The world of professional wrestling is one filled with firepower, ferocity and a desire to entertain the masses.
For decades, those inside the ring have thrilled thousands in stadiums and millions watching from television sets all around the globe.
Though, there is a harrowing side to life as a wrestler. While the likes of John Cena, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Hulk Hogan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin look to have charmed lives – there are many who have passed on due to varying health complications.
Suicides, heart complications or substance abuse issues have derailed and, in some cases, ended the lives of an alarming number of in-ring entertainers.
Here, Mail Sport delves into the morbid reality which has plagued wrestling in both the present and past.
The death of legendary WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero back in 2005 stunned the sports world
Andre the Giant’s sudden passing due to congestive heart failure at 46 rocked wrestling
Perhaps the most famous premature death among all pro wrestlers is that of Eddie Guerrero, who passed away November 13, 2005, aged 38, due to acute heart failure resulting from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Another prominent name to have departed was Andre the Giant, who suffered congestive heart failure at the age of 46.
There are countless examples of famed wrestlers who have passed in their 30s, 40s and 50s. The reasons for each understandably vary and of course, in some cases, wrestling is not a link.
And yet a 2014 study conducted by Eastern Michigan University analyzed causes of death for those who wrestled between 1985 and 2011. It revealed deaths related to drug overdose were 122.7x higher. Similarly, death via cardiovascular complications was 15.1x greater than the average male.
The passing of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall on March 14, 2022 – aged 63 – prompted former colleagues Brett Hart and Kevin Nash to speak to the grim realities wrestlers, particularly from the 80s and 90s, have endured.
‘We’ve lost so many wrestlers from my era, and this is just one more to a list that’s far too long,’ Hart said in a Facebook post following Hall’s death.
‘I won’t blame any one thing, but I do believe that if the days of wrestling 300 days a year had been kinder and more considerate, if we could’ve been home with our loved ones more, many of my old friends and brothers would still be here.’
In response to Hart’s comments, Nash replied; ‘100% the meat grinder hasn’t been kind to the crews that ran 300 plus days.
Famed WWF wrestler Scott Hall – pictured vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania X8 – passed away at the age of 63 – after suffering three heart attacks following hip replacement surgery in 2022
Both Chyna (L) and Ashley Massaro (R) have both passed away — aged 46 and 39, respectively
Fan favorite Umaga, who once failed to help Vince McMahon defeat Donald Trump, died at 36
‘The mental and physical pain of those years scar hard and deep but the men that I shared my life with were such a special breed and many life long friends.’
Such is the scale of premature death from those eras that 17 of the 36 wrestlers who performed in WrestleMania VI (1990) have since passed.
The EMU study in 2014 also linked analgesic abuse – using drugs repeatedly to alleviate pain – and anabolic steroid abuse to cardiovascular disease. All three of which have been prominent in the wrestling industry for decades – particularly in the 1980s and 90s.
‘You self-medicate,’ former WWE wrestler Marc Mero told the Washington Post in 2007 following the death of Chris Benoit. ‘You suck it up and perform. If it leads to an addiction, that’s part of [the job]. Because, if you can’t [perform], there are a hundred guys willing to take your place.’
Former WCW, TNA and AEW wrestler Konnan told the Post how some are able to make it through the brutal schedule, which involved 300+ days on the road.
‘You get into a cycle where you need something to get you to bed at night, then something to get you up in the morning, then something to pick you up during the day, then something to bring you down at night,’ he said in 2007.
Benoit committed murder-suicide in June 2007, killing his wife, Nancy, and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, before committing suicide. Tests were conducted on Benoit by West Virginia University’s head of neuroscience followed the horrific incident.
It revealed that the 40-year-old Benoit had damaged his brain via countless concussions that it ‘resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient’, via ABC News.
Chris Benoit committed murder-suicide in June 2007, killing his wife and seven-year-old son. Tests conducted on Benoit’s by West Virginia University’s head of neuroscience revealed the 40-year-old’s brain ‘resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient’
Viscera — also known as Big Daddy V — passed away due to a heart attack in 2014, aged 43
CTE has become a cause for concern among wrestlers and other athletes who compete in contact – albeit unscripted – sports, such as football and hockey.
Several pro wrestlers claimed in lawsuits filed in 2018 that the WWE had failed to provide to adequately protect them from repetitive head injuries leading to brain damage, per AP.
These were eventually dismissed and later appeals were declined by the U.S. Supreme Court. In all, there were more than 50 wrestlers – a majority at their peak in the 80s and 90s listed as plaintiffs.
Per their attorney, Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka and Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara passed away in 2017 and 2016 respectively, due to CTE.
According to Boston University’s CTE Center, the condition can only be diagnosed posthumously.
A litany of famous pro wrestling superstars have died from suicide, drug-related or cardiovascular deaths. Though, it has made strides to improve the health and well-being of its talent.
”The business has changed so much since I started. I think a whole lot better,’ John Cena said during a July interview with Kevin Hart.
‘The talent are better taken care of. They’re more professional. They’re more understanding. They’re not as wasteful, they’re a lot smarter. They’re a lot healthier,’ he added.
‘Wrestlers have been more educated, more up to speed,’ Hogan said in a 2011 ESPN interview.
‘I mean before, back in the day, you’d have the match at Madison Square Garden, the Boston Garden, all the wrestlers would see each other down at the Marriott bar.
‘Nowadays, all the guys go up and they go to the room and play video games, or go on their computer.’
In 2006, WWE established a Talent Wellness Program which includes cardiovascular and brain function testing, in addition to substance abuse and drug testing, among others things.
According to the conglomerate, it is independently administered by ‘world renowned professionals.’
NOTABLE WRESTLING DEATHS
Eddie Guerrero (38) – Arteriosclerotic heart disease
Chris Benoit (40) – Suicide
Andre the Giant (46) – Heart failure
Chyna (46) – Overdose
Crash Holly (32) – Suicide
Ashley Massaro (39) – Suicide
Owen Hart (39) – Fall during WWF event
Umaga (36) – Heart attack/repeated drug use
Big Daddy V (43) – Heart attack
Road Warrior Animal (60) – Heart attack
Road Warrior Hawk (46) – Heart attack
Randy Savage (58) – Heart attack
Dusty Rhodes (69) – Kidney disease
Rowdy Roddy Piper (61) – Cardiac arrest
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