010
Heart attack
33
José Aarón Alvarado Nieves
CMLL , UWA
May 9, 1966
October 27, 1999
Infection
33
D.J. Peterson (David Peterson)
AWA , WWF , UWF , NWA , NJPW , CSW
July 17, 1959
May 25, 1993
Motorcycle accident
33
The Renegade (Rick Wilson)
WCW , WAR
October 16, 1965
February 23, 1999
Suicide by gunshot[ 38]
33
Neil Superior (Neil Caricofe)
NWL, IWCCW ; SAPW , WCW
April 6, 1963
August 23, 1996
Confrontation with police
33
Test (Andrew Martin)
WWF/E , FC !Bang! , WWA , TNA
March 17, 1975
March 13, 2009
Drug overdose[ 39]
33
Kerry Von Erich (Kerry Adkisson)
WCCW , NWA , UWF , USWA , WWF
February 3, 1960
February 18, 1993
Suicide by gunshot[ 20]
33–34
Damian Steele (Damien Dothard)
GCW , NWA Wildside , TCW , DSW
1975
July 22, 2009
Brain aneurysm
34
Adrian Adonis (Keith Franke)
AWA , WWF , NJPW , CWF , GCW , ASW
September 15, 1953
July 4, 1988
Car accident [ 40]
34
Brain Damage (Marvin Lambert)
IWA MS , CZW
December 14, 1977
October 18, 2012
Suicide
34
Big Dick Dudley (Alex Rizzo)
ECW , WWC , WWA , XPW
January 12, 1968
May 16, 2002
Kidney failure [ 41]
34
Bobby Duncum Jr.
WCW , ECW , GWF , AJPW
August 26, 1965
January 24, 2000
Accidental prescription drug overdose[ 42]
34
Espectrito II (Alejandro Pérez Jiménez)
AAA , WWF
May 15, 1975
June 30, 2009
Murder by poisoning
34
Owen Hart
WWF , Stampede Wrestling , NJPW , CWA
May 7, 1965
May 23, 1999
Fell from ceiling during botched stunt at Over the Edge pay-per-view event.[ 43]
34
Danny Havoc (Grant Berkland)
CZW , GCW , WXW , ICW , BJPW , IWA Mid-South
May 19, 1986
May 31, 2020
Heart failure
34
El Hijo de Cien Caras (Eustacio "Tacho" Jiménez Ibarra)
AAA , CMLL
March 21, 1976
November 29, 2010
Murder
34
Wayne Munn
NWA
February 9, 1896
January 9, 1931
Bright's disease
34
John Olin
N/A
March 15, 1886
October 8, 1920
Heart attack
34
La Parkita (Alberto Pérez Jiménez)
AAA , WWF
May 15, 1975
June 30, 2009
Murder by poisoning
34
Chase Tatum (William Tatum)
WCW , UPW , Innovate Wrestling
November 3, 1973
March 23, 2008
Drug overdose
34
Elias Theodorou
Superkick'D
May 31, 1988
September 11, 2022
Colon cancer and liver failure
34
Thunder (Luke Fordward)
CMLL , Okinawa Pro Wrestling and various promotions in Australia
October 7, 1981
June 30, 2016
Stomach cancer
34
Yokozuna (Rodney Anoa'i)
WWF , AWA , NJPW , UWA
October 2, 1966
October 23, 2000
Heart attack[ 44]
34-35
Sean Patrick O'Brien
OVW , independent circuit
1988
March 17, 2023
Unknown
35
Perro Aguayo Jr. (Perro Aguayo Ramírez)
AAA , CMLL , Perros del Mal
July 23, 1979
March 21, 2015
Cervical spine trauma during match
35
Harold Angus
BWA
November 10, 1904
October 30, 1940
Shooting accident
35
James Castle (Jamie Stacey)
NWA , RPW
July 11, 1988
June 15, 2024
Acute myeloid leukemia[ 45]
35
Chris Duffy
WWF , IWF , independent circuit
July 7, 1965
August 25, 2000
Brain aneurysm
35
Dino Casanova (David DiMeglio)
WCW , ECW , independent circuit , MEWF
February 8, 1967
March 1, 2002
Heart attack[ 21]
35
Miguel Ángel Delgado (Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes)
EMLL
August 28, 1947
February 7, 1983
Leukemia
35
Scott Irwin
WWWF , UWF , CWF , AWA , Lutte Internationale
May 14, 1952
September 5, 1987
Brain tumor , also reported as brain aneurysm[ 19]
35
Andy Kaufman
CWA
January 17, 1949
May 16, 1984
Kidney failure from lung cancer
35
Marianna Komlos
WWF
September 3, 1969
September 26, 2004
Breast cancer [ 46]
35
Mike Lozansky (Michael Lozanski)
ECW , USWA , WWC , Stampede Wrestling , various Mexican and Japanese promotions
November 13, 1968
December 19, 2003
Heart attack
35
Brian Pillman
Stampede , WCW , ECW , WWF
May 22, 1962
October 5, 1997
Arteriosclerotic heart disease [ 47]
36
Gary Albright
Stampede , UWFi , AJPW , ECW
May 18, 1963
January 7, 2000
Heart attack in match[ 48]
36
Shoichi Arai
FMW promoter
December 19, 1965
May 16, 2002
Suicide by hanging
36
Harry Boatswain
ECW
June 26, 1969
August 8, 2005
Heart attack
36
Lloyd Burdick
Unknown
August 8, 1909
August 9, 1945
Train wreck
36
Sean Evans
PWX , NWA Wildside , GCW , WWE , NWA , independent circuit
January 28, 1971
October 2, 2007
Lung cancer
36
Emory Hale (Emory Hail)
WCW , XWF
December 13, 1969
January 28, 2006
Kidney failure
36
Dean Hart
Stampede , NWA Hawaii , WSS
January 3, 1954
November 21, 1990
Bright's disease
36
Katsuya Kitamura
NJPW
December 14, 1985
October 13, 2022
Unknown
36
Lionheart (Adrian McCallum)
ICW , PCW
December 17, 1982
June 19, 2019
Suicide[ 49]
36
Pitbull #2 (Anthony Durante)
ECW , CWA , NJPW , JAPW
July 26, 1967
September 25, 2003
Drug overdose [ 50]
36
Buford Pusser
UWF Mid-South
December 12, 1937
August 21, 1974
Car accident
36
Ray (Name unknown)
Smash , WNC , Shimmer , Ice Ribbon , JWP
February 14, 1982
August 30, 2018
Brain tumor[ 51]
36
Freddie Sweetan (Fred Prossner)
NWA , Stampede Wrestling , CSW , MACW
July 25, 1938
July 26, 1974
House fire
36
Jerry Tuite (Michael Jerome Tuite)
WCW , ECW , TNA , PCW , AJPW
December 27, 1966
December 6, 2003
Heart attack[ 52]
36
Umaga (Edward Fatu)
WWE , TNA , HWA , WXW , AJPW
March 28, 1973
December 4, 2009
Heart attack caused by combined drug intoxication [ 53]
36
Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda)
WWE , FCW
May 23, 1987
August 24, 2023
Heart Attack resulting from COVID-19 complications[ 54]
37
Abismo Negro (Andrés Alejandro Palomeque González)
AAA , CMLL , WWF , TNA
July 1, 1971
March 22, 2009
Drowning
37
Mike Bell
WWF , ECW , UPW
March 18, 1971
December 14, 2008
Heart attack from drug overdose
37
Leroy Brown (Roland C. Daniels)
NWA , CWF , NJPW , UWF
November 30, 1950
September 6, 1988
Heart attack[ 55]
37
Whitey Caldwell
NWA Mid-America , NWA Gulf Coast
July 2, 1935
October 7, 1972
Car accident
37
Brian Hildebrand
SMW , ECW , referee for WCW
January 5, 1962
September 8, 1999
Stomach and bowel cancer
37
Sam McVey
Wrestled in Australia
May 17, 1884
December 23, 1921
Pneumonia
37
Jaysin Strife (Nathan Blodgett)
NWA , IWA Mid-South , independent circuit
August 14, 1985
December 29, 2022
Illness
37
Alberto Torres
NWA , AWA ,GCW , NWA Tri-State
January 2, 1934
June 16, 1971
Ruptured Pancreas (from a heart attack and other internal injuries)
37
Randolph Turpin
N/A
June 7, 1928
May 17, 1966
Shot; unknown if murder or suicide
37–38
Espanto I (José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal)
EMLL
1930
May 30, 1968
Beaten
38
Aleksander Aberg
N/A
August 11, 1881
February 20, 1920
Pneumonia
38
Tim Arson (Timothy Calkins)
WWE , WWC , independent circuit
December 27, 1976
January 7, 2015
Unknown
38
Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh)
ROH , CZW , NJPW , Impact Wrestling
January 25, 1984
January 17, 2023
Car accident
38
Matt Cappotelli
OVW , WWE
November 12, 1979
June 29, 2018
Brain cancer [ 56]
38
Brian Danovich
Contestant for WWE Tough Enough , DSW , independent circuit
July 8, 1980
August 9, 2018
Suicide
38
Chip Fairway (Brett Keen)
HWA , IWA Mid-South
November 7, 1972
April 9, 2011
Unknown
39
Johnny Grunge (Michael Durham)
ECW , WCW , WWF , 3PW , TCW
July 10, 1965
February 16, 2006
Sleep apnea complications[ 57]
38
Eddie Guerrero (Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes)
CMLL , AAA , NJPW , ECW , WCW , WWF/E
October 9, 1967
November 13, 2005
Arteriosclerotic heart disease [ 58]
38
Jim Hady (John Hady)
NWA Hawaii , NWA , AWA , WWWF , MLW
May 30, 1930
January 13, 1969
Heart attack (during match)
38
John Kronus (George Caiazzo)
ECW , USWA , IWF , CZW , WAR , XPW
January 13, 1969
July 18, 2007
Heart failure [ 59]
38
Danno O'Mahony (Daniel O'Mahony)
NWA
September 29, 1912
November 5, 1950
Car accident
38
Chabela Romero (Isabela Romero Rangel)
AJW , CMLL , UWA
November 11, 1946
April 19, 1985
Unknown
38
Victor the Bodyguard (Victor Rodriguez)
IWA , WWC
August 19, 1965
June 20, 2004
Heart attack
38
Bison Smith (Mark Smith)
IWA , ROH , WWC , APW , Pro Wrestling Noah
September 24, 1973
November 22, 2011
Heart complications
38
Wolf (Daniel Wolfe)
NWA , ECW , JAPW , independent circuit
June 30, 1972
February 2, 2011
Unknown
39
BellaDonna (Roxanne "Rocksan" Biggerstaff)
TNA
April 25, 1979
January 21, 2019
Unknown
39
Hercules Cortez (Alfonso Chicharro)
AWA , WCW Australia , NWA
July 7, 1932
July 23, 1971
Car accident
39
Fabián el Gitano (Emilio Fabián Fernández de León)
CMLL
January 24, 1972
March 17, 2011
Pancreatic hemorrhage
39
Shad Gaspard
