Wrestlers Who Are No Longer With Us
It's no secret that professional wrestling is brutal on the body. It's tough to maintain the proper conditioning to stay sharp in the ring despite long road trips, constant shows to work, and endless bumps and bruises.
Factor in the personal demons that seem to haunt many wrestlers, and it's sad — though not surprising — that many wrestlers die tragically young. Here are some of the most legendary wrestlers to enter the squared circle who are no longer with us.
"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
"Mr. Perfect" wasn't just a nickname for Curt Hennig. One of the most skilled wrestlers to come out of Minnesota's talented AWA, Hennig quickly made a name for himself in the WWF with his charisma and in-ring ability.
A notorious prankster, Hennig was beloved for his sense of humor as well as his work ethic. He wrestled his last match in January of 2003, and passed away just a month later of an overdose at the age of 43.
"Macho Man" Randy Savage
Randy Savage, real name Randy Poffo, was the son of wrestling legend Angelo Poffo and the brother of Lanny "The Genius" Poffo — but Randy's first love was baseball. He never reached the major leagues, and soon turned his attention to wrestling.
Savage was an immediate sensation, and went on to become one of the most iconic wrestlers of all time. His garish outfits were as attention-grabbing as his beautiful elbow drop finishing move. In 2011, he suffered a heart attack while driving and crashed into a tree, killing him at the age of 58.
Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann Hulette was the Macho Man's real-life wife for a time, and his on-again, off-again valet in many years in both the WWF and WCW. She said little in the ring, letting her shy, sweet style do all the talking.
Miss Elizabeth's last in-ring appearance came in 2000, shortly before her WCW contract expired. Three years later, she died of acute toxicity as a result of painkillers and vodka in her system. She was 42 years old.
Rowdy Roddy Piper
While Rowdy Roddy Piper was billed as coming from Scotland, the kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing smart aleck was actually a Canadian whose real name was Roderick Toombs. Piper intermittently played a good guy, but he was best remembered as one of the greatest villains — or heels — in wrestling history.
Piper enjoyed a long career in the ring, but died of cardiopulmonary arrest in 2015 at the age of 61. Somewhat chillingly, Piper had once said he didn't expect to live to see his 65th birthday.
Chyna (Joanie Laurer)
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer had a meteoric rise in the late-'90s WWF, showcasing her imposing physical presence. After becoming the first female Intercontinental champion of all time, a series of disputes led to her falling out with WWF brass and eventually leaving the company.
After her wrestling career wound down, she appeared on reality TV and in adult movies. The troubled star also struggled with substance abuse. In 2016, she was found dead in her home at the age of 46.
Bam Bam Bigelow
Known as the "Beast from the East," Scott Charles Bigelow hailed from New Jersey and got his start in the wrestling business in the mid '80s. Bigelow was quickly noticed for packing incredible agility and athleticism into his 400-pound frame.
While he never captured a heavyweight championship, he was a proven draw who headlined many shows — including Wrestlemania XI in 1995. In 2007, at the age of 45, he was found dead with multiple substances in his system.
Ultimate Warrior
Jim Hellwig started out as a bodybuilder but transitioned into wrestling, becoming one of the biggest draws of the late '80s and early '90s. Although he was never a great technical wrestler, his energetic ring introduction would always get fans on their feet.
Warrior has a complicated legacy, making a series of inflammatory and bigoted statements later in life. Just a day after making his final in-ring appearance in 2014, he collapsed and died of a heart attack.
Owen Hart
Owen Hart, a member of the legendary Hart wrestling family, was the victim of perhaps the most infamous incident in pro wrestling history. In 1999, he fell from the ceiling and died in the ring during a stunt gone wrong.
Hart is fondly remembered by fans and wrestlers alike for his skilled technical wrestling and gregarious personality. Sadly, he'd been considering getting out of the wrestling business altogether at the time of his death.
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand formed one half of the fan-favorite tag team the Road Warriors, who were also sometimes known as the Legion of Doom. With their garish facepaint and spiked shoulder pads, they stood out from a sea of more blandly-attired tag teams.
In 2003, while the Road Warriors were in the midst of writing a book about their careers, Hegstrand died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 46.
