A most dangerous sport – early-death wrestlers: Dead Wrestlers

Dead Wrestlers and Pro Wrestler’s Deaths

Last updated: December 2009

Edward “Eddie” Fatu – died of a heart attack on December 4th 2009

Andrew “Test” Martin – breaking news that ‘Test’ has been found dead on March 13, 2009 at just 33 years of age, only a few days short of his 34th birthday.

Martin’s last stint in the WWE lasted from 2006-2007 but saw him (and others) leave under a cloud after falling foul of the company’s Wellness Policy. Early reports are sketchy and speculative but some are attributing his early death as a result of steroid abuse. More to follow.

Update: Andrew ‘Test’ Martin died from an accidental drug overdose.

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.

Below is a list of dead wrestlers who have died or been killed before the age of 60.

Famous Wrestlers Who Have Died Before the Age of 60 (Since 1985) – Updated March 2009

Adrian Adonis (Keith Franke) – 34 (car accident)
Andre the Giant (André Roussimoff) – 46 (congestive heart failure)
Andrew ‘Test’ Martin – 33 (accidental drug overdose).
Art Barr – 28 (unknown)
Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Charles Bigelow) – 45 (drug toxicity)
Bertha Faye (Rhonda Singh) – 40 (drug overdose)
Big Boss Man (Raymond W. Traylor, Jr.) – 42 (heart attack)
Big Dick Dudley (Alex Rizzo) – 34 (kidney failure)
Big John Studd (John William Minton) – 46 (liver cancer)
Billy Joe Travis (William Joseph) – 40 (heart attack)
Bobby Duncum Jr. – 34 (drug overdose)
Brady Boone (Dean R. Peters) – 40 (car accident)
Brian Adams – 44 (inconclusive, possible prescription med overdose)
Brian Pillman (Flyin’ Brian) – 35 (arteriosclerotic heart disease)
Bruiser Brody (Frank Goodish) – 42 (stabbed to death)
Bulldog Brown (Robert Brown) – 58 (heart attack)
Buzz Sawyer (Bruce Woyan) – 32 (heart attack)
Chase Tatum – 34 (accidental drug overdose)
Chris Adams – 46 (shot)
Chris Benoit – 40 (suicide – hanging)
Chris Candido – 33 (blood clot)
Chris Von Erich (Chris Adkisson) – 21 (suicide – shooting)
Crash Holly (Mike Lockwood) – 32 (overdose)
Curt Hennig – 44 (cocaine intoxication)
D.J. Peterson – 33 (motorcycle crash)
Davey Boy Smith (The British Bulldog) – 39 (heart attack)
Dave Sheldon (“Angel of Death”) – 52 (Unknown)
Dick Murdoch – 49 (heart attack)
Dino Bravo (Adolfo Bresciano) – 44 (murdered)
Dr. Jerry Graham – 58 (stroke)
Earthquake (John Tenta) – 42 (bladder cancer)
Ed Gatner – 31
Eddie Gilbert – 33 (heart attack)
Eddie Graham (Edward Gossett) – 55 (suicide – shooting)
Eddie Guerrero – 38 (acute heart failure)
Gary Albright – 34 (heart failure – in the ring)
Gene Anderson – 58 (heart attack)
Gino Hernandez (Charles Wolfe) – 29 (officially, a cocaine overdose although initially thought murdered)
Greg Gillies (“Mr Gillis,” “Doby Gillis”) – 44 (Heart Attack)
Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) – 46 (heart attack)
Haystacks Calhoun (William Calhoun) – 55 (diabetes)
Hercules (Raymond Fernandez) – 45 (heart disease)
Jay Youngblood (Steven Romero) – 30 (ruptured spleen)
Jeep Swenson (Robert Swenson, Jr.) – 40 (heart failure)
Jerry Blackwell – 45 (Pneumonia)
Joey Marella – 30 (car crash)
John Kronus (George B. Caiazzo) – 38 (heart failure)
Johnny Grunge (Michael “Mike” Durham) – 39 (sleep apnoea complications)
Juan Manuel Rodriguez (Bestia Salvaje) – 46 (liver failure)
Jumbo Tsuruta (Tomomi Tsuruta) – 49 (kidney transplant surgery complications)
Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter) – 45 (car accident)
Ken Timbs – 53 (cardiomyopathy / heart failure)
Kerry Von Erich (Kerry Gene Adkisson) – 33 (suicide)
Larry Cameron – 41 (heart attack)
Leroy Brown (Roland Daniels) – 38 (heart attack)
Louie Spiccoli – 27 (choked on his own vomit)
Marianna Komlos – 35 (breast cancer)
Mark Curtis (Brian Curtis Hildebrand) – 38 (stomach and bowel cancer)
Mike Awesome (Michael Lee Alfonso) – 42 (probable suicide – hanging)
Mike Davis – 46 (heart attack)
Mike Von Erich (Michael Brent Adkisson) – 23 (suicide – overdose)
Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ann Hulette) – 42 (accidental overdose)
Moondog King (Ed “Sailor” White) – 56
Moondog Spot (Larry Booker) – 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 (Anthony Durante) – 36 (drug overdose)
Randy Anderson – 41 (cancer)
Ray Candy – 43 (heart attack)
Rick McGraw – 30 (heart attack)
Rick Rude (Richard Erwin Rood) – 41 (heart failure from ‘mixed medications’)
Rocco Rock (Theodore James Petty) – 49 (heart attack)
Sherri Martel (Sherri Schrull) – 49 (accidental drug overdose)
Tarzan Tyler (Camille Tourville) – 55 (car accident)
Terry Gordy – 40 (blood clot induced heart attack)
The Renegade (Richard C. Williams) – 33 (suicide – shooting)
The Spoiler (Don Jardine) – 56 (heart attack / leukaemia)
The Wall / Malice (Jerry Tuite) – 36 (heart attack)
Tony Parisi (Antonio Pugliese) – 58 (heart attack)
Umaga (Edward “Eddie” Fatu) – 36 (heart attack)
Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier) – 54 (diabetes)
Vivian Vachon – 40 (road accident)
Yokozuna (Rodney Agatupu Anoa’i) – 34 (heart attack)

Essential in compiling this list:
Wrestling’s Dirty Secret – About.com
Wrestling Information Archive