Wrestling Deaths
Bruiser Brody
On July 17 1988 Frank "Bruiser Brody" Goodish was wrestling in Puerto Rico for WWC. It is believed Brody and wrestler Jose Gonzales (also known as Invader III) got into a fight over something and it resulted in Brody being stabbed to death by Gonzales. Gonzales was arrested and questioned but no other wrestler would testify against Gonzales as the other Puerto Rican wrestlers were not fond of American wrestlers at all and the American wrestlers were scared for their lives if they talked. The case was never figured out and Jose Gonzales has never been charged of anything.
Adrian Adonis
On July 4, 1988, Keith "Adrian Adonis" Franke died when his rented minivan hit a moose while on a wrestling tour in Newfoundland, Canada. Moose/vehicle accidents are rather common in Newfoundland in the summer months, however very few are fatal (maybe 5-6 deaths per year). Adonis' accident happenned just before sunset, with the low-lying sun blinding the driver. Inin the crash were wrestlers Pat Kelly and Dave McKigney. The driver who was also a wrestler Mike Kelly was not killed but had a severely injured leg.
Dino Bravo
On March 11, 1993 Dino Bravo was gunned down gangland style in his apartment in Quebec, Canada, and has been figured as the target of an organized crime hit because of his involvement in cigarette smuggling activities in Canada. Scores of spent shells were found with Bravo's bullet-ridden corpse. He was 44.
Louie Spicoli
Louie Spicoli has taken a large quantity of the drug Soma and large quantities of alcohol. It was rumored he died of a heart attack but the actual cause of death was suffocation on his own vomit.
Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman died of a heart attack. Even though it's rumored to be caused by use of drugs and alcohol Pillman's death was actually caused by a heart condition that was not detected. He died peacefully in his sleep in his hotel room the day of WWF's Badd Blood ppv.
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter or as fans know him as Junkyard Dog died after falling asleep while driving his car and hitting a tree. He had just attended his daughter's graduation which is the one thing he said he wanted to do before he died.
Ravishing Rick Rude
Rick Rude died of a heart attack on April 20, 1999. A bottle of prescription pills(for his bad back) was found by his side and it's rumored that he had overdosed on them. He was 40 years old.
The Renegade
The Renegade whose real name is Rick Williams committed suicide by shooting himself in 1999. Williams had been recently released from WCW. When Williams first went to WCW he was given a huge push but soon after he dropped off a WCW television and Williams never could handle it.
Owen Hart
Owen Hart died from falling from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City on May 23, 1999. It is believed while Owen was about to make his entrance from the roof his Blue Blazer costume got caught in the rigging wires which were being used to lower him. Owen fell over fifty feet and landed in the ring. He died of critical shock trauma caused by the impact of the fall.
"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig was found dead in his hotel room on February 10th, 2003 in Tampa, Florida. Currently, details surrounding the death are not known at this time but anything alcohol or drug related isn't expected to be the cause of the death.
Miss Elizabeth
On May 1, 2003, Elizabeth Huelette was at Lex Luger's home when she passed away. Huelette had some alcohol to drink after she had taken pills. The official cause of death was a drug overdose. Elizabeth was 42 years old.
Yokozuna
October 22, 2000 marks the day "Yokozuna" (Real Name: Rodney Anoia) passed away due to a heart attack. Anoia weighed in at almost 600 pounds at the time of his death. He was 34 years old.
The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith, better known to many as "The British Bulldog" passed away on May 17, 2002. Smith suffered a heart attack and was only 39 years old at the time of his death.
The Sheik
The Original Sheik, Ed Farahat passed away on January 18, 2003. Sheik was the trainer of both Rob Van Dam and Sabu. He died from natural causes.
"Classie" Freddie Blassie
At the age of 85, wrestling legend Freddie Blassie died from natural causes. Up until the year of his death, Blassie made occasional appearances on WWE TV, and also released a book before his death. The date of Blassie's death was June 2, 2003.
Stu Hart
The patriarch of the Hart family, another wrestling legend Stu Hart died on October 16, 2003 after battling a lengthy illness of pneumonia. Hart made a monumental impact on wrestling in Canada, and trained several wrestlers in the infamous "dungeon." All of Hart's son's got into wrestling, and all of his daughters ended up marrying wrestlers. Stu was 88 years old at the time of his passing.
Road Warrior Hawk
On October 19, 2003, at the age of 46, Micheal Hegstrand died of a heart attack. Hegstrand was moving into a new house with his wife, and went to rest after complaining about chest pains. Hegstrand never woke up.
Crash Holly
On November 6, 2003, at the age of 34, Michael Lockwood (known to wrestling fans as Crash Holly in WWE & Mad Mikey in TNA) was found dead in the home of former ECW & current WWE star Steven Richards' house. Lockwood was found face down in a pool of his own vomit and blood, with choking ruled as the possible cause of death. It is believed Lockwood overdosed on over 90 pills of Carisoprodol after an empty bottle was discovered by police authorties.
The Wall/Malice
On December 5, 2003, at the age of 36, Jerry Tuite (known to wrestling fans as The Wall in WCW & Malice in TNA) was found dead in his hotel by wrestlers Nosawa and La Parka while on an overseas tour with All Japan. The cause of death was ruled a sudden heart attack.
Hercules Hernandez
On March 6, 2004, at the age of 47, Raymond Fernandez (known to wrestling fans as Hercules Hernandez in the then WWF) was found dead at his home in Tampa, Florida as a result of a heart attack.
Big Bossman
On September 22, 2004, at the age of 42, Ray Traylor (known to wrestling fans as Big Bossman in the WWF/WWE) was found dead at his home as a result of a massive heart attack.
Chris Candido
On April 28, 2005, at the age of 33, Chris Candido (real name Chris Candito) passed away as a result of a blood clot in his system. A few days earlier on April 24, Candido suffered a broken leg at TNA's Lockdown PPV in a match where he teamed with Lance Hoyt against Apolo & Sonny Siaki. The next morning, Candido underwent surgery that saw pins and screws put into his leg to repair the injury. Candido was instructed to not stand or stay active on the leg. The next day on April 26, Candido took part in a TNA Impact! taping for Fox Sports Net that saw him get briefly involved from the ringside area to help The Naturals defeat America's Most Wanted for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. As a result of possibly standing up too much on the leg, Candido suffered a blood clot and passed away.
Lord Alfred Hayes
On July 21, 2005, at the age of 77, Lord Alfred Hayes (best known as the co-host for WWE Tuesday Night Titans with Vince McMahon) passed away after suffering a series of strokes earlier in the month at a nursing home he lived at in Dallas, Texas.
Eddie Guerrero
On November 13, 2005, at the age of 38, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was scheduled to take part in WWE's big SuperShow TV taping for both RAW and SmackDown. Eddie was found with a toothbrush in his mouth near the bathroom area of the hotel room. Cause of death was ruled as a heart failure. Guerrero was a top star with WWE at the time and played a very strong role on the company's SmackDown brand.