Road Warrior Animal
Hawk's tag team partner, Road Warrior Animal (real name Joseph Laurinaitis), came from a wrestling family and both of his brothers went on to in-ring careers. In 2016, he was part of a class-action lawsuit against the WWF, alleging that the organization had ignored traumatic brain injuries.
In 2020, just ten days after his 60th birthday and shortly after celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife, he died of a sudden heart attack in Missouri.
Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Runnells, known by his more recognizable ring name as Dusty Rhodes, built a successful gimmick around an American everyman persona — lending him the nickname "The American Dream."
He had a lengthy career in the NWA and WWF, and sired an impressive legacy in sons Cody and Dustin Rhodes (better known as Goldust). Virgil Runnells would likely still be in the wrestling business but he was diagnosed with kidney disease later in life, eventually dying from the ailment in 2015.
Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero came from a prominent wrestling family and managed to forge his own path in the industry based on a unique combination of talent and charisma. Guerrero was adept at putting on great matches against quick-moving luchadores and slower big men alike.
While he struggled with addiction throughout his career, he was on a positive trajectory at the time of his death in late 2005. After an autopsy, it was concluded that the 38-year-old died of heart failure brought on by atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Paul Bearer
With his cartoonishly high voice and garish white makeup, Paul Bearer was very much a cartoonish figure — but in real life, he walked the walk as a licensed funeral director. Paul Bearer — real name William Moody — was a longtime manager of various wrestlers, most notably the Undertaker.
By the early 2010s, he was in poor health and was experiencing respiratory problems. Not long after undergoing treatment for a blood clot, he passed away in 2013 from a heart attack.
Virgil
Michael Jones built a promising career as "Soul Train" Jones in the Memphis-based Championship Wrestling Association before moving over to the WWF in 1987. Taking on the name "Virgil," he acted as Ted DiBiase's bodyguard and manservant in the ring.
Virgil took on a similar persona (renamed "Vincent") after his move to WCW. Following his retirement in 2000, he was a fixture at autograph signings and card shows. He died in February, 2024 of complications from strokes and dementia.
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
Jim Neidhart started out as a football player, but was unable to make the rosters of the Oakland Raiders or Dallas Cowboys. The imposing big man then set his sights on wrestling, training in Calgary under the tutelage of the legendary Stu Hart.
Neidhart moved to the WWF, where he formed the Hart Foundation — a formidable tag team with Bret Hart and manager Jimmy Hart. Neidhart struggled with personal demons for much of his personal life before dying at the age of 63 from a head injury.
Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso found his greatest success in the '90s with Extreme Championship Wrestling, twice winning the ECW's World Heavyweight Championship. He parlayed this success into a big contract with WCW, where — under a variety of gimmicks — he was unable to reach the same heights.
He made sporadic appearances across several outfits in the early 2000s. Sadly, Alfonso struggled with depression and was found dead in his home in 2007 after taking his own life. He was 42 years old.
Andrew "Test" Martin
The hulking Canadian was discovered by Bret Hart while he was working as a bouncer. He trained under Hart and made his independent debut in 1997. His in-ring ability and impressive size soon attracted the attention of the WWF, where he signed in 1998.
Test was immediately placed into a main event storyline with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, but struggled to find success after the angle had run its course. In 2009, shortly before his 34th birthday, he was found dead in his Tampa home.
Scott Hall
Scott Hall — who wrestled under his real name as well as the Razor Ramon gimmick — had enough charisma to become a fan favorite despite various villainous personas. His personal struggles with alcohol became so well known that WCW parlayed them into a bad taste storyline in the late '90s.
Under the guidance of Diamond Dallas Page, Hall was able to get his life together following his retirement. His redemption story came to a sad end in 2022 after a broken hip led to a dislodged blood clot, which caused him to suffer three heart attacks. He was taken off life support at the age of 63.
Sherri Martel
Sherri Martel — who went by the monikers of Sensational Sherri, Sensuous Sherri, Queen Sherri, Sister Sherri, and many more — was one of the most iconic wrestling valets in WWF and WCW history. But before her time in the big promotions, she was an accomplished wrestler.
Martel never fully left the wrestling world, and made her last televised appearance with TNA in 2006. Less than a year later, she died of an overdose at the age of 49.
Brian Christopher
Brian Christopher, the son of legendary Memphis wrestler and announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler, found his greatest success in WWF/WWE as a member of Too Cool. The stable — which consisted of Christopher (known as Grandmaster Sexay), Scott Taylor (Scotty 2 Hotty), and Rikishi — was one of the most popular of the Attitude Era.