WWE , OVW , FCW , JAPW , IGF , NWA Wildside
January 13, 1981
May 17, 2020
Drowning
39
George Kennedy (George Kendall)
Promoter for wrestling in Montreal
December 29, 1881
October 19, 1921
Complications from Spanish flu
39
Joey Maggs (Joseph Magliano)
WCW , WWF , SMW , USWA
September 29, 1967
October 15, 2006
Cardiac arrest[ 60]
39
Ashley Massaro
WWE
May 26, 1979
May 16, 2019
Suicide by hanging [ 61]
39
Médico Asesino (Cesáreo Anselmo Manríquez González )
EMLL , NWA
August 27, 1920
June 16, 1960
Cancer[ 62]
39
Skull Murphy (John Murphy)
GCW , WWWF , WCW Australia , Studio Wrestling
December 7, 1930
March 23, 1970
Suicide by drug overdose
39
Jimmy Rave (James Michael Guffey)
ROH , TNA , FIP , NWA Wildside , NWA , CZW , PWG
December 8, 1982
December 12, 2021
MRSA infection
39
Rikidōzan (Kim Sin-rak)
NWA , JWA
November 14, 1924
December 15, 1963
Peritonitis (as result of stabbing )[ 63]
39
Davey Boy Smith (David Smith)
Stampede Wrestling , WWF , AJPW , ECW , WCW
November 27, 1962
May 18, 2002
Heart attack [ 64]
39
El Solitario (Roberto González)
UWA , EMLL
May 22, 1946
April 6, 1986
Cardiac arrest during operation[ 19]
39
Pak Song (Pak Song Nam)
NWA , JWA , WSS , AJPW , CWF , WCCW
April 11, 1943
October 24, 1982[ 65]
Marfan syndrome [ 65]
39
Villano II (José Alfredo Díaz Mendoza)
UWA , EMLL
September 25, 1949
April 17, 1989
Suicide by hanging[ 66]
39
Ed Virag
NWA , various European promotions
August 12, 1912
October 20, 1951
Car accident
Under 50
Chris Benoit
Frank Gotch
Shinya Hashimoto
Brodie Lee
Mike Awesome
Miss Elizabeth
Sherri Martel
Big Boss Man
Viscera
Héctor Garza
Balls Mahoney
Axl Rotten
Junkyard Dog
Chyna
André the Giant
Mitsuharu Misawa
Hayabusa
Gorgeous George
Daffney
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
40
Absolute Andy (Andreas Ullmann)
WXW , various German and European promotions
September 22, 1983
November 23, 2023
Illness
40
Sambo Asako (Fumiharu Asako)
FMW , various Japanese promotions
August 27, 1963
May 18, 2004
Diabetes
40
Bad Bones (John Klinger)
WXW , BJW , Impact Wrestling , various German and European promotions
May 14, 1984
May 20, 2024
Heart attack
40
Chris Benoit
Stampede Wrestling , NJPW , ECW , WCW , WWF/E
May 21, 1967
June 24, 2007
Suicide by hanging[ 67]
40
Brady Boone (Dean Peters)
PNW , MACW , WCW , WWF
August 22, 1958
December 15, 1998
Car accident
40
Larry Chene (Arthur Lawrence Beauchene)
NWA Detroit , NWA , NWA Texas , AWA
June 22, 1924
October 2, 1964
Car accident
40
Cincinnati Red (Gregory Scott Daves)
NWC , EWF , independent circuit
October 17, 1974
March 20, 2015
Heart attack
40
Don Eagle (Carl Donald Bell)
AWA , NWA Chicago , NWA
August 25, 1925
March 17, 1966
Suicide by gunshot
40
Terry Gordy
WCCW , NWA , WCW , ECW , WWF , AJPW
April 23, 1961
July 16, 2001
Blood clot
40
Frank Gotch
N/A
April 27, 1877
December 16, 1917
Uremic poisoning
40
Shinya Hashimoto
NJPW , Zero1 , Stampede Wrestling , Hustle , NWA , USWA
July 3, 1965
July 11, 2005
Brain aneurysm
40
Scott Henson
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling , independent circuit
July 13, 1983
June 15, 2024
Unknown
40
Chris Kanyon (Christopher Klucsarits)
WCW , WWF/E , ECW , SMW , NWA Shockwave
January 4, 1970
April 2, 2010
Suicide by drug overdose[ 68]
40
George Kotsonaros
N/A
October 16, 1892
July 13, 1933
Car accident
40
Pequeño Nitro
CMLL
March 9, 1984
May 18, 2024
To be determined
40
Rick Rude (Richard Rood)
CWF , WCCW , WWF , ECW , WCW
December 7, 1958
April 20, 1999
Heart failure [ 25]
40
Gordon Scozzari
promtoer for AWF
June 26, 1970
January 5, 2011
complications from kidney disease
40
Rhonda Sing
WWF , WCW , Stampede Wrestling , AJW , WWC , AAA
February 21, 1961
July 27, 2001
Heart attack
40
Robert Swenson
WCCW , GWF , WCW
January 5, 1957
August 18, 1997
Heart failure
40
Vivian Vachon
AWA , WWWF , CWF , International Wrestling , NWA
February 14, 1951
August 25, 1991
Car accident
40–41
Gulam
Wrestled in Europe and India
1860
1901
Cholera
41
Atsushi Aoki
AJPW , Noah , AAA
September 25, 1977
June 3, 2019
Motorcycle accident
41
Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor)
WCW , MACW , WWF , AJPW , UWF , IWA Japan
May 2, 1963
September 22, 2004
Heart attack
41
Larry Cameron
Stampede Wrestling , NWA , AWA , CWA
November 4, 1952
December 13, 1993
Heart attack in match[ 19]
41
Alan Carnill
IWF Promotions , independent circuit
March 12, 1962
January 25, 2004
Car accident
41
John Foti (John Fotie)
Stampede Wrestling , NWA , AWA , WWWF
March 13, 1928
April 29, 1969
Suicide
41
Yusuf İsmail
N/A
1857
July 4, 1898
Drowned aboard the SS La Bourgogne
41
Koba Kurtanidze
FMW
October 13, 1964
December 6, 2005
Years of bedrriden from injuries
41
Brodie Lee aka Luke Harper (Jonathan Huber)
WWE , AEW , FCW , ROH , Dragon Gate , Chikara , Dragon Gate USA
December 16, 1979
December 26, 2020
Pulmonary fibrosis[ 69]
41
Jerry London (Jerry Linden)
NWA , CWC , Stampede Wrestling , MLW
July 9, 1929
September 20, 1970
Suicide (overdose of sleeping pills)
41
Hack Meyers (Donald Havilland)
ECW , FOW , IPW, FC !Bang!
December 7, 1973
December 5, 2015
Complications from brain surgery
41
Justice Pain (Christopher Wilson)
CZW , XPW , IPW, JAPW , BJW
May 16, 1978
January 24, 2020
Suicide by jumping off bridge
41
Jackie Sato (Naoko Sato)
AJW , JWPW
October 30, 1957
August 9, 1999
Stomach cancer
41
Billy Travis (Gary Mize)
CWA , USWA , WWF , PPW
April 29, 1961
November 23, 2002
Heart attack[ 21]
41
Adam Windsor (Adam Bryniarski)
Funking Conservatory , NWA Wildside , WXW , independent circuit , various promotions in England
January 17, 1981
April 21, 2022
Heart issues
41-42
Manjiro "Matty" Matsuda
N/A
1887
1929
Injuries during match
42
Randy Anderson
referee for WCW , NWA
July 17, 1959
May 5, 2002
Testicular cancer
42
Mike Awesome (Michael Alfonso)
AJPW , FMW , ECW , WCW , WWF , MLW
January 24, 1965
February 17, 2007
Suicide by hanging
42
John Ayers
UWF
April 14, 1953
October 2, 1995
Liver cancer
42
Bruiser Brody (Frank Goodish)
NWA , AJPW , WWWF , WCCW
June 18, 1946
July 17, 1988
Murdered[ 25]
42
Ray Candy (Ray Canty)
NWA , AJPW , WWC , NJPW , WCW
December 3, 1951
May 23, 1994
Heart attack
42
Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette)
WWF , WCW , ICW
November 19, 1960
May 1, 2003
Drug overdose [ 25]
42
Hiromichi Fuyuki
AJPW , NJPW , FMW , IWE , NWA , CWA
May 11, 1960
March 19, 2003
Intestinal cancer
42
John Tenta
WWF , WCW , ASW , AJPW
June 22, 1963
June 7, 2006
Bladder cancer [ 70]
42
Biff Wellington (Shayne Bower)
Stampede Wrestling , WCW , NJPW , ECW
April 18, 1965
June 24, 2007
Heart attack
42
Xavier (John Bedoya)
ROH , WWE , ECWA , JAPW , NEW , CW
December 28, 1977
August 16, 2020
Unknown
42–43
George Gardiner
Wrestled only in Australia and New Zealand
1898
May 18, 1941
Peritonitis
42-43
Marie Lograsso (Dina DeStefano)
World Championship Wrestling
1963
March 14, 2006
Drug overdose
43
Brian Adams
PNW , NJPW , WWF , WCW , AJPW
April 14, 1964
August 13, 2007
Drug overdose[ 71]
43
Ángel Azteca (Juan Manuel Zúñiga)
AAA , CMLL , UWA
June 24, 1963
March 18, 2007
Heart attack after match
43
Nancy Benoit
CWF , ECW , WCW
May 17, 1964
June 22, 2007
Murder [ 67]
43
Doctor X (Clemente Nájera)
CMLL
July 17, 1968
October 11, 2011
Murder[ 72]
43
Héctor Garza
CMLL , Perros del Mal , WCW , WWF
June 12, 1969
May 26, 2013
Lung cancer [ 25]
43
Franky Gee (Francisco Gutierrez)
FMW
February 19, 1962
October 22, 2005
Cerebral hemorrhage
43
Rocky Hata (Mitsuo Hata)
AJPW , CSW , GCW , NWA Tri-State , CWF
September 12, 1948
October 27, 1991
Complications from diabetes[ 73]
43
Jocephus (Joseph Hudson)
NWA
July 1, 1977
February 24, 2021
Congenital heart defect
43
Georg Lurich
N/A
22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1876
20 January 1920
Typhus
43
Corey Maclin
Announcer for USWA , PPW , Memphis Wrestling
May 6, 1970
July 31, 2013
Car accident
43
Sean O'Haire (Sean Haire)
WCW , OVW , WWF/E , NJPW , UPW
February 25, 1971
September 8, 2014
Suicide by hanging
43
Goga Pehlwan (Goga Moazzam)
Wrestled only in India
1937
February 6, 1981
Died in the ring
43
Reggie Roby
WWF
July 30, 1961
February 22, 2005
Believed to be Heart attack
43
Tony Rumble (Anthony Magliaro)
NWA New England , ECW , ICW, AWA , IWCCW , WCW
November 6, 1956
November 13, 1999
Heart attack
43
Peter Smit
RINGS
December 24, 1961
August 15, 2005
Murder
43
Viscera (Nelson Frazier, Jr.)
