A most dangerous sport - early-death wrestlers
Chris Benoit is the latest in a long line of pro wrestlers to meet an untimely demise. That he murdered his wife, Nancy Benoit, and their seven year old son (said to suffer from Fragile-X syndrome) only adds to the pro-wrestling premature-death body count.
Wrestlers Who Have Died Before the Age of 60 (Since 1985)
Adrian Adonis - 34 (car accident)
Andre the Giant - 46 (congestive heart failure)
Art Barr - 28 (unknown)
Bam Bam Bigelow - 45 (drug toxicity)
Bertha Faye - 40 (drug overdose)
Big Boss Man - 42 (heart attack)
Big Dick Dudley - 34 (kidney failure)
Big John Studd - 46 (liver cancer)
Billy Joe Travis - 40 (heart attack)
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34 (drug overdose)
Brady Boone - 40 (car accident)
Brian Pillman - 35 (arteriosclerotic heart disease)
Bruiser Brody - 42 (stabbed to death)
Bulldog Brown - 58 (heart attack)
Buzz Sawyer - 32 (heart attack)
Chris Adams - 46 (shot)
Chris Benoit - 40 (suicide - hanging)
Chris Candido - 33 (blood clot)
Chris Von Erich - 21 (suicide - shooting)
Crash Holly - 32 (overdose)
Curt Hennig - 44 (cocaine intoxication)
D.J. Peterson - 33 (motorcycle crash)
Davey Boy Smith - 39 (heart attack)
Dick Murdoch - 49 (heart attack)
Dino Bravo - 44 (murdered)
Dr. Jerry Graham - 58 (stroke)
Earthquake - 42 (bladder cancer)
Ed Gatner - 31
Eddie Gilbert - 33 (heart attack)
Eddie Graham - 55 (suicide - shooting)
Eddie Guerrero - 38 (acute heart failure)
Gary Albright - 34 (heart failure - in the ring)
Gene Anderson - 58 (heart attack)
Gino Hernandez - 29 (officially, a cocaine overdose although initially thought murdered)
Hawk - 46 (heart attack)
Haystacks Calhoun- 55 (diabetes)
Hercules - 45 (heart disease)
Jay Youngblood - 30 (ruptured spleen)
Jeep Swenson - 40 (heart failure)
Jerry Blackwell - 45 (Pneumonia)
Joey Marella - 30 (car crash)
Johnny Grunge - 39 (sleep apnoea complications)
Jumbo Tsuruta - 49 (kidney transplant surgery complications)
Junkyard Dog - 45 (car accident)
Ken Timbs - 53 (cardiomyopathy / heart failure)
Kerry Von Erich - 33 (suicide)
Larry Cameron - 41 (heart attack)
Leroy Brown - 38 (heart attack)
Louie Spiccoli - 27 (choked on his own vomit)
Marianna Komlos - 35 (breast cancer)
Mark Curtis - 38 (stomach and bowel cancer)
Mike Awesome - 42 (probable suicide - hanging)
Mike Davis - 46 (heart attack)
Mike Von Erich - 23 (suicide - overdose)
Miss Elizabeth - 42 (accidental overdose)
Moondog King - 56
Moondog Spot - 51 (heart attack in the ring)
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43 (murdered by her pro-wrestling husband, Chris Benoit)
Owen Hart - 33 (died of blunt chest trauma after WWF stunt went badly wrong)
Pez Whatley - 54 (heart attack)
Pitbull #2 - 36 (drug overdose)
Randy Anderson - 41 (cancer)
Ray Candy - 43 (heart attack)
Rick McGraw - 30 (heart attack)
Rick Rude - 41 (heart failure from ‘mixed medications’)
Rocco Rock - 49 (heart attack)
Sherri Martel - 49 (not natural causes but not murder)
Tarzan Tyler - 55 (car accident)
Terry Gordy - 40 (blood clot induced heart attack)
The Renegade - 33 (suicide - shooting)
The Spoiler - 56 (heart attack / leukaemia)
The Wall / Malice - 36 (heart attack)
Tony Parisi - 58 (heart attack)
Uncle Elmer - 54 (diabetes)
Vivian Vachon - 40 (road accident)
Yokozuna - 34 (heart attack)
Essential in compiling this list:
Wrestling’s Dirty Secret - About.com
Wrestling Information Archive
Add comment June 27th, 2007