Following a DUI arrest in 2018, Christopher was jailed in Hardeman County, Tennessee. He took his own life in his jail cell and was pronounced brain dead at the age of 46.
Steve "Dr. Death" Williams
The hulking Steve Williams packed an impressive amount of muscle onto his compact 6'1" frame and transitioned from a pro football career to wrestling in the early '80s. Williams found his most success wrestling overseas for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
He made his WWF debut in 1998 to much fanfare, but his career suffered a permanent setback after he was beaten in the "Brawl for All" — a series of real fights that he'd been expected to win. Later in life he developed throat cancer, eventually dying of the disease at age 49.
Brian "Crush" Adams
The big Hawaiian found success with various gimmicks — including the fan-favorite Crush in the early '90s — along with a more villainous persona in WCW where he wrestled using his real name.
Adams was never able to capture the top belt in any promotion, but he was a consistent upper-midcard talent through most of the '90s. He was found dead in 2007 at the age of 43 after overdosing on painkillers and sedatives.
Vader
Leon White, who wrestled under the ring names Big Van Vader and Vader, was another wrestler who started as a football player before turning his attention to the squared circle.
With his imposing size and intimidating mask, Vader was a successful monster heel both in North America and Japan, regularly contending for the top belt in various promotions. Years of heavy alcohol consumption and an intense travel schedule took their toll on the big man, and he died of congestive heart failure at the age of 63.
Yokozuna
Yokozuna was billed as a sumo wrestler from Japan, but this mainstay of the early '90s WWF was actually Samoan. Agatupu Rodney Anoa'i was a member of the famous Anoa'i family, which also includes Roman Reigns and The Rock.
His large 500+ pound frame made him an intimidating presence in the ring but also severely impacted his health. He died of a pulmonary edema in his hotel room in 2000, aged just 34 years old.
Luna Vachon
Vachon, who was adopted into a wrestling family at a young age, was born to play her role. She found her greatest success as a villainous heel, adopting a unique half-shaved hairstyle and raspy voice to match her persona.
In 2010, at the age of 48, Vachon was found dead in her Florida home. A coroner's report concluded that she died from an overdose of oxycodone and benzodiazepine.
Rick Rude
"Ravishing" Rick Rude came from the same Minnesota high school that also produced fellow wrestlers Curt Hennig and Nikita Koloff. Rude built a successful WWF career as a self-absorbed ladies' man, engaging in memorable feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Paul Orndorff.
Injuries caused Rude to cash in on a Lloyd's of London insurance policy, and he subsequently only appeared as a manager who didn't actually wrestle. In 1999, the 40-year-old was found dead after overdosing on various medications.
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith — best known as the British Bulldog — got his start in England with the Dynamite Kid in a tag team known, appropriately enough, as the British Bulldogs.
After injuries and personal demons cut the Dynamite Kid's career short, Davey Boy found success as both a solo and tag team wrestler in the WWF and WCW. His most memorable match came in 1992 against his brother-in-law, Bret Hart, at Wembley Stadium. Smith died at 39 in 2002.
New Jack
Jerome Young, who wrestled under the name New Jack, was one of the most iconic hardcore wrestlers of all time. His gritty, violent, and dangerous in-ring style stood out even in the ultra-violent late '90s ECW.
Decades of wrestling injuries left New Jack's body in rough shape, and he was prescribed a steady diet of painkillers during his retirement. He developed blood clots and became mostly bedridden before dying of a heart attack in 2021 at the age of 58.
Big Daddy V
Nelson Frazier Jr.'s massive 6'9", 487-pound frame made him a natural wrestling big man. He broke into the business at a young age under the name of Mabel, and won the 1995 King of the Ring tournament.
A number of other gimmicks followed, including Viscera and Big Daddy V. Frazier died of a heart attack at the age of 43 in February of 2014. Following his death, his widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against WWE, alleging that head injuries had hastened his death.
Chris Benoit
The focal point of one of the darkest stories in the history of pro wrestling, Chris Benoit's legacy as a talented in-ring performer was undone in 2007.