WWF/E , AJPW , USWA , TNA , Memphis Wrestling
February 14, 1971
February 18, 2014
Heart attack
44
Carl Abs
N/A
September 12, 1851
February 18, 1895
Liver and kidney failure
44
Dino Bravo (Adolfo Bresciano)
NWA , AWA , Lutte Internationale , WWF
August 6, 1948
March 11, 1993
Murder[ 25]
44
The Bruiser (RJ Meyer)
MCW , Independent Circuit
August 15, 1976
November 16, 2020
Leukemia
44
Dustin Diamond
NWA-TNA , MCW , Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling , independent circuit
January 7, 1977
February 1, 2021
Cancer (small-cell carcinoma )
44
Eric The Red (Ib Solvang Hansen)
WWWF , NWF , IWA , AWA , NJPW , CWF
August 1, 1934
November 16, 1978
Car accident
44
Danny Fargo (Audie Hager)
WWC , CWA , NWA , SWCW
June 13, 1959
December 26, 2003
Cancer
44
Mark Frear
WWF , USWA , MEWF , independent circuit
February 1, 1970
May 11, 2014
Unknown
44
Jorge González
WCW , WWF , NJPW
January 31, 1966
September 22, 2010
Diabetes and severe heart issues
44
Curt Hennig
AWA , PNW , WWF/E , WCW , TNA
March 28, 1958
February 10, 2003
Combined drug intoxication [ 25]
44
Koichiro Kimura
AJPW , DDT Pro-Wrestling , RINGS , W*ING , WJ
November 18, 1969
October 28, 2014
Pneumonia
44
Balls Mahoney (Jonathan Rechner)
ECW , SMW , WWF/E
April 11, 1972
April 12, 2016
Heart attack[ 74]
44
Emil Naucke
N/A
May 2, 1855
January 25, 1900
Heart attack
44
Kevin Randleman
AJPW , Zero1 , Hustle
August 10, 1971
February 11, 2016
Heart attack and pneumonia
44
Billy Reil
JAPW , independent circuit
June 19, 1979
April 29, 2024
Years of health issues
44
Axl Rotten (Brian Knighton)
ECW , MEWF , IWA Mid-South , WCW , WWE
April 21, 1971
February 4, 2016
Drug overdose
44–45
Nurullah Hasan
N/A
1867
1912
Unknown
45
Toni Adams (Toni Collins)
UWF , WCCW , USWA
August 19, 1964
June 24, 2010
Heart attack
45
Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Bigelow)
CWA , WWF/E , ECW , WCW , NJPW
September 1, 1961
January 19, 2007
Drug overdose [ 75]
45
Jerry Blackwell
AWA , WWWF , NWA , MACW , AJPW
April 26, 1949
January 22, 1995
Complications from car accident[ 19]
45
Stephan Bonnar
Impact Wrestling , House Of Glory , independent circuit
April 4, 1977
December 22, 2022
Heart attack caused by accidental fentanyl overdose
45
Nick Campofreda
N/A
January 14, 1914
May 23, 1959
Heart Attack
45
Mike Davis
CWA , MACW , WCCW , GWF , WCW
November 2, 1956
December 26, 2001
Heart attack
45
Iron Mike DiBiase
AWA , NWA , WCCW , CSW
December 24, 1923
July 2, 1969
Heart attack
45
Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter)
Stampede Wrestling , IWE , NWA , UWF , WWF , WCW
December 13, 1952
June 2, 1998
Car accident
45
Aya Koyama
AJW , BJW , JWPW , JDStar , Gaea Japan
March 8, 1973
August 27, 2018
Cancer
45
Pasión Kristal (José Gabriel Zentella Damián)
AAA , IWRG , various Mexican promotions
January 9, 1976
June 2, 2021
Drowning
45
Peter Maivia (Pita Fanene Anderson)
NWA , AWA , NJPW , NWA Hawaii , WWWF
April 6, 1937
June 13, 1982
Cancer
45
Johan Olin
N/A
June 30, 1883
December 3, 1928
Unknown
45
Val Puccio (Valentino Puccio)
AJPW , WWF , ECW
June 9, 1965
January 7, 2011
Believed to be obesity
45
Jean Pusie
wrestled various promotions in Quebec
October 15, 1910
April 21, 1956
Heart attack
46
Chris Adams
WCCW , UWF , SCW , WCW , Joint Promotions , AWF
February 10, 1955
October 7, 2001
Shot
46
André the Giant (André René Roussimoff)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , NJPW , IWE , AWA , WWF , AJPW
May 19, 1946
January 28, 1993
Congestive heart failure [ 76]
46
Argentina Apollo (Vincente Denigris)
WWWF , NWA , CWF , MACW , AJPW , IWA
April 28, 1938
August 2, 1984
Heart attack
46
Brian Christopher (Brian Lawler)
WWF/E , USWA , TNA , WWA , Memphis Wrestling
January 10, 1972
July 29, 2018
Suicide by hanging
46
Chyna (Joanie Laurer)
WWF , NJPW , TNA
December 27, 1969
April 20, 2016
Medication overdose
46
Floyd Creatchman
Lutte Internationale , NWA Detroit
June 25, 1957
October 26, 2003
Crohn's disease
46
Daffney (Shannon Spruill)
WCW , TNA , OVW , Wrestlicious , SHIMMER , ACW
July 17, 1975
September 1, 2021
Suicide by gunshot[ 77]
46
Herman Hickman
NWA
October 1, 1911
April 25, 1958
Unknown
46
Magnificent Maurice (Eugene Dubuque)
WWWF , NWA , AWA , NWA San Francisco , NWA Hawaii
December 11, 1927
March 13, 1974
Plane crash
46
Maximum Capacity (Michael Stanco)
NWA , FOW , Zero1 , Hustle , wrestled in various promotions in Europe
August 2, 1968
August 21, 2014
Colorectal cancer
46
Mitsuharu Misawa
AJPW , Pro Wrestling Noah , NJPW , JPW , NWA , ROH
June 18, 1962
June 13, 2009
Heart attack after cervical spinal cord injury in match[ 78] [ 79]
46
Mr. Niebla (Efrén Tiburcio Márquez)
CMLL , AAA
February 22, 1973
December 23, 2019
Blood infection
46
Víctor Quiñones
IWA , FMW , IWA Japan , WWC , W*ING
June 30, 1959
April 1, 2006
Mix of alcohol and drug overdose
46
Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand)
AWA , Lutte Internationale , NWA , AJPW , WWF , WCW , NJPW
January 12, 1957
October 19, 2003
Heart attack[ 80]
46
Bestia Salvaje (Juan Rodriguez)
CMLL
February 11, 1962
March 20, 2008
Liver disease
46
Sam Sheppard
NWA Los Angeles
December 29, 1923
April 6, 1970
Wernicke encephalopathy
46
Gus Sonnenberg
NWA , DWU
March 6, 1898
September 9, 1944
Leukemia
47
Ángel Blanco (José Ángel Vargas Sánchez)
EMLL , UWA , NJPW
August 2, 1938
April 26, 1986
Car accident
47
Tiger Jack Fox
N/A
April 2, 1907
April 6, 1954
Heart attack
47
Tony Halme
NJPW , WWF , CWA
January 6, 1963
January 8, 2010
Suicide by gunshot
47
Hayabusa (Eiji Ezaki)
FMW , ECW , CMLL , AJPW
November 29, 1968
March 3, 2016
Subarachnoid hemorrhage
47
Hercules (Ray Fernandez)
NWA , WWF , NJPW , WCW , CWF , NWA St. Louis
May 7, 1956
March 6, 2004
Heart disease
47
Dan Kolov (Doncho Danev)
N/A
December 27, 1892
March 26, 1940
Tuberculosis
47
Bob Konovsky
NWA , NWA Chicago
August 19, 1934
March 6, 1982
Unknown
47
Luther Lindsay (Luther Goodall)
NWA , Stampede Wrestling , PNW , MACW
December 30, 1924
February 21, 1972
Heart attack in match
47
Man Mountain Mike (Gary Fletcher)
NWA , AWA , WWWF
September 15, 1940
April 30, 1988
Heart attack
47
Rosey (Matthew Anoa'i)
WWE , HWA , WXW , ECW , AJPW
April 7, 1970
April 17, 2017
Congestive heart failure [ 81]
47
Skulu (Televise Masalosalo)
UPW , Hustle , Pro Wrestling Zero1 , independent circuit
April 2, 1973
December 21, 2020
Unknown
47
Starman (Name unknown)
CMLL , NJPW
November 16, 1974
September 23, 2022
Unknown
47
Big John Studd (John Minton)
NWA , AWA , WWF , NAWA
February 19, 1948
March 20, 1995
Liver cancer [ 19]
47
El Texano (Juan Aguilar Jauregui)
UWA , WCW , CMLL , AAA
November 26, 1958
January 15, 2006
Pneumonia
48
Tom Burton
WWF , USWA , GWF , UWFi , WCW , IWA Mid-South
October 14, 1961
March 29, 2010
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
48
Francisco Ciatso (Frank Caizzo)
Independent Circuit , USWA , NWA , TNA , DSW
November 5, 1975
January 20, 2024
Unknown
48
Chris Colt (Charles Harris)
NWA , NWA Detroit , PNW , NWA Vancouver
June 22, 1946
May 23, 1995
Unknown (AIDS , a drug overdose or suicide)
48
Cousin Junior (Lanny Kean)
WWF , CWA , NWA , USWA
March 19, 1960
January 13, 2009
Heart attack
48
Dennis Coralluzzo
NWA New Jersey promoter
March 5, 1953
July 21, 2001
Brain bleed due to a stroke
48
Jax Dane (Jeremy Dane Laymon)
NWA , ROH , TNA , NJPW
March 10, 1976
December 25, 2024
Heart complications
48
Doc Dean (Ian Dean)
ASW , WCW , NJPW , European Wrestling Federation (France )
July 3, 1970
August 14, 2018
Heart attack
48
Steve Doll
WWF , PNW , WCW , AJPW , IWA Mid-South , USWA
December 9, 1960
March 22, 2009
Blood clot
48
Gorgeous George (George Wagner)
NWA
March 24, 1915
December 26, 1963
Heart attack
48
Ray Gunkel
NWA , GCW
February 15, 1924
August 1, 1972
Heart attack after match
48
Don Ross
NWAHW , NWA
October 6, 1946
June 2, 1995
Heart attack[ 19]
48
Harley Saito (Sayori Saito)
LLPW , Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
December 21, 1967
December 15, 2016
Esophageal cancer
48
Ryan Sakoda
WWE , UPW , Zero1 , EWF , XWF , WSX
December 31, 1972
September 2, 2021
Unknown
48
Luna Vachon (Gertrude Vachon)
CWF , WWF , WCW , ECW , POWW
January 12, 1962
August 27, 2010
Drug overdose
48
Clarence Weber
Wrestled only in Australia
March 27, 1882
November 20, 1930
Coronary occlusion
48
Mark Young (Joe Scarpa Jr.)
