The professional wrestling business is not just about sunshine and rainbows. It has always been about men and women going to the limits, just to make the fans cheer their name and bring the house down.
Though the business brings in fame and superstardom for most of the wrestlers, one thing that comes along with those advantages is tragedy. Ever since its inception, professional wrestling has been littered with tragic events, which have left the affected wrestlers in trauma.
Despite being faced with grave dangers, wrestlers usually get dragged into the vortex of hurting themselves, and ultimately give up their lives as the price. The number of wrestlers dying over the past few decades has been very high, with Nelson Frazier Jr. being the latest addition to that list.
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| 10 Terrible Deaths Of WWE Superstars. |
The Ultimate Warrior (Age: 54)
The Ultimate Warrior was a beast in his heyday. He spent a few years in the WWE (it was WWF back then) before moving to WCW in the year 1998.
He was a two-time Intercontinental Champion and he famously pinned Hulk Hogan in the main event at WrestleMania 6 to win his only World Heavyweight Championship, courtesy of which he was looked at as the Hulkster’s successor in the 90s.
He retired after wrestling just thrice in the WCW. And a decade after that, he wrestled one final time in Spain.
The Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014 on the 5th of April, following which he made an appearance on the 6th at WrestleMania 30, and appeared on RAW for the first time in 18 years on the 7th.
But unfortunately, he died the very next day on the 8th of April 2014, as a result of a heart attack.
Test (Age: 33)
Fans who have been following WWE since the Attitude Era days would not have forgotten the name Test.
Though he wasn’t a big name like some others in this list, Test was someone who was stuck in the gap between upper midcard and main event. The pushes that he had never really clicked, and he was left floundering down the card despite having the skills to top the charts.
Apart from WWE, he even had spells in some independent promotions and TNA before retiring from in-ring action.
However, Test didn’t have much time to spend in retirement as he died due to an overdose of oxycodone just three days before his 34th birthday. It was later revealed that he was suffering from a chronic brain injury caused by repeated blows to the head, which might have happened while wrestling.
Umaga (Age: 36)
After starting off his career as part of various tag teams in the WWE, Eddie Fatu finally found his footing in the business with the character Umaga.
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| Umaga (Age: 36) |
After that, however, Umaga was relegated into the intercontinental title scene and he soon left the company. In 2009, Umaga was found dead with blood coming out of his nose, and the cause of death was later revealed to be a heart attack.
There were also subsequent revelations that Umaga clearly violated many of the WWE talent wellness policies and was using many drugs which eventually contributed to his death.
Curt Hennig (Age: 44)
For the new fans he might be the father of Curtis Axel but for those who witnessed his rise as a superstar, Hennig was a name which had the potential to be one of the big fish in the business.
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| 10 Terrible Deaths Of WWE Superstars. |
The match between the two went down very well with the fans, and soon Hennig started jumping ships. He had spells in WCW and TNA as well.
Hennig was found dead in 2003 due to a cocaine overdose, and reports also suggested that the use of steroids and painkillers contributed to his death. Hennig was later inducted into the Hall of Fame and his legacy still remains in the company, in the form of Curtis Axel.
Randy Savage (Age: 58)
Randy Savage Randy Savage is arguably one of the very few superstars who found their way into the mainstream culture during the latter stages of the golden era. Savage was known for his trademark costumes and raspy voice along with a distinct in-ring charisma.Savage even went on to land a role in the first Spider-man film, making it clear that his career wasn’t going to be restricted to just wrestling.
Though Savage was almost out of the wrestling business by the time of this death, the popularity and the reputation that he established during his time in the ring made the news of his death truly shocking.
Savage died from a heart attack at the age of 58 and caused a whirlwind of reactions from all around the wrestling community. His death is easily among the most impactful ones in wrestling history.
6. Brian Pillman (Age: 35)
The evolution of Pillman from a cruiserweight into a credible character required less than a decade. In that time, he made the loose cannon one of the most famous gimmicks in the wrestling business. But no one could’ve foreseen such a career being shortened by the clutches of death.
Pillman was allegedly an alcoholic and also used drugs well beyond the prescribed limits. Reports suggest that it was those habits that contributed to his early demise.
Passing away at the age of 35, Pillman still could have contributed a lot to the wrestling world if it wasn’t for the untimely tragedy.
His death was a big blow for Vince McMahon, who saw not just a regular pay-per-view performer going away, but also faced a lot of negative publicity from all over the world. He wasn’t the first wrestler to die in this way, but Pillman was a big name and his demise created a huge buzz about the company’s drug policies.
