# Pro Wrestling deaths and causes



## Bob Hubbard (Sep 21, 2003)

I saw this and thought, damn.... the ages some of these guys went at...

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Ted Pretty(ROCCO ROCK) -2002, 40, heart attack

Davey Boy Smith 1963-2002 39, heart trouble

Lou Thesz 1916-2002 86, natural causes

Wahoo McDaniel 1938-2002 64, renal failure and diabetes

Maniac Mike Davis 1956-2001 45, heart attack

"Gentleman" Chris Adams 1955-2001 46, murdered 

Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy 1961-2001 40, heart trouble 

Yokosuna 1965-2000 34, heart attack

Bobby Duncam Jr. 1966-2000 34, pain killer complications

Owen Hart 1965-1999 33, wrestling accident

Rick Rude 1958-1999 41, heart attack

The Renegade 1966-1999 33, suicide

Giant Baba 1938-1999 61, cancer

Bobo Brazil ?-1998 heart trouble

Junkyard Dog 1953-1998 45, auto accident

Fritz Von Erich 1929-1997 68, cancer

Stan Staziak 1937-1997 60, heart failure

Gorilla Monsoon 1918-1997 79, natural causes

Brian Pillman 1962-1997 35, heart attack

Dick Murdoch 1947-1996 49, heart attack

Ray Stevens 1936-1996 60, heart attack

Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell 1950-1995 44, pneumonia 

Big John Studd 1948-1995 47, liver cancer

Eddie "Hotstuff" Gilbert 1962-1995 33, heart attack 

Andre the Giant 1949-1993 44, heart attack

Kerry Von Erich 1960-1993 33, suicide

Dino Bravo 1949-1993 44, murdered

Uncle Elmer 1931-1992 61, kidney failure

Buddy Rogers 1921-1992 71, stroke

Buzz Sawyer 1960-1992 32, overdose

Chris Von Erich 1971-1991 20, suicide

Haystacks Calhoun 1933-1989 56, diabetes

Adrian Adonis 1964-1988 24, auto accident

Bruiser Brody 1946-1988 42, murdered

Mike Von Erich 1964-1987 23, suicide

Gino Hernandez 1957-1986 29, overdose

David Von Erich 1959-1984 25, overdose

Abdullah Farouk 1929-1983 54, heart attack


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## arnisador (Sep 21, 2003)

Seems like a lot of young deaths.


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## Bob Hubbard (Sep 21, 2003)

Not sure of the averages... ALOT! of drug related though.

Pillman, Rude, and a few more I believe were in some way influenced by the use of drugs.

Also, notice the high number of suicides...it pretty much wiped out the Von Eric family....right now, I think only Kevin is left.


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## Kroy (Sep 21, 2003)

It's no secret that alot of those guys were on the juice. You can only push the envelope so far.


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## James Kovacich (Sep 21, 2003)

I've always felt that the wrestlers mysterious death in their sleep was related to steroids.

One of the Von Erichs, I think Kerry was the Ultimate Warrior. I remember seeing that story on TV.:asian:


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## Bob Hubbard (Sep 21, 2003)

Kerry turned to drugs after losing his leg....eventually, it all got to him and he took his own life.

Was sad, as the family were always good entertainers.


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## pknox (Sep 22, 2003)

I had heard that the Dino Bravo murder was supposedly mob related.  I don't know if that's a rumor placed by the WWE to further his "pizano" credentials or the truth.  Supposedly he was quite the gambler and did have a horrific debt though.

There's a gentleman who wrote a book called "Tributes" that details quite a few of the deaths you mentioned.  I wish I could remember his name.  The book is definitely worth a look.  It should be available at most B&N and/or Borders shops.

The Von Erich thing is sad -- check out the book, as it goes into a bit of detail about all of the trials the VE family had -- it almost seems like Kerry was predestined to go in a bad way. 

Some of those names sure bring back some cool childhood memories.  I don't know how many times I pretended I was Adrian Adonis when putting my brother into a sleeper hold -- we even made sure to say "Goodnight Irene", just like Gorilla Monsoon.   

BTW -- I saw WWE Confidential this week, and Superstar Billy Graham was on it (he must have heard about me mentioning him in the other WWE thread  ) -- he details how steroids messed him up, and how he mostly lied about them to get Vince in trouble.  I was surprised to see him, because I thought he had died a little while ago.


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## pknox (Sep 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Kroy _
> *It's no secret that alot of those guys were on the juice. You can only push the envelope so far. *



Absolutely.  But some of the drug deaths were supposedly related to drugs not of the "performance enhancing" variety as well.  Evidently the WWE was a hotbed of coke use back in the day.


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## Kroy (Sep 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by pknox _
> *Absolutely.  But some of the drug deaths were supposedly related to drugs not of the "performance enhancing" variety as well.  Evidently the WWE was a hotbed of coke use back in the day. *



So true. I think that is what happened to Miss Elizabeth a few months back.


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## TallAdam85 (Sep 23, 2003)

Maybe jucie but also alot of heart problems maybe to much for the body to take wrestle all day party all night


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## Cruentus (Sep 23, 2003)

A lot of these deaths are clear side effects from steriods, especially Heart, Liver, and kidney problems. That doesn't mean that they are all related to steriods, but I don't doubt that many probably are.


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## pknox (Sep 23, 2003)

I agree.  I hope the WWE athletes of today learned something from their predecessors and have stayed off the stuff.  By the looks of some of the guys, however, that doesn't seem to be the case.  