WWF , WCW , PNW , AJPW
April 23, 1967
February 25, 2016
Unknown
48
Yukon Eric (Eric Holmback)
NWA , MLW , AWA
April 16, 1916
January 16, 1965
Suicide by gunshot
49
Sheik Ali (Wadi Ayoub)
WCW Australia , Joint Promotions , and various international promotions
April 20, 1927
September 29, 1976
Cancer
49
Big Titan (Rick Bognar)
FMW , WWF , WAR , USWA , CWA , NJPW
January 16, 1970
September 20, 2019
Heart attack
49
Louis Cyr (Cyprien-Noé Cyr)
N/A
October 10, 1863
November 10, 1912
Chronic nephritis
49
Jack Claybourne (Elmer Claybourne)
NWA , NWA Hawaii , MLW
March 8, 1910
January 7, 1960
Suicide by gunshot
49
Dean Detton
NWA
June 27, 1908
February 23, 1958
Suicide by hanging
49
Espectrito (Mario Jiminez)
EMLL , AAA , WWF , IWA Puerto Rico
December 18, 1966
January 23, 2016
Unknown
49
La Fiera (Arturo Casco Hernández)
EMLL , AAA , AJPW , NJPW
March 17, 1961
September 12, 2010
Murder
49
Kung Fu (Raymundo Cuesta Veloz)
EMLL , UWA
January 20, 1951
January 3, 2001
Arterial hypertension
49
Hideki Hosaka
FMW , AJPW , Pro Wrestling Zero1 , BJPW , various Japanese Promotions
August 5, 1971
August 2, 2021
Liver and colon cancer
49
Bullwhip Johnson (Daniel Johnston)
NWA , WCW , Lutte International
January 6, 1954
July 20, 2003
Liver cirrhosis
49
David Khakhaleishvili
RINGS
February 28, 1971
January 11, 2021
Complications from heart surgery
49
Sherri Martel (Sherry Russell)
AWA , WWF , WCW , ECW
February 8, 1958
June 15, 2007
Drug overdose
49
Piratita Morgan (Raymundo Rodríguez)
EMLL , WWC , AAA , WWF , WWA , TNA
March 15, 1969
July 8, 2018
Health issues
49
Dick Murdoch (Hoyt Murdoch)
CWF , NWA , WWF , AJPW , NJPW , WCW ,
August 16, 1946
June 15, 1996
Heart attack
49
Lynn Nelson
Only wrestled in North Dakota
February 24, 1905
February 19, 1955
Unknown
49
Raizel (Name unknown)
CMLL , AAA , IWRG , NJPW , various Mexican promotions
February 8, 1973
April 4, 2022
Unknown
49
Rocco Rock (Ted Petty)
ECW , NWA , WCW , WWF
September 1, 1953
September 21, 2002
Heart attack[ 21]
49
Ray Steele (Peter Sauer)
NWA
February 2, 1900
September 11, 1949
Heart attack
49
Supreme (Lester Perfors)
XPW , FMW , Perros del Mal , independent circuit
May 30, 1970
May 6, 2020
Heart attack
49
Jumbo Tsuruta (Tomomi Tsuruta)
AJPW , NWA , AWA
March 25, 1951
May 13, 2000
Complications of a liver transplant
49
Grigory Verichev
FMW
April 4, 1957
May 25, 2006
Unknown
49
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams
Mid-South/UWF , NWA , WWF , WCW , AJPW , ECW
May 14, 1960
December 29, 2009
Throat cancer
Under 60
The French Angel
Silver King
Arkangel de la Muerte
The Ultimate Warrior
Universo 2000
Paul Bearer
Randy Savage
New Jack
Melissa Coates
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
50
Brad Armstrong (Robert Bradley James)
WCW , NWA , SMW , NJPW , USWA , WWE
June 15, 1962
November 1, 2012
Heart attack
50
Max Baer
unknown
February 11, 1909
November 21, 1959
Heart attack
50
The French Angel (Maurice Tillet)
AWA , NWA , NWA Tri-State
October 23, 1903
September 4, 1954
Cardiovascular disease
50
Fuzzy Cupid (Leon Stap)
WWWF , NWA
September 24, 1928
April 26, 1979
Unknown
50
Ivan Gomes
NJPW
December 25, 1939
March 2, 1990
Renal illness
50
King Kong Kirk (Malcolm Kirk)
Joint Promotions , CWA , ASW , NWA
December 18, 1936
August 24, 1987
Heart attack in match
50
Yakov Kozalchik
Wrestled only in Israel
July 13, 1902
June 13, 1953
Starvation from depression
50
Dave Legeno (David Steven Murray)
British Wrestling Federation
October 12, 1963
July 6, 2014
Heat illness
50
Lucifer (Tim Burke)
MEWF , IPWA , ECWA , MCW
October 1, 1960
June 21, 2011
Cancer
50
Kızılcıklı Mahmut
N/A
1880
February 3, 1931
Unknown
50
Billy Papke
N/A
September 17, 1886
November 26, 1936
Murder-suicide
50
Paul Pons
N/A
June 23, 1864
April 13, 1915
Drowning
50
Mark Starr (Mark Ashford-Smith)
WCW , CWF , CWA , WWF , PWFG , FMW
December 26, 1962
June 7, 2013
Heart attack
50
Sweet Georgia Brown (Susie Mae McCoy)
NWA , MACW , Stampede Wrestling
December 22, 1938
July 25, 1989
Breast cancer
50
Villano I (José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza)
UWA , CMLL
June 28, 1950
January 4, 2001
Cerebral hemorrhage
50
Buddy Wayne (Steve Finley)
NWA Vancouver , PNW , WWF , WCW , ECCW
May 27, 1967
June 15, 2017
Heart attack
50
Bearcat Wright (Edward Wright)
NWA , CWC , Stampede Wrestling , CWF , NJPW
January 13, 1932
August 28, 1982
Sickle cell anemia
50
Yar (Raymond Gajtkowski)
NWA , JAPW , ECW , independent circuit
March 5, 1971
September 1, 2021
Unknown
50
Yutaka Yoshie
NJPW , AJPW , Zero1 , Toryumon , Noah , various Japanese promotions
January 5, 1974
March 10, 2024
Arteriosclerosis [ 82]
51
Arkangel de la Muerte (Alfredo Pasillas)
CMLL
July 16, 1966
June 13, 2018
Cardiac arrest[ 83]
51
Al Mills
AWA , Stampede Wrestling
1910
July 10, 1961
Unknown
51
Verlon Biggs
CWA , UWF Mid-South
March 16, 1943
June 7, 1994
Leukemia
51
Black Cat (Victor Manuel)
UWA , NJPW , AAA , WCW
October 17, 1954
January 28, 2006
Heart attack
51
Kerry Brown
Stampede Wrestling , GPW , Lutte Internationale , WWC , NWA , NJPW
February 3, 1958
September 10, 2009
Liver failure
51
Renato Gardini
N/A
March 20, 1889
September 29, 1940
Unknown
51
Hido (Hideo Takayama)
BJW , IWA-MS , FMW , W*ING
October 19, 1969
October 17, 2021
Unknown
51
Jimmy Jackson
UWF Mid-South , WWF , MACW
July 28, 1956
June 17, 2008
Unknown
51
Jun Izumida
AJPW , NOAH
October 28, 1965
January 25, 2017
Heart attack
51
Azumafuji Kin'ichi (Kinichi Inoue)
JWA , NWA Hawaii
October 28, 1921
July 31, 1973
Colon cancer
51
Harvey Martin
WWF , WCCW , GWF
November 16, 1950
December 24, 2001
Pancreatic cancer
51
Moondog Spot (Larry Latham)
WWF , CWA , NWA , USWA
June 6, 1952
November 29, 2003
Heart attack in match
51
Nikola Petroff (Nikola Petrov)
N/A
December 19, 1873
January 2, 1925
Unknown
51
Picudo (Arturo Hernández Herrada)
AAA , IWRG
August 3, 1967
August 3, 2018
Diabetes
51
Silver King (César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón)
UWA , WCW , CMLL , AJPW , NJPW , AAA
January 9, 1968
May 11, 2019
Stroke in ring, followed by heart attack
51
Paul Varelans
ECW , Kingdom
September 17, 1969
January 16, 2021
COVID-19
51
Maurice Webb
created the Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules in the United Kingdom
September 26, 1904
June 10, 1956
Unknown
51
Frankie Williams (Armando Pumarejo)
WWWF/WWF
February 20, 1940
April 23, 1991
Lung cancer
51
Emmanuel Yarbrough
CWA
September 5, 1964
December 21, 2015
Heart attack
52
Gene Anderson
AWA , GCW , MACW
October 4, 1939
October 31, 1991
Heart attack
52
Buddy Austin (Austin Wesley Rapes)
WWWF , NWA , JWA
February 27, 1929
August 12, 1981
Heart attack
52
Nicole Bass
WWF , ECW , XPW , NEO
August 10, 1964
February 17, 2017
Heart attack
52
Ady Berber
wrestled only in Austria and Germany
February 4, 1913
January 3, 1966
Unknown
52
Trevor Berbick
UWFi
August 1, 1954
October 28, 2006
Murder
52
El Brazo (Juan Alvarado Nieves)
WWA , AAA , UWA , CMLL
July 30, 1961
October 15, 2013
Diabetes
52
Melissa Coates
OVW , UPW , WSU , Independent Circuit
June 18, 1969
June 23, 2021
Complications from COVID-19 [ 84]
52
John Cozman
Stampede Wrestling , HIW , various independent circuit promotions in Canada
August 28, 1964
November 28, 2016
Unknown
52
Jimmy Del Ray (David Ferrier)
SMW , WWF , PWF , USWA , ECW , WCW
November 30, 1962
December 6, 2014
Heart attack
52
Espantito (Martín Rodríguez)
AAA , NWA , various promotions in Mexico and United States
April 24, 1968
October 12, 2020
Pneumonia
52
Doug Furnas (Dwight Furnas)
AJPW , CCW , WCW , WWF , ECW
December 11, 1959
March 2, 2012
Heart attack
52
George Gadaski (George Kosti)
AWA , NWA , Stampede Wrestling
April 30, 1930
December 16, 1982
Brain Tumor
52
Giant Haystacks (Martin Ruane)
Stampede Wrestling , Joint Promotions CWA , AJPW , WCW
October 10, 1946
November 29, 1998
Lymphoma
52
Troy 'The Hippie' Graham (Troy Rolland Thompson Jr.)
