Unfortunately, a lot of our Childhood Heroes have already passed away, some as old men/women, some way too young.
Regardless of how old you are, whether you started watching Professional Wrestling during the Glory Days of the 1950s, 1960s & 1970s, the Golden Era (1983-1992), The New Generation Era (1993-1997), The Attitude Era (1997-2001) or The Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2007), it doesn’t matter, somewhere along the line all of you have heard about the passing of various Professional Wrestling Superstars.
Here’s the most complete list of every famous Pro-Wrestling Star who passed away, including the day and cause of death:
– Frank Gotch – December 16, 1917 – Uremic Poisoning
– “The French Angel” Maurice Tillet – August 4, 1954 – Heart Disease
– Rikidozan – December 15, 1963 – Stabbed
– Gorgeous George – December 26, 1963 – Heart Attack
– Ed “Strangler” Lewis – August 7, 1966 – Dies at Home
– George Hackenschmidt – February 19, 1968 – Dies at Home
– “Iron” Mike DiBiase – July 2, 1969 – Dies in Ring
– Skull Murphy – March 23, 1970 – Heart Attack
– Dory Funk Sr. – June 3, 1973 – Dies at Home
– The Swedish Angel – February 10, 1974 – Unknown
– Antonio Rocca – March 15, 1977 – Unknown
– Billy McGuire – July 14, 1979 – Heart Attack
– Peter Maivia – June 13, 1982 – Cancer
– Frank Tunney – May 20, 1983 – Heart Attack
– The Grand Wizard – October 12, 1983 – Heart Attack
– El Santo – February 5, 1984 – Heart Attack
– David Von Erich – February 10, 1984 – Acute Enteritis
– Vince McMahon Sr. – May 17, 1984 – Cancer
– Argentina Apollo – August 2, 1984 – Heart Attack
– Eddie Graham – January 21, 1985 – Suicide
– Jay Youngblood – September 2, 1985 – Heart Attack
– Rick McGraw – November 1, 1985 – Heart Attack
– Gino Hernandez – February 4, 1986 – Cocaine Overdose
– Mike Von Erich – April 12, 1987 – Suicide
– “Adorable” Adrian Adonis – July 4, 1988 – Car Accident
– Bruiser Brody – July 17, 1988 – Stabbed
– “Elijah Akeem” Leroy Brown – September 6, 1988 – Heart Attack
– Leroy McGuirk – September 9, 1988 – Dies at Home
– Mildred Burke – February 18, 1989 – Stroke
– Paul Boesch – March 7, 1989 – Dies at Home
– Happy Humphery – March 14, 1989 – Heart Attack
– Haystacks Calhoun – December 7, 1989 – Diabetes
– Gory Guerrero – April 18, 1990 – Unknown
– Pat O’Connor – August 16, 1990 – Cancer
– Ed “The Bull” Gatner – December 31, 1990 – Suicide
– Frankie Williams – April 23, 1991 – Lung Cancer
– Vivian Vachon – August 25, 1991 – Auto Accident
– Chris Von Erich – September 12, 1991 – Suicide
– Gene Anderson – October 31, 1991 – Heart Attack
– Dick the Bruiser – November 10, 1991 – Internal Bleeding
– Buzz Sawyer – February 7, 1992 – Dies At Apartment
– “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers – June 26, 1992 – Stroke
– Uncle Elmer – June 30, 1992 – Diabetes
– Andrè The Giant – January 27, 1993 – Heart Attack
– “Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich – February 18, 1993 – Suicide
– Dino Bravo – March 11, 1993 – Mafia Homicide
– Rufus R. Jones – November 13, 1993 – Heart Attack
– Larry Cameron – December 13, 1993 – Heart Attack in the ring
– “Kareem Muhammad” Ray Candy – May 23, 1994 – Heart Attack