To add to the list, wasn't Bruiser Brody stabbed to death by a fellow wrestler?  I believe it was in Mexico, but I'm not sure.


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## Shinzu (Oct 3, 2003)

does anyone remember "the wizard" and "quick draw" rick mcgraw?


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## Shinzu (Oct 3, 2003)

supper fly jimmy snuka was my favorite... and the tanga kid!


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## pknox (Oct 3, 2003)

Ah.  The Grand Wizard of Wrestling...now you guys are bringing back some serious memories!  I don't know how many times I pretended I was the "Superfly" when I jumped off the couch onto my brother.  I vividly remember the first time Snuka talked on TV, after he had taken Buddy Rogers as a manager (if you remember, before that, when he was with Captain Lou Albano, he never spoke).  My brother and I couldn't believe it, and were going nuts!  Growing up, I also loved Mil Mascaras, George "The Animal" Steele, Jessie "The Body" Ventura, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, and later, the Ultimate Warrior. Of course, I was also a fan of the Hulkster, like everybody else.  I love the WWE today, but it's definitely different.  There was something almost innocent about those Sunday mornings in the old days...


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## James Kovacich (Oct 3, 2003)

As a kid watching with my dad. My favorites were Peter Mavia and Rocky Johnson. The bad guys were Moon Dog Mane and Kenji Shabuya and Mr. Fuji. 

Back then Pat Patterson lived around the block from me (for a short time) in Newark, Ca. Me and my brother were amazed when we saw him in line at a 7/11.

:asian:


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## pknox (Oct 3, 2003)

> _Originally posted by akja _
> *As a kid watching with my dad. My favorites were Peter Mavia and Rocky Johnson.*



So are you a fan of The Rock now as well?


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## pknox (Oct 3, 2003)

> _Originally posted by akja _
> *Back then Pat Patterson lived around the block from me (for a short time) in Newark, Ca. Me and my brother were amazed when we saw him in line at a 7/11.
> *



I know what you mean.  I met Don Muraco working out at a gym once (after he had pretty much stopped wrestling), and I was basically like a little kid.  I also remember him sweating like a pig, and it smelling like crisco!


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## pknox (Oct 3, 2003)

By the way, the name of the book I was talking about is _Tributes: Remembering Some of the World's Greatest Wrestlers_, and it's by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek.  Here's a link to the book at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1553660854/002-2241417-0936033?v=glance

When I was looking for the author's name, I also found a link to a page that has fan tributes of some former greats:

http://www.ddtdigest.com/tribute.htm


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## James Kovacich (Oct 3, 2003)

> _Originally posted by pknox _
> *So are you a fan of The Rock now as well? *



The Rocks cool, especially having the Mavia/Johnson heritage but wrestlin' just isn't like it was when I was a kid.

I used to tell my Dad that I could beat the midget wrestlers using Karate. I thought a double kick would beat anything.

He told me they were men and would beat the hell out of me!


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## pknox (Oct 3, 2003)

Yeah.  It seems a lot of us watched wrestling with our dads.  That definitely made it even better.  That's why I try to watch it with my son (and daughters) too.  I agree that the wrestling today is not the same -- it's good, but definitely different.  I wish someone would rerun those old shows.  I'll bet my kids would get a kick out of it (and my dad too).


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## Shinzu (Oct 4, 2003)

ricky the dragon steamboat, the iron sheik, bob backland, tito santana, cheif j strongbow, the samowans, andre the giant.... what about sargent slaughter and mr. t!!!

what was the name of the big texas guy who always fought andre and used his glove as a finishing move??  they were famous for fighting each other.


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## Kroy (Oct 4, 2003)

Dont forget  Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka


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## pknox (Oct 4, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Shinzu _
> *what was the name of the big texas guy who always fought andre and used his glove as a finishing move??  they were famous for fighting each other. *



Blackjack Mulligan?


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## Shinzu (Oct 4, 2003)

yeah thats it!!!!!   thanx buddy


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## Kroy (Oct 4, 2003)

One of my favorites as a kid was the midget wrestling:lol:


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## pknox (Oct 4, 2003)

That was cool.  I haven't seen it in a long time.


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## Cliarlaoch (Oct 4, 2003)

Always was a fun of The Hitman, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and some of the newer guys like 'Taker and Mankind/Mick Foley (who avoided being on the fatalities list by the sheer grace of God).

Older wrestlers... I liked watching the Hulkster and Andre the Giant, for one, and guys like Jushin Liger and some of the other Japanese stars (who are phenomenal, by the way)... and of course, the Nature Boy, Ric Flair, was one of the guys I absolutely loved to boo. Guys like him and the others (new and old) are what made wrestling fun to watch. Now it's not so innocent as it used to be, and I don't like that, and half of 'em don't even wrestle all that much (*cough Goldberg cough*), but hey, what can you do?


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## arnisador (Oct 4, 2003)

Andre the Giant, definitely!


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## Kroy (Oct 5, 2003)

> _Originally posted by pknox _
> *Blackjack Mulligan? *



I have watched wrestling for years and for some strange reason I cannot remember this guy.


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## pknox (Oct 5, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Kroy _
> *I have watched wrestling for years and for some strange reason I cannot remember this guy. *



Real tall, always dressed in black, had almost a handlebar mustache.  His son is Barry Windham, who once wrestled under the name of "Blackjack Mulligan Jr."

Here's a picture:






This site also has a more in-depth profile:
http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosM/mulligan_blackjack.html


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