AWA , CWA , NWA , USWA
October 26, 1949
March 7, 2002
Heart attack
52
Tonina Jackson (Héctor Garza Lozano Vela)
EMLL , NWA , NWA Mid-America , WCCW , WWWF
January 9, 1917
November 3, 1969
Possibly complications from health issues
52
Jim Jefferson
MACW , CWA , CSW , CWF
July 14, 1960
February 8, 2013
Unknown
52
Karol Kalmikoff
NWA , AWA , NWA Tri-State , MLW
August 12, 1912
September 11, 1964
Heart attack
52
Ivan Linow (Jānis Linaus)
N/A
November 21, 1888
November 21, 1940
Heart attack
52
Paul Luty
Joint Promotions
May 4, 1932
January 12, 1985
Unknown
52
Rockin' Rebel (Charles Williams)
ECW , WCW , WWF , CZW , independent circuit
January 13, 1966
June 1, 2018
Murder-suicide
52
Silo Sam (John Elmo Harris)
WCCW , AWA
September 12, 1952
April 19, 2005
Unknown; possibly related to gigantism
52
Iron Mike Steele (John Meek)
CWF , Independent circuit
July 18, 1955
August 29, 2007
Vehicular homicide
52
Frank Wycheck
TNA
October 14, 1971
December 9, 2023
Head injuries from a fall
53
Aníbal (Carlos Contreras)
EMLL/CMLL , UWA
November 5, 1940
March 4, 1994
Brain tumor
53
Johnny Attitude (John Greene)
Founder of Micro Championship Wrestling , WCW , independent circuit
June 9, 1965
June 12, 2018
Unknown
53
George Bollas
NWA , NWA Hawaii , CWC , Joint Promotions , various European promotions
September 19, 1923
January 28, 1977
Heart failure
53
Johnny K-9 (Ion Kroitoru)[ 85]
WWF , NJPW , SMW , BCW
December 7, 1963
February 21, 2017
Acute pulmonary edema [ 85]
53
Ricky Gibson (Richard Cain)
GCCW , CWA , NWA Mid-America , NWA , UWF , MACW
November 19, 1952
September 15, 2006
Heart attack
53
Ryuma Go (Hiroshi Yagi)
NJPW , AJPW , IWE , NWA , AWA , WAR
March 23, 1956
October 18, 2009
Blood poisoning
53
Tony Jones
APW , BattlARTS , UPW , WWE , XPW
April 6, 1971
April 11, 2024
Unknown
53
Anton Koolmann
N/A
September 11, 1899
June 29, 1953
Unknown
53
Henry Kulky
NWA , Various International Promotions
August 11, 1911
February 12, 1965
Heart attack
53
Buddy Landel (William Ensor)
NWA , WCW , MACW , SMW , USWA , WWF
August 14, 1961
June 22, 2015
Injuries from a car accident
53
Danny Little Bear
NWA , Stampede Wrestling , CSW , GCCW
September 13, 1937
May 12, 1991
Liver cancer
53
Curly Moe (Donald Zalesky)
IWCCW
April 3, 1962
July 1, 2015
Unknown
53
Larry O'Dea (Larry Davies)
WCW Australia , CWF , AJPW
1944
June 30, 1997
Liver cancer
53
Johnny Rougeau
IWA Montreal, BTW , NWA , ASW
June 9, 1929
May 25, 1983
Cancer
53
Mike Shaw
Stampede Wrestling , WCW , WWF
May 9, 1957
September 11, 2010
Heart attack
53
Silver Cat (Antonio Hernández Herrada)
CMLL , AAA , various Mexican promotions
April 8, 1970
March 29, 2024
Unknown
53
Ski Hi Lee (Robert Leedy)
Stampede Wrestling , NWA , Joint Promotions
February 9, 1921
May 31, 1974
Believed to be acromegaly
53
Ken Timbs
MACW , GCW , EMLL , CSW , CWF
January 27, 1951
August 1, 2004
Cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure
53–54
Taro Miyake
N/A
August 15, 1881
1935
Unknown
54
Akebono (Chadwick Haheo Rowan)
WWE , AJPW , NJPW , Hustle , Zero 1 , various Japanese promotions
May 8, 1969
April 11, 2024
heart failure
54
Ted Allen (Ted Allen Lipscomb)
GCW , Mid-South Wrestling , CWA , SMW , Independent Circuit
November 17, 1955
August 19, 2010
Heart attack
54
Angel of Death (David Sheldon)
Stampede Wrestling , UWF , GWF , WCW
July 20, 1953
November 25, 2007
Unknown
54
Awesome Kong (Dwayne McCullough)
WCW , GWF , USWA , Independent Circuit
January 5, 1958
November 17, 2012
Heart attack
54
Black Warrior (Jesus Toral López)
CMLL , UWA , AAA
January 7, 1969
January 10, 2023
Unknown
54
Josephine Blatt
N/A
1869
September 1, 1923
Unknown
54
Jonathan Boyd (Jonathan Barry Boyle)
WCW Australia , NWA , PNW , CWA
October 21, 1944
August 7, 1999
Heart attack
54
Crybaby Waldo (Walt McDonald)
ECW , NWA , IPWA , independent circuit
April 21, 1966
July 28, 2020
Heart attack
54
Lionel Conacher
wrestled only in Canada
May 24, 1900
May 26, 1954
Heart attack
54
Droz (Darren Drozdov)
WWF , ECW
April 7, 1969
June 30, 2023
Natural causes
54
Bob Fitzsimmons
N/A
May 26, 1863
October 22, 1917
Pneumonia
54
Dory Funk, Sr.
WSS , NWA , AWA , NWA St. Louis , WWWF
May 4, 1919
June 3, 1973
Heart attack
54
Karloff Lagarde Jr. (César Baltazar de Lucio Valencia)
CMLL , UWA , AAA
October 21, 1970
December 13, 2024
54
Jos LeDuc (Michel Pigeon)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , AWA , WWF , CWA , CWF , GCW
August 30, 1944
May 1, 1999
Lung infection
54
Arvo Lindén
N/A
February 27, 1887
March 18, 1941
Unknown
54
Benny McCrary
NWA , NJPW
December 7, 1946
March 26, 2001
Heart attack[ 33] [ 34]
54
Yoshihiro Momota
AJPW
March 15, 1946
November 22, 2000
Liver failure
54
Väinö Myllyrinne
wrestled in Europe
February 27, 1909
April 13, 1963
Acromegaly
54
La Parka II (Jesús Alfonso Huerta Escoboza)
AAA , IWRG , DDT Pro-Wrestling , wrestled in various promotions in Mexico
January 4, 1966
January 11, 2020
Lung and kidney failure
54
Puppet the Psycho Dwarf (Stevie Lee)
TNA , WWA , Independent Circuit
1966
September 9, 2020
Unknown[ 86] [ 87]
54
Tommy Rogers (Thomas Couch)
UWF , NWA , AJPW , WCW , WWF , ECW
May 14, 1961
June 1, 2015
Unknown (believed to be suicide)
54
The Ultimate Warrior (James Hellwig)
WWF , CWA , WCWA , WCW
June 16, 1959
April 8, 2014
Heart attack
54
Uncle Elmer (Stan Fraizer)
CWA , NWA , GCCW , WWF , USWA
August 16, 1937
July 1, 1992
Diabetes
54
Pez Whatley
CWF , NWA , WWF , WCW
January 10, 1951
January 18, 2005
Heart attack
54–55
Hergeleci İbrahim (Ibrahim Mahmut)
wrestled only in Turkey
1862
1917
Unknown
54–55
George de Relwyskow
Joint Promotions
June 18, 1887
1942
Unknown
55
Matt Borne (Matthew Osborne)
PNW , WCCW , UWF , WWF , WCW , ECW
July 27, 1957
June 28, 2013
Drug overdose (possible heart failure)
55
Danie Brits
WWP , various promotions in South Africa
March 3, 1965
September 3, 2020
Heart attack
55
Haystacks Calhoun (William Dee Calhoun)
WWWF , NWA
August 3, 1934
December 7, 1989
Diabetes
55
Chief Little Eagle (Richard Thomas Bryant)
NWA , GCW , NWA Gulf Coast , CWC
March 21, 1935
July 7, 1990
Murder
55
Johnny Lee Clary
NWF
June 18, 1959
October 21, 2014
Heart attack
55
Eddie Graham (Edward Gossett)
WWWF , CWF , NWA
January 15, 1930
January 21, 1985
Multiple gunshot suicide
55
Rumi Kazama
AJW , JWP , LLPW , DDT , WAR
November 28, 1965
September 21, 2021
Endometriosis
55
Koji Kitao
SWS , NJPW , WWF , WAR
August 12, 1963
February 10, 2019
Kidney disease
55
MS-1 (Pablo Fuentes Reyna)
CMLL , AAA , UWA
December 31, 1956
January 12, 2012
Car accident
55
Mantaur (Mike Halac)
WWF , ECW , CWA , USWA
May 14, 1968
July 11, 2023
Diabetes
55
Tony Matisi
N/A
August 23, 1914
August 26, 1969
Illness
55
Hans Nijman (Johannes Nijman)
Fighting Network Rings
September 23, 1959
November 5, 2014
Murder
55
Bull Ortega (Jesus Ortega)
Stampede Wrestling , NWA , WWWF , MLW , NWA Detroit
May 12, 1922
July 28, 1977
Heart attack
55
Antonio Peña (Antonio Herrada)
founder of AAA , CMLL
June 13, 1951
October 5, 2006
Heart attack
55
Antonino Rocca (Antonino Biasetton)
WWWF , NWA
April 13, 1921
March 15, 1977
Urinary tract infection
55
Universo 2000 (Andrés Reyes González)
CMLL , AAA , IWRG
April 18, 1963
May 1, 2018
Heart problems
55
Diane Von Hoffman (Phyllis Burch)
USWA , CWA , LPWA , LMLW
April 13, 1962
July 6, 2017
Complications from knee surgery
55
Timothy Well (Timothy Smith)
AJPW , USWA , WWF , WCW , ECW
September 8, 1961
January 9, 2017
Kidney failure
55
Chris Youngblood (Christopher Romero)
WCCW , WWC , WCW , AJPW , USWA , FMW
February 10, 1966
July 7, 2021
Believed to be liver and kidney failure
56
Brad Batten
NWA , CSW , ACCW , SMW , WWC , SSW
September 8, 1958
November 18, 2014
Heart attack
56
Edwin Bibby
N/A
November 15, 1848
May 5, 1905
Rheumatism
56
Paul Bunyan (Max Palmer)
NWA Mid-America , NWF
November 27, 1927
May 17, 1984
Heart disease
56
Emilio Charles Jr. (Sergio Garduño)
CMLL
October 12, 1956
December 28, 2012
Kidney failure[ 88]
56
Espanto III (Miguel Vázquez Bernal)
EMLL
February 11, 1940
December 8, 1996
Heart attack
56
Bill Fralic
WWF
October 31, 1962
December 13, 2018
Cancer
56
Steve Gillespie
WFWA , Stampede Wrestling , FMW , WWF , CNWA, Onita Pro
July 22, 1963
January 18, 2020
Heart attack
56
Babe the Farmer's Daughter (Ursula Hayden)
GLOW
March 8, 1966
December 3, 2022
Cancer
56
Walter Johnson
NWA , BTW , WCCW
November 13, 1942
June 29, 1999
Heart attack
56
Cowboy Lang (Harry Lang)
NWA , WWF , AWA
August 28, 1950
January 4, 2007
Heart disease
56
Steve Lawler (Steve Gower)
SCW , DSW , TCW , Independent Circuit
January 24, 1965
September 2, 2021
COVID-19
56
Maurice Letchford
wrestled in the US, Canada, UK, and South Africa
August 27, 1908
August 15, 1965
Unknown
56
Blimp Levy (Martin Levy)
NWA
April 30, 1905
November 8, 1961
Believed to be complications from obesity
56
Dave McKigney
MLW , WWWF , NWA , NJPW , NWA Detroit , Big Bear Promotions
June 9, 1932
July 4, 1988
Car accident
56
Moondog King (Edward White)
WWF , Lutte Internationale
May 18, 1949
August 26, 2005
Injuries from a car accident and health issues
56
Max Muscle (John Czawlytko)
WCW , USWA , GWF , MCW , XPW
February 22, 1963
June 27, 2019
Unknown
56
Yvon Robert
NWA , Montreal , MLW
October 8, 1914
July 12, 1971
Heart attack
56
Garry Robbins
CNWA, GWF , NJPW , WWC , Indo-Asian Wrestling
September 9, 1957
December 11, 2013
Heart attack
56
Ben Roller
N/A
July 1, 1876
April 19, 1933
Pneumonia
56
Buddy Rose (Paul Perschmann)
AWA , PNW , WWF
November 27, 1952
April 28, 2009
Natural causes from obesity ; diabetes complications
56
Kurt Von Hess (William Terry)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , All-Star , Maple Leaf Wrestling , NJPW , WWF
April 10, 1942
March 13, 1999
Heart attack
56–57
Black Guzmán (Miguel Guzman Huerta)
CMLL , NWA
1916
December 1, 1973
Unknown
57
Jerry Balisok
GCW , CWF
September 8, 1955
April 18, 2013
Heart attack
57
Fred Beell
N/A
January 17, 1876
August 5, 1933
Shot
57
Brazo de Oro (Jesús Alvarado Nieves)
CMLL , WWA , UWA , NWA Los Angeles
October 7, 1959
April 28, 2017
Heart attack
57
Brick Bronsky (Jeffrey Beltzner)
Stampede Wrestling , Independent circuit
April 18, 1964
August 23, 2021
COVID-19
57
Brickhouse Brown (Frederick Seawright)
UWF Mid-South , NWA , WWF , CWA , USWA
August 11, 1960
July 29, 2018
Prostate cancer
57
Chris Champion (Christopher Ashford-Smith)
WCW , MACW , CWA , CWF , USWA
February 17, 1961
August 22, 2018
Presumed to be a stroke
57
Al Green (Alfred Dobalo)
WCW , WCPW , CWF , AJPW , CWA
October 15, 1955
June 14, 2013
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
57
The Grand Wizard (Ernie Roth)
NWA , WWWF/WWF
August 30, 1926
October 12, 1983
Heart attack
57
Betty Jo Hawkins (Elizabeth Floyd)
NWA , CWF , Stampede Wrestling
October 22, 1930
December 4, 1987
Heart attack
57
Samson Kutsuwada
JWA , AJPW
May 1, 1947
October 12, 2004
Leukemia
57
Masakre (Aristóteles Radamés Coccó Flores)
CMLL , AAA
May 13, 1954
April 12, 2012
Spinal cancer
57
Akram Pahalwan
Joint Promotions . wrestled in India, Pakistan, and various international promotions
1930
April 12, 1987
Unknown
57
Zoogz Rift (Robert Pawlikowski)
UWF
July 10, 1953
March 22, 2011
Complications from diabetes
57
Bert Ruby (Bertalan Rubinstein)
NWA , promoter for NWA Detroit
November 29, 1910
March 9, 1968
Heart attack
57
Paddy Ryan (Earl Patrick Freeman)
Stampede Wrestling , PNW , NWA All-Star Wrestling
August 23, 1932
December 28, 1989
Heart attack
57
Bart Sawyer (Steven Stewart)
PNW , NWA , WCW , USWA , ECCW , W*ING
November 30, 1965
September 12, 2023
Unknown
57
Mark Tendler
WWWF , NWA Hawaii , NWA , AJPW
March 4, 1932
February 15, 1990
Murder by Gunshot
57
Shag Thomas (James Thomas)
Stampede Wrestling , NWA , PNW
August 11, 1924
July 25, 1982
Heart attack
57
Don Vines
Joint Promotions
February 6, 1932
September 17, 1989
Unknown
57
Fez Whatley (Todd Hillier)
World Championship Wrestling
March 31, 1964
August 14, 2021
Heart failure
58
Gran Apache (Mario Balbuena González)
CMLL , AAA , IWA Japan
April 16, 1959
May 7, 2017
Intestinal cancer
58
Paul Bearer (William Moody)
WWF , CWF , WCCW , USWA , TNA
April 10, 1954
March 5, 2013
Heart attack
58
Brazo de Plata (José Luis Alvarado Nieves)
CMLL , AAA , WWE , WWA , UWA , IWRG
March 19, 1963
July 26, 2021
Heart attack
58
Bulldog Bob Brown
NWA , Stampede Wrestling , AWA , All-Star , NWA St. Louis , CSW
October 16, 1938
February 5, 1997
Heart attack
58
Ripper Collins (Roy Lee Albern)
NWA Hawaii , AWA , GCCW , Stampede Wrestling
October 10, 1933
November 12, 1991
Melanoma
58
Adam Forepaugh
N/A
February 28, 1831
January 22, 1890
Complications from 1889–1890 pandemic
58
Giant Gustav
NWA , NJPW , IWCCW
April 13, 1961
October 6, 2019
Heart Attack
58
Tarzan Goto (Seijo Goto)
AJPW , FMW , NWA , CWA , ECW , IWA Japan
August 16, 1963
May 29, 2022
Liver cancer
58
Kevin Greene
WCW
July 31, 1962
December 21, 2020
Heart attack
58
Helen Hild (Gladys Helen Nevins)
NWA , WWWF
February 26, 1926
March 4, 1984
Lung infection
58
Ice Train (Harold Hogue)
WCW , CWA
November 13, 1965
January 23, 2024
Unknown
58
Tank Morgan (Paul McManus)
WWWF , NWA , IWE , NWA Hawaii , UWF
April 18, 1933
August 15, 1991
Murder
58
New Jack (Jerome Young)
ECW , SMW , USWA , TNA , XPW
January 3, 1963
May 14, 2021
Heart attack
58
Don Nakaya Nielsen
NJPW , PWFG
July 8, 1959
August 16, 2017
Heart attack complications from surgery
58
Osley Bird Saunooke
N/A
July 19, 1906
April 16, 1965
Unknown
58
Randy Savage (Randall Poffo)
WWF , NWA , ICW , CWA , WCW
November 15, 1952
May 20, 2011
Cardiovascular disease
58
Scorpio Jr. (Rafael Núñez Juan)
CMLL , AAA , UWA , various Mexican Promotions
October 11, 1966
November 7, 2024
58
Tracy Smothers
CWA , WCW , SMW , WWF , ECW , IWA Mid-South
September 2, 1962
October 28, 2020
Lymphoma
58
George Tragos
NWA
March 14, 1897
September 5, 1955
Unknown
58
Tarzan Tyler (Camille Tourville)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , WWWF , CWF
December 4, 1927
December 24, 1985
Car wreck
58
Larry Winters
ECW , TWA , AWA , NWA , Pro Wrestling USA , NWF
April 14, 1956
January 27, 2015
Heart attack
59
Evgeny Artyukhin Sr.
NJPW
June 17, 1949
July 12, 2008
Heart attack during training
59
Shota Chochishvili
NJPW
July 10, 1950
August 27, 2009
Leukemia
59
John Condrone
CCW , NWA , WCW , independent circuit
November 16, 1960
October 20, 2020
COVID-19
59
Douglas Clark
Joint Promotions
May 2, 1891
February 1, 1951
Unknown
59
Espectro I (Antonio Arriaga)
EMLL
February 9, 1934
October 13, 1993
Unknown
59
Angel Gabriele
WWA , PPW
March 21, 1956
February 23, 2016
Unknown
59
René Guajardo (Manuel Guajardo Mejorado)
EMLL , UWA , WCCW , CWA
January 4, 1933
May 11, 1992
Liver cancer
59
Ralph Hammonds
NWA
July 9, 1906
May 5, 1966
Unknown
59
Mickie Henson
referee for WWE , WCW , CWF
January 2, 1963
February 14, 2022
COVID-19
59
Ernie Holmes
GCW , WWF
July 11, 1948
January 17, 2008
Car accident
59
Don Kent (Leo Smith Jr.)
NWA , WWWF , NWA Mid-America , CWF
June 24, 1933
June 7, 1993
Leukemia
59
Evan "Strangler" Lewis
N/A
May 24, 1860
November 9, 1919
Cancer[ 89]
59
Dutch Mantell (Alfred Albert Joe de Re la Gardiur)
N/A
July 25, 1881
January 31, 1941
Cancer
59
Mike Marino
Joint Promotions
October 8, 1921
August 24, 1981
Leukemia
59
Drew McDonald (Charles Shaw)
All Star Wrestling , Stampede Wrestling , CWA
June 16, 1955
February 9, 2015
Cancer
59
Jerry Monti (Gerald Monti)
NWA San Francisco , NWA , AWA , WWF
January 2, 1940
December 3, 1999
Cancer
59
Matthew Saad Muhammad
UWFi
August 5, 1954
May 25, 2014
Lou Gehrig's disease
59
Charlie Norris
WCW , PWA , independent circuit
October 21, 1963
February 6, 2023
Unknown
59
Tony Parisi (Antonio Pugliese)
WWWF , NWA , Lutte Internationale , MLW
January 22, 1941
August 19, 2000
Heart attack
59
The Patriot (Del Wilkes)
AWA , WCW , WWF , GWF , AJPW
December 21, 1961
July 1, 2021
Heart attack
59
Eddie Quinn
promoter for wrestling in Montreal , NWA St. Louis
May 22, 1906
December 14, 1965
Cerebral hemorrhage
59
Mangla Rai (Mahamalla Rai)
Wrestled only in India
October 1916
June 24, 1976
Multiple organ failure
59
Tex Rickard (George Rickard)
promoter for wrestling in New York City
January 2, 1870
January 6, 1929
Appendicitis
59
John L. Sullivan
N/A
October 15, 1858
February 2, 1918
Heart disease
59
Skip Young (Galton Young)
WCCW , NWA , CWF , USWA , WWC
July 24, 1951
December 3, 2010
Unknown
59
Super Muñeco (Hebert Palafox)
AAA , WWA , CMLL/EMLL , various promotions in Mexico
April 10, 1962
February 9, 2022
Unknown
59
Don West
TNA
June 20, 1963
December 30, 2022
Lymphoma
59
Tom Zenk
AWA , WWF , Lutte Internationale , WCW , AJPW
November 30, 1958
December 9, 2017
Heart attack from atherosclerosis and cardiomegaly
Under 65
Dynamite Kid
Giant Baba
Roddy Piper
Scott Hall
Big Van Vader
Road Warrior Animal
Sid Eudy
Age
Ring name (Birth name )
Promotion(s) worked for
Date of birth
Date of death
Cause of death
60
Dieusel Berto
PWFG , RINGS , Battlarts
March 24, 1958
December 29, 2018
Illness
60
Bearcat Brown (Matt Jewell)
NWA Mid-America , NWA , NWA Gulf Coast , CWF , CWA
August 31, 1935
April 7, 1996
Unknown
60
Dynamite Kid (Thomas Billington)
WWF , Stampede Wrestling , Joint Promotions , ASW , NJPW , AJPW
December 5, 1958
December 5, 2018
Unconfirmed, but had long-term health issues including stroke[ 90]
60
Rufus R. Jones (Carey Lloyd)
CSW , NWA St. Louis , NWA , MACW , AWA , AJPW
July 4, 1933
November 13, 1993
Heart attack
60
Mosco de la Merced (Juan Valdez Valentino)
UWA , AAA
June 23, 1964
August 19, 2024
60
Mountain Fiji (Emily Dole)
GLOW
September 28, 1957
January 2, 2018
Natural causes from years of health issues
60
Princess Jasmine (Cynthia Peretti)
GLOW , AWA , POWW
June 2, 1948
May 8, 2009
Cancer
60
Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , AWA , MACW , WWF/E , WCW , AJPW , TNA
September 12, 1960
September 22, 2020
Heart attack
60
Stan Stasiak (George Stipich)
PNW , Stampede Wrestling , WWWF , NWA
April 13, 1937
June 19, 1997
Heart failure
60
Ray Stevens (Carl Stevens)
BTW SF , AWA , NWA , WWWF/WWF , CWF
September 5, 1935
May 3, 1996
Heart attack
60
Yamaguchi-san (Yusuke Yamaguchi)
AJPW , FMW , WWF , Michinoku Pro Wrestling , ULL
May 5, 1958
March 9, 2019
Stroke
61
Jimmy Abbott
various promotions in South Africa
May 11, 1959
March 21, 2021
Heart attack
61
Giant Baba (Shohei Baba)
JWA , AJPW , NWA , WWWF
January 23, 1938
January 31, 1999
Colon cancer
61
Butcher Brannigan (Joseph Novo)
WCW Australia , CWF , WWWF , Stampede Wrestling , NWA
September 3, 1948
September 7, 2009
Kidney failure and heart disease
61
Cocoa Samoa (Ulualoaiga Emelio)
ASW , CWF , PNW , CWA
March 9, 1945
January 9, 2007
Unknown
61
Terry Garvin (Terry Joyal)
GCCW , IWA Montreal, CSW , NWA , MACW , WWF
March 1, 1937
August 17, 1998
Cancer
61
Mike Graham (Michael Gossett)
CWF , NWA , AWA , WCW
September 22, 1951
October 19, 2012
Suicide by gunshot while intoxicated
61
Killer Karl Krupp (George Momberg)
ESA , GPW , WCCW , MLW , NJPW , CWA
May 13, 1934
August 24, 1995
Hepatitis
61
Little Beaver (Lionel Giroux)
Lutte Internationale , WWWF/WWF , MLW , AWA , NWA
April 18, 1934
December 4, 1995
Emphysema
61
Boris Malenko (Larry Simon)
CWF , WWWF , CWC , MACW , NWA , NJPW
June 28, 1933
September 1, 1994
Leukemia
61
Bubba Monroe (Quentin Bell)
CWA , TASW , GWF , independent circuit
October 23, 1960
September 10, 2022
Unknown
61
Roddy Piper (Roderick Toombs)
AWA , PNW , GCW , MLW , WWF , WCW
April 17, 1954
July 31, 2015
Heart attack from pulmonary embolism
61
Goldie Rogers (David Sherwin)
ASW , MLW , Stampede Wrestling , WWF
August 5, 1950
July 20, 2012
Heart attack
61
Sapphire (Juanita Wright)
WWF , USWA
October 24, 1934
September 11, 1996
Heart attack
61
Eddy Steinblock (Edwin Steinblock)
CWA , VDB , owner of European Wrestling Federation, various German promotions
December 16, 1955
November 9, 2017
Unknown Illness
61-62
Peter Fatouros
wrestled in Australia
1891
1953
Unknown
62
Frank Andersson
NJPW , WCW
May 9, 1956
September 9, 2018
Heart failure
62
Le Petit Prince (Daniel Dubail)
FFCP
September 25, 1943
December 17, 2005
Unknown
62
Luke Brown (Carl Campbell)
AWA , WWWF , NWA , CSW
July 28, 1935
November 12, 1997
Stroke
62
Crybaby Cannon (George McCarther)
NWA , Lutte Internationale , AWA , WWWF , MLW , BTW
March 28, 1932
July 1, 1994
Cancer
62
Mocho Cota (Manuel Cota Soto)
EMLL /CMLL
June 5, 1954
December 22, 2016
Brain aneurysm
62
Bobby Eaton
CWA , NWA Mid-America , UWF Mid-South , WCCW , MACW , WCW
August 14, 1958
August 4, 2021
Unknown (found dead in sleep)[ 91]
62
Gorilla Monsoon (Robert Marella)
WWWF/WWF , NWA , WCW Australia
June 4, 1937
October 6, 1999
Heart failure
62
Oliver Humperdink (John Sutton)
MACW , CWF , WWF , WCW
January 16, 1949
March 20, 2011
Complications from pneumonia and cancer
62
Dr. Karonte (Miguel Urive)
EMLL /CMLL
February 14, 1957
August 26, 2019
Unknown
62
Scott LeDoux (Alan LeDoux)
AWA
January 7, 1949
August 11, 2011
Lou Gehrig's disease
62
Tommy Lister Jr.
WWF , WWC , WCW
June 24, 1958
December 10, 2020
Hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [ 92]
62
Hiro Matsuda (Yasuhiro Kojima)
JWA , CWF , WCW , NWA
July 22, 1937
November 27, 1999
Prostate cancer
62
Mongolian Mauler (Peter Miller)
ASW , WCW , various international promotions
September 2, 1961
January 22, 2024
Years of Health issues
62
Barry Orton (Randal Berry Orton)
WWF , NWA , ICW , MACW , Stampede Wrestling
May 28, 1958
March 20, 2021
Unknown
62
Ari Romero (Jose Luis Arias Romero)
CMLL , MPW , BJPW
December 20, 1951
December 29, 2013
Liver cancer
62
Ron Slinker (David Slinker)
CWF , NWA , IWCCW , UWF
October 30, 1945
March 28, 2008
Liver failure from years of alcoholism
62
Moondog Spike (William Smithson)
CWA , USWA , AJPW , W*ING
May 31, 1950
March 21, 2013
Unknown
62
Thunder Sugiyama
JWA , AJPW , NJPW , IWE , NWA
July 23, 1940
November 22, 2002
Unknown
62
Villano V (Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr.)
WCW , CMLL , UWA , AAA
March 22, 1962
August 29, 2024
63
Mamdouh Farag
CWA (Germany) , promotions in Egypt
August 16, 1951
August 16, 2014
Illness
63
Big Van Vader (Leon White)
WCW , WWF , AWA , NJPW , AJPW , Pro Wrestling NOAH
May 14, 1955
June 18, 2018
Heart problems
63
Rusty Brooks (Kurt Koski)
WWF , UWF , FOW , various promotions in Florida
February 8, 1958
February 11, 2021
Health issues
63
Bulldog Brower (Richard Gland)
MLW , NWA , WWWF/WWF , NWF
September 17, 1933
September 15, 1997
Complications from hip surgery
63
Bad News Brown (Allen James Coage)
WWF , NJPW , Stampede Wrestling
October 22, 1943
March 6, 2007
Heart attack
63
King Kong Bundy (Christopher Pallies)
WWF , WCCW , NWA , GCW , NJPW , UWF
November 7, 1955
March 4, 2019
Complications from diabetes
63
Big Bully Busick (Nick Busick)
WWF , SCW , GWF
June 1, 1954
May 8, 2018
Cancer in the cerebrospinal fluid
63
Candi Devine (Candace Rummel)
AWA , NWA , CWA , LPWA , USWA , UWF
January 1, 1959
February 9, 2022
Collapsed lung and other health issues
63
Brian Glover
Joint Promotions
April 2, 1934
July 24, 1997
Brain tumor
63
Scott Hall
WWF/WWE , WCW , TNA , NWA , AWA , NJPW
October 20, 1958
March 14, 2022
Multiple heart attacks as a result of complications from hip surgery
63
Wilhelm von Homburg (Norbert Grupe)
N/A
August 25, 1940
March 10, 2004
Prostate cancer
63
S. D. Jones (Conrad Efraim)
WWF , MACW , NWA , NJPW
March 30, 1945
October 26, 2008
Stroke
63
Rob Kaman
Fighting Network Rings
June 5, 1960
March 30, 2024
Unknown
63
Wahoo McDaniel (Edward McDaniel)
NWA , MACW , WWWF , WCCW , AWA
June 19, 1938
April 18, 2002
Complications from diabetes and kidney failure
63
Jim Neidhart
WWF , Stampede , WCW , ECW , CWF , NJPW
February 8, 1955
August 13, 2018
Head injury from a fall
63
Benny Ramírez
NWA , NWA Texas , CSW , IWE , Stampede Wrestling
January 2, 1932
December 20, 1995
Plane crash (American Airlines Flight 965 )
63
Savannah Jack (Theodore Russell)
AWA , UWF Mid-South
October 15, 1948
January 17, 2012
Years of cardiomyopathy problems
63
Brett Sawyer (Brett Eugene Woyan)
NWA , PNW , GCW , MACW , WCW
August 10, 1960
September 9, 2023
Unknown
63
Sid Vicious (Sid Eudy)
WCW , WWF , ECW , USWA , CWA
December 16, 1960
August 26, 2024
Cancer
63
Crusher Verdu (Oscar Verdu)
WWWF , NWA , Joint Promotions , various European promotions
October 21, 1940
January 2004
Unknown
63
Vivian St. John (Suzanne Miller)
WWWF/WWF , CWF
September 10, 1950
December 20, 2013
Long illness
64
Cousin Luke (Gene Petit)
WWF , AWA , CWF , MACW
May 19, 1949
September 29, 2013
Multiple sclerosis and diabetes
64
Jeff Gaylord
USWA , UWF Mid-South , WCCW , GWF , WWF
October 15, 1958
March 15, 2023
Unknown
64
Bobby Jaggers (Robert Jeaudoin)
MACW , NWA , NWA St. Louis , PNW , CWF
January 8, 1948
September 30, 2012
Kidney failure from hepatitis C
64
Teijo Khan (Thomas Kasat)
AWA , CWF , NWA , MACW , PWA
March 24, 1956
April 10, 2020
Unknown
64
Rocky King (William Boulware Jr.)
NWA , MACW , WCW
January 30, 1958
March 27, 2022
Years of health issues
64
Corporal Kirchner (Michael Penzel)
WWF , NJPW , Stampede Wrestling , IWA Japan , W*ING , FMW
September 7, 1957
December 22, 2021
Heart attack
64
Peggy Lee Leather (Peggy Lee Fowler)
WWF , NWA , POWW , AWA , WCW , LPWA , WOW
January 19, 1959
May 22, 2023
Unknown
64
Dale Lewis
AWA , CWF , NWA
August 29, 1933
August 30, 1997
Leukemia
64
Winona Littleheart (Winifred Childree)
CWF , WWWF/WWF , NWA , POWW , WCW (Women's Championship Wrestling)
September 9, 1955
May 9, 2020
Unknown
64
Lizmark (Juan Baños)
EMLL , AAA , CMLL
December 18, 1950
December 16, 2015
Respiratory failure
64
Michael Okpala
promoter in Nigeria, Joint Promotions , and various international promotions
August 8, 1939
March 11, 2004
Illness
64
Iron Mike Sharpe
CWA , ASW , MSWA, WWWA , WWF
October 28, 1951
January 17, 2016
Years of health issues
64
Clem Turner
AWA , WWA , NWA Detroit , NWA St. Louis
May 28, 1945
December 20, 2009
Car accident
64
Lee Wang-pyo
NJPW , AJPW , KWA, TPW , IWE , FMW
June 11, 1954
September 4, 2018
Gallbladder cancer
64
Nikolai Zouev
RINGS
May 20, 1958
May 21, 2022
Heart disease
See also
References
^ Herman, Christopher W.; Conlon, Anna S. C.; Rubenfire, Melvyn; Burghardt, Andrew R.; McGregor, Stephen J. (5 November 2014). "The Very High Premature Mortality Rate among Active Professional Wrestlers Is Primarily Due to Cardiovascular Disease" . PLOS ONE . 9 (11): e109945. Bibcode :2014PLoSO...9j9945H . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0109945 . PMC 4220919 . PMID 25372569 .
^ Rhodes, David (8 August 2015). "Why do wrestlers so often die young?" . BBC .
^ Morris, Benjamin (2014-04-24). "Comparing the WWF's Death Rate to the NFL's And Other Pro Leagues' " . FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved 2021-11-18 .
^ Morris, Benjamin (2014-04-21). "Are Pro Wrestlers Dying at an Unusual Rate?" . FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved 2021-11-18 .
^ Farhi, Paul (9 April 2014). "The Ultimate Warrior joins a long list of wrestlers who died prematurely" . The Washington Post .
^ Morris, Benjamin (24 April 2014). "Comparing the WWF's Death Rate to the NFL's and Other Pro Leagues' " . FiveThirtyEight.
^ Morris, Benjamin (21 April 2014). "Are Pro Wrestlers Dying at an Unusual Rate?" . FiveThirtyEight.
^ "The Most Dangerous Sport No One Talks About" . Medical Daily. 21 January 2015.
^ The Masked Man (24 May 2011). "The Dead Wrestler of the Week Archive" . Deadspin.
^ Herman, Christopher W.; Conlon, Anna S. C.; Rubenfire, Melvyn; Burghardt, Andrew R.; McGregor, Stephen J. (November 5, 2014). "The Very High Premature Mortality Rate among Active Professional Wrestlers Is Primarily Due to Cardiovascular Disease" . PLOS One . 9 (11): e109945. Bibcode :2014PLoSO...9j9945H . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0109945 . PMC 4220919 . PMID 25372569 .
^ "Wrestlers who died before age 50" .
^ a b Oliver, John (March 31, 2019). WWE . Last Week Tonight with John Oliver . HBO . Retrieved April 4, 2019 .
^ a b Dator, James (April 2, 2019). "Why John Oliver is calling for WWE fans to protest at WrestleMania" . Retrieved April 4, 2019 . It's not a new story, but WWE hasn't fixed the problem.
^ a b Haysom, Sam (April 2, 2019). "John Oliver's 20-minute rant about the way WWE treats wrestlers is pretty shocking" . Mashable . Retrieved April 4, 2019 .
^ Parker, Ryan (April 1, 2019). "WWE Hits Back Against John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight' Wrestling Takedown" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved April 4, 2019 .
^ Richard Hatred (2017-11-28). Opie and Anthony: Wrestler Death Clock Compilation . Retrieved 2019-05-14 .
^ "Kevin Nash responde a Bret Hart sobre la muerte prematura de los luchadores" . 17 March 2022.
^ "Bret Hart reacciona al fallecimiento de Scott Hall" . 15 March 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i Muchnick, Irv (2010). Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal . ECW Press. pp. 143– 150. ISBN 978-1-55490-286-6 .
^ a b c d "Tragedy in Texas: The Sad Story of the Von Erich Family" . June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ a b c d Gallipoli, Thomas M. (December 3, 2007). "SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2002 (Wahoo, Thesz, Rocco, Mr. Wrestling)" . Pro Wrestling Torch .
^ "Reid Flair reportedly dies at age 24" . Pro Wrestling Torch . Flair News.
^ McCarthy, Mike (April 6, 2011). "Dead Wrestler Wednesday: Louie Spicolli" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Kraetsch, Rich (August 9, 2013). "Wrestling's Biggest Busts: Art Barr" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ a b c d e f g "Brainroom: Past Deaths of Professional Wrestlers" . June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ "Lance Cade passes away" . August 13, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Dye, Natasha (2023-03-22). "WWE Wrestler Sara Lee Was 'Heavily Drinking' Before Her 'Sudden' Death at 30: Source" . People . Retrieved 2023-03-25 .
^ Oliver, Greg (December 2000). "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Pierre 'Mad Dog' Lefebvre" . Canadian Online Explorer . Archived from the original on January 21, 2016.
^ "WWE: 11 Wrestlers Who Almost Died In The Ring" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ "Online World of Wrestling: Jay Youngblood" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Meehan, Mary (April 5, 1992). "Raging Bull: Steroids Helped Turn Little Ed Gantner Into Big Ed Gantner. They Also Helped Kill Him" . Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Clevett, Jason (November 6, 2003). "Crash Holly found dead at 34" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ a b Fowler, Hayley (December 8, 2020). "700-pound NC twins rode minibikes, wrestled with Andre the Giant. They'd be 74 today" . Charlotte Observer – via Yahoo! .
^ a b Oliver, Greg. "Benny McGuire dead at 54" . canoe.ca. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2008-09-25 .
^ Russo, Ric (October 20, 2000). "What Ever Happened To ... Brett Sawyer?" . Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Clevett, Jason (April 29, 2005). "Chris Candido dead at 33" . Slam! Sports . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Mushnick, Phil (February 22, 1995). "On the Death of Eddie Gilbert" . New York Post . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Hackbarth, Sean (June 27, 2007). "Pro Wrestling's Deadly Dark Side" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Burgett, Joe (April 11, 2009). "Andrew "Test" Martin's Cause of Death Finally Revealed" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Ward, Marshall (July 4, 2013). "Adrian Adonis: A Look Back on the Anniversary of His Death" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ McCarthy, Mike (February 16, 2011). "Dead Wrestler Wednesday: Big Dick Dudley" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Molinaro, John (January 25, 2000). "Bobby Duncum Jr found dead" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ "Wrestler Owen Hart killed in fall during stunt: Thousands witness accident; television audience does not" . CNN . May 24, 1999. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Oliver, Greg. "Yokozuna dead at 34" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Lambert, Jeremy (June 17, 2024). "Independent Wrestler James Castle Passes Away" . Fightful.
^ "Online World of Wrestling: Marianna Komlos" . Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Keller, Wade (October 11, 1997). "Brian Pillman dies in hotel room at age 35" . Pro Wrestling Torch . Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ "Deaths in Dangerous World of Wrestling" . New York Post . June 27, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ Satin, Ryan (June 19, 2019). "UK Indie Wrestler Adrian 'Lionheart' McCallum Has Passed Away" . Pro Wrestling Sheet . Retrieved June 19, 2019 .
^ McCarthy, Mike (April 20, 2011). "Dead Wrestler Wednesday: Anthony Durante" . Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ 闘病中の覆面女子レスラーRayさん死去 . Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018 .
^ Waldman, John; Clevett, Jason (December 20, 2003). "The Wall, Jerry Tuite, dead at 37" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ Mitchell, Houston (December 4, 2009). "Former WWE star Umaga dead at 36" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) Cause Of Death Given" . Fightful . Retrieved 25 August 2023 .
^ Lewis III, Harris M. (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling (2nd ed.). McFarlane. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4766-0505-0 .
^ Fernanez, Alexia (June 29, 2018). "Former WWE Star Matt Cappotelli Dies After Battle with Cancer: He 'Went Home to Be With Jesus' " . People . Retrieved June 29, 2018 .
^ Clevett, Jason (February 16, 2006). "Former ECW star Johnny Grunge dies" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2015 .
^ Posadas, Roland (November 14, 2005). "WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero found dead" . Retrieved January 7, 2015 .
^ Schoetz, David (July 20, 2007). "Another Wrestler's 'Untimely' Death" . ABC News . Retrieved January 7, 2015 .
^ Oliver, Greg (2006-10-16). "SLAM! Wrestling: Joey Maggs dead at age 39" . SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016.
^ "Ashley Massaro Died By Hanging In Apparent Suicide" . May 21, 2019.
^ "Médico Asesino" . Luchawiki.
^ Nakano, Kenji (May 10, 2013). "Looking back at the death of Rikidozan" . Tokyo Reporter . Retrieved January 8, 2015 .
^ Ridgen, Melissa (May 19, 2002). "Wrestling's "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith dead at 39" . Calgary Sun . Retrieved January 8, 2015 .
^ a b "<巨人(거인)프로레슬러> 朴松男(박송남)씨 사망" . The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul . 1982-10-26. Retrieved 2023-06-08 .
^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Ray Mendoza and Los Villanos". Mondo Lucha a Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling . HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 193– 196. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3 .
^ a b Newby, Debbie (June 26, 2007). "Wrestler killed son, wife, then hanged himself: Police" . Toronto Star . Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ "Openly Gay Former Wrestler Dies at 40 in Apparent Suicide" . Fox News . April 4, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2015 .
^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 28, 2021). "Amanda Huber Opens Up About The Passing Of Jon Huber (Brodie Lee)" . Fightful . Retrieved January 28, 2021 .
^ Clevett, Jason (June 7, 2005). "John "Earthquake" Tenta dead" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
^ Martin, Adam (2007-09-27). "Cause of death determined for Bryan Crush Adams" . WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2014-12-15 .
^ Acosta, Carlos R. (October 11, 2011). "Descanse en paz Dr. X-Treme" . SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 9, 2018 .
^ Rocky Hata at Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. Harris M. Lentz III retrieved on September 18, 2018
^ Radel, Dan (August 16, 2016). "Death of wrestler Balls Mahoney ruled a Heart attack" . Asbury Park Press . Retrieved August 18, 2016 .
^ "Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow, 45; retired heavyweight TV wrestler" . Los Angeles Times . January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ "Andre the Giant Dies in Paris of an Apparent Heart Attack" . Los Angeles Times . January 30, 1993. Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ "Former wrestler Shannon 'Daffney' Spruill dead after posting alarming video on social media" . USA Today .
^ "Reports: Japanese wrestling legend Misawa dies" . 15 June 2009.
^ "神様が用意してくれた三沢さんとの最後のお別れ – 東京スポーツ新聞社" . 13 June 2019.
^ Oliver, Greg (October 19, 2003). "Road Warrior Hawk dead at 45" . Slam! Sports . Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2015 .
^ Rueter, Sean. "Former WWE Superstar Matt 'Rosey' Anoa'i has died at age 47" . Cageside Seats . Vox Media, Inc . Retrieved 19 April 2017 .
^ 3/11 師匠・藤波辰爾が悔やむ〝急死〟吉江豊さんの「愛されキャラ」と「営業力」 [3/11 Master Tatsumi Fujinami regrets "sudden death" Yutaka Yoshie's "beloved character" and "sales power"]. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 11, 2024.
^ Piñeiro, Anthony (June 13, 2018). "¡Fallece Arkángel de la Muerte!" . Super Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 13, 2018 .
^ "Melissa Coates Obituary (1969 - 2021) - Thunder Bay, ON - The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal" . Legacy.com . Retrieved 2023-01-03 .
^ a b "Bruiser Bedlam: Wrestler Ion Croitoru's Secret Life of Crime" . March 12, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2024 .
^ Sansome, Jessica. "Jackass star and wrestler Stevie Lee dies 'unexpectedly' at 54" . Manchester Evening News .
^ Hunt, Julia (September 11, 2020). "Celebrity: 'Jackass' star Stevie Lee dies at the age of 54" . Yahoo Celebrity UK . Yahoo! .
^ "Lucha Legend Emilio Charles Jr. Passes Away" . PWInsider.com . December 29, 2012.
^ "Former Champ Wrestler Dies" . Wisconsin State Journal . November 4, 1919. p. 13. Retrieved June 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
^ " 'Inspirational' wrestler dies on birthday" . BBC News . 5 December 2018.
^ Mohan, Sai (August 5, 2021). " "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton Passes Away At Age 62" . wrestlinginc.com . Retrieved August 5, 2021 .
^ Saperstein, Pat (December 10, 2020). "Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, 'Friday' Actor and Wrestler, Dies at 62" . Variety – via Yahoo! .
Further reading