– Joey Marella – July 4, 1994 – Auto Accident
– Boris Malenko – September 1, 1994 – Cancer
– Art Barr – November 23, 1994 – drug-related heart attack
– Jerry “Crusher” Blackwell – January 22, 1995 – Pneumonia
– “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert – February 18, 1995 – Heart Attack
– Big John Studd – March 20, 1995 – Hodgkin’s Disease
– Little Beaver – December 4, 1995 – Emphysema
– Ray Stevens – May 3, 1996 – Heart Attack
– “Dirty” Dick Murdoch – June 15, 1996 – Heart Attack
– The Missouri Mauler – July 19, 1996 – Heart Attack
– Herb Abrams – July 23, 1996 – Drug Overdose
– “Sweet” Sapphire – September 10, 1996 – Heart Attack
– Dr. Jerry Graham – January 24, 1997 – Stroke
– Stan “The Man” Stasiak – June 12, 1997 – Heart Failure
– Jeep Swenson – August 19, 1997 – Heart Attack
– Fritz Von Erich – September 10, 1997 – Cancer
– Brian Pillman – October 5, 1997 – Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease
– Bobo Brazil – January 20, 1998 – Heart Problems
– Louie Spiccolli – February 15, 1998 – Carisopridol Overdose
– The Junkyard Dog – June 1, 1998 – Auto Accident
– The Spoiler – June 20, 1998 – Heart Failure
– Terry Garvin – August 17, 1998 – Cancer
– Giant Haystacks – November 30, 1998 – Stomach Cancer
– Sam Mushnick – December 31, 1998 – Internal Bleeding
– Giant Baba – January 31, 1999 – Bowel Cancer
– The Renegade – February 23, 1999 – Suicide
– “Ravishing” Rick Rude – April 20, 1999 – Heart Attack
– “The King of Harts” Owen Hart – May 23, 1999 – Accidental Fall
– Gorilla Monsoon – October 6, 1999 – Heart Illness
– Hiro Matsuda – November 27, 1999 – Cancer
– Bobby Duncum Jr. – January 24, 2000 – Drug Overdose
– Jumbo Tsuruta – May 13, 2000 – Internal Bleeding
– Gordon Solie – July 27, 2000 – Throat Cancer
– Tony Parisi – August 18, 2000 – Heart Attack
– Professor Toru Tanaka – August 22, 2000 – Natural Causes
– Yokozuna – October 22, 2000 – Heart Attack
– The Blue Demon – December 16, 2000 – Heart Attack
– Benny McGuire – March 26, 2001 – Heart Attack
– Johnny Valentine – April 24, 2001 – Result of Multiple Injuries
– Terry Gordy – July 16, 2001 – Heart Attack
– Dennis Coraluzzo – July 25, 2001 – Stroke
– Rhonda Singh (Bertha Faye) – July 27, 2001 – Unknown
– Chris Adams – October 7, 2001 – Shot to Death
– Helen Hart – November 4, 2001 – Organ Failure
– Russ Haas – December 15, 2001 – Heart Failure
– Mike Davis – December 25, 2001 – Heart Attack
– Mighty Igor – January 7, 2002 – Heart Failure
– Swede Hanson – February 20, 2002 – Alzheimer’s Disease
– Wahoo McDaniel – April 18, 2002 – Stroke
– Lou Thesz – April 28, 2002 – Natural Causes
– Randy “Pee Wee” Anderson (Referee) – May 5, 2002 – Natural Causes
– Mass Transit – May 14, 2002 – Unknown
– Big Dick Dudley – May 16, 2002 – Unknown
– “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith – May 17, 2002 – Heart Attack
– Don Owen – August 1, 2002 – Natural Causes
– Rocco Rock – September 21, 2002 – Heart Attack
– “Mr. Wrestling” Tim Woods – November 30, 2002 – Heart Attack
– “The Original Sheik” Ed Farahat – January 18, 2003 – Natural Causes
– “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig – February 10, 2003 – Drug Overdose