Over a three-day period, Benoit claimed the lives of his wife Nancy (who was also a wrestling valet) and son Daniel in their Georgia home before taking his own life. It's believed that some combination of heavy steroid use, head injuries, and a failing marriage contributed to the tragedy. Today, Benoit is understandably persona non grata in the world of wrestling.
Brodie Lee
Jonathan Huber first made his mark in the backyard wrestling scene in the early 2000s and joined WWE in 2012 as a member of the Wyatt Family stable under the ring name Luke Harper (eventually shortened to Harper).
Following a successful seven-year run in WWE, Huber jumped to AEW, where he became known as Brodie Lee. He passed away on the day after Christmas in 2020 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a rare lung condition — at the age of 41.
Daffney
Daffney — whose real name was Shannon Claire Spruill — became a WCW mainstay in 1999 after replying to an ad seeking new wrestling talent. She played an unhinged, Harley Quinn-esque character and mostly appeared as a valet rather than performing in the ring.
Following the dissolution of WCW, she spent more than a decade in the independent circuit, with her most notable stop being two separate stints with TNA Wrestling. Unfortunately, she dealt with bipolar disorder throughout her adult life and eventually took her life at the age of 46.
Darren Drozdov
Droz started out with a promising football career at the University of Maryland followed by three years with the Denver Broncos. He made the leap to pro wrestling when he joined the ECW in 1997 and then the WWF the following year.
A talented in-ring performer with an impressive physique, Droz was paralyzed from the neck down in a match with D'Lo Brown. He went on to work behind the scenes with WWE for many years. In 2023, at the age of 54, he passed away in his native New Jersey.
Jay Briscoe
Jay Briscoe — real name Jamin Dale Pugh — teamed up with his brother in Ring of Honor wrestling. The controversial performer split his career between ROH, Jersey All-Pro Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Sadly, he died in January of 2023 in a car crash at the age of 38. While he never made the leap to WWE, he was nonetheless honored by the promotion, with WWE CCO Triple H calling him an "incredible performer."
Bruiser Brody
Bruiser Brody was a top draw throughout his career in North America and Japan, where his raw, brawling style stood as a marked contrast to many of the more cartoonish wrestlers of the era.
Sadly, in 1988, Brody became involved in one of the darkest backstage moments in wrestling history. After wrestling a match in Puerto Rico, Brody was stabbed to death by wrestler José González, who was determined to have killed Brody in self-defense.
Kerry Von Erich
A member of the legendary and ill-fated Von Erich wrestling family, Kerry Von Erich was a massive star in the Dallas-based promotion World Class Championship Wrestling throughout the '80s. After making the leap to the WWF in 1990, he was known by the ring name "Texas Tornado."
Von Erich struggled with personal demons throughout his life, losing his foot in a motorcycle accident, which forced him to wrestle with a significant handicap. At the age of 33, he took his own life.
Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor, who wrestled under various police and prison guard-themed gimmicks (Big Boss Man, Guardian Angel, and Big Bubba), found wrestling success at a young age during the Hulkamania years of the '80s. Years later, he was a key player during the Attitude Era.
Traylor managed to avoid much of the controversy and personal struggles that plague many former wrestlers. Unfortunately, the 41-year-old died of a heart attack in September of 2004.
Crash Holly
The undersized Crash Holly (real name Mike Lockwood) found success in the late '90s WWF. There, he was teamed with his storyline cousin, Hardcore Holly, in a gimmick where both men thought they were bigger and tougher than they really were.
Crash spent five years with WWF/WWE before moving onto the independent circuit in 2003. Later that year, he was found dead of an overdose at the age of 32.
Brian Pillman
Pillman was an incredibly talented in-ring performer who went from pro football to training with the Hart family in Calgary. His unhinged persona made him a great fit for the edgy Attitude Era — and he arguably pushed the envelope too far in several angles.
In 1997, before a WWF pay-per-view, the 35-year-old was found dead in his hotel room. Pillman suffered from atherosclerotic heart disease throughout his life and died of a heart attack.
Bray Wyatt
Windham Lawrence Rotunda was born to be a wrestler. The son of '80s mainstay Mike Rotunda (better known as I.R.S.) and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, the imposing Rotunda found success after switching his in-ring name from Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt.
As head of the cultish Wyatt Family stable, Wyatt was a one-time WWE Champion. In 2023, he passed away from a heart attack in his Florida home. He was 36 years old.