– Sailor Art Thomas – March 20, 2003 – Cancer
– Miss Elizabeth – May 1, 2003 – Drug Overdose
– “Classie” Freddie Blassie – June 2, 2003 – Natural Causes
– Pitbull #2 – September 26, 2003 – Drug Overdose
– Stu Hart – October 16, 2003 – Pneumonia
– Road Warrior Hawk – October 19, 2003 – Heart Attack
– Crash Holly – November 6, 2003 – Asphyxiation
– Moondog Spot – November 29, 2003 – Heart Attack
– The Wall – December 5, 2003 – Heart Attack
– Jack Tunney – January 24, 2004 – Natural Causes
– Hard Boiled Haggerty – January 27, 2004 – Unknown
– Hercules Hernandez – March 6. 2004 – Heart Attack
– Dr. Wagner Sr. – September 12, 2004 – Heart Attack
– Jim Barnett (Promoter) – September 18, 2004 – Cancer and Pneumonia
– The Big Boss Man – September 22, 2004 – Heart Attack
– “Pistol” Pez Whatley – January 18, 2005 – Heart Failure
– “Skip” Chris Candido – April 28, 2005 – Blood Clot after Surgery
– Lord Alfred Hayes – July 21, 2005 – Stroke
– Ed “Sailor” White (Moondog King) – August 25, 2005 – Unknown
– The Crusher (Reggie Lisowski) – October 22, 2005 – Natural Causes
– Eddie Guerrero – November 13, 2005 – Heart Failure
– “Hail” Emory Hale – January 29, 2006 – kidney failure
– Johnny Grunge – February 16, 2006 – sleep apnea
– “Earthquake” John Tenta – June 7, 2006 – Bladder Cancer
– Bob Orton Sr. – July 14, 2006 – Heart Attack
– Sputnik Monroe – November 2, 2006 – Natural Causes
– Dennis “Tiger” Conway, Sr. – November 13, 2006 – Massive Stroke
– Don Jardine (The Original Spoiler) – December 16, 2006 – Complications of Heart Attack and Leukemia
– Bam Bam Bigelow – January 19, 2007 – Drug Overdose
– Mike Awesome – February 17, 2007 – Suicide
– Bad News Brown – March 6, 2007 – Heart Attack
– “The Big Cat” Ernie Ladd – March 10, 2007 – colon cancer
– Arnold Skaaland – March 13, 2007 – Natural Causes
– Sensational Sherri Martel – June 15, 2007 – Pain Killer overdose
– “Woman” Nancy Benoit – June 22, 2007 – Strangulation
– Chris Benoit – June 24, 2007 – Suicide
– John Kronus – July 18, 2007 – heart failure
– “Crush” Brian Adams – August 13, 2007 – Drug Overdose
– The Missing Link – August 16, 2007 – Died from cancer
– Fabulous Moolah – November 3, 2007 – Natural Causes
– Johnny Weaver – February 15, 2008 – Natural Causes
– Don Curtis – March 6, 2008 – Blood Clot
– “Playboy” Gary Hart – March 16, 2008 – heart attack
– Penny Banner – May 12, 2008 – Died in her sleep
– Killer Kowalski – August 30, 2008 – heart attack
– S.D. Jones – October 26, 2008 – stroke
– Mike Bell – December 14, 2008 – inhalation-induced heart attack
– Test – March 13, 2009 – Overdose of drugs
– Steven Dunn – March 22, 2009 – blood clot
– “Playboy” Buddy Rose – April 28, 2009 – diabetes
– “Coach” John Tolos – May 28, 2009 – kidney failure
– Mitsuharu Misawa – June 13, 2009 – in the ring
– Waldo Von Erich – July 5, 2009 – accidental death
– “Captain” Lou Albano – October 14, 2009 – Prolonged Illness
– Umaga – December 4, 2009 – Heart Attack
– “Dr.Death” Steve Williams – December 29, 2009 – throat cancer
– Ludvig Borga – January 8, 2010 – Suicide
– Jack Brisco – February 1, 2010 – Heart Attack
– Angelo Poffo – March 4, 2010 – Natural Causes
– “Gentleman” Jerry Valiant – March 11, 2010 – Alzheimer’s disease
– “Baron” Mikel Scicluna – March 20, 2010 – cancer
– “Mortis” Chris Kanyon – April 2, 2010 – Suicide
– Trent Acid – June 18, 2010 – drug overdose
– Grizzly Smith – June 12, 2010 – Alzheimer’s disease
– Lance Cade – August 13, 2010 – Heart Failure
– Skandor Akbar – August 19, 2010 – prostate cancer
– Luna Vachon – August 27, 2010 – drug overdose
– Bastion Booger – September 11, 2010 – heart attack
– Giant Gonzalez – September 22, 2010 – Diabetes
– Val Puccio – January 7, 2011 – obesity
– “Sir” Oliver Humperdink – March 20, 2011 – bladder cancer
– “Macho Man” Randy Savage – May 20, 2011 – Heart Attack during a Car Accident
– Donna Christanello – August 25, 2011 – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
– Little Tokyo – September 6, 2011 – heart attack
– Mr. Ito – December 21, 2011 – respiratory failure
– Doug Furnas – March 2, 2012 – heart disease
– Joe Blanchard – March 22, 2012 – squamous-cell carcinoma
– “Chief” Jay Strongbow – April 3, 2012 – Natural Causes
– Red Bastien – August 11, 2012 – Alzheimer’s Disease
– Mike Graham – October 19, 2012 – Suicide
– Brad Armstrong – November 1, 2012 – Medical Distress
– Pink “The Clown” – December 16, 2012 – Natural Causes
– Paul Bearer – March 5, 2013 – Blood Clot
– Reid Flair – March 29, 2013 – Drug Overdose
– Héctor Garza – May 26, 2013 – Lung Cancer
– Mark Starr – June 7, 2013 – Heart Attack
– Al Green – June 14, 2013 – Suffering from COPD
– Matt “Doink The Clown” Osborne – June 28, 2013 – drug overdose
– Angelo Savoldi – September 20, 2013 – natural causes
– Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon – November 21, 2013 – Natural Causes
– Mae Young – January 14, 2014 – heart attack
– Viscera / Mabel – February 18, 2014 – Heart attack
– Billy Robinson – March 3, 2014 – Died in his sleep
– The Ultimate Warrior – April 8, 2014 – heart attack
– Lee Marshall – April 26, 2014 – esophageal cancer
– Sean O’Haire – September 8, 2014 – Suicide
– Ox Baker – October 20, 2014 – Heart Attack
– Bob Geigel – October 30, 2014 – Alzheimer’s disease
– “The Gigolo” Jimmy Del Ray – December 6, 2014 – Heart Attack
– Tom Roberts (ECW Zombie) – January 7, 2015 – unknown
– Drew McDonald – February 9, 2015 – Cancer
– Perro Aguayo, Jr – March 21, 2015 – Died During a Match
– Verne Gagne – April 27, 2015 – Heart Attack
– “Fantastic” Tommy Rogers – June 1, 2015 – found dead in his home
– “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes – June 11, 2015 – kidney failure
– “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel – June 22, 2015 – car crash
– “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – July 31, 2015 – Heart Attack
– Nick Bockwinkel – November 14, 2015 – undisclosed causes
– Tommy Gilbert – November 26, 2015 – unknown
– Hack Meyers – December 5, 2015 – complications after brain surgery
– “Iron” Mike Sharpe – January 17, 2016 – unknown
– The Mongolian Stomper – January 23, 2016 – Died in his sleep
– Axl Rotten – February 4, 2016 – Heroin overdose
– Hayabusa – March 3, 2016 – Subarachnoid hemorrhage
– Blackjack Mulligan – April 7, 2016 – Heart Failure
– Balls Mahoney – April 12, 2016 – Heart attack
– Chyna – April 20, 2016 – drug overdose
– “Cowboy” Frankie Lane – May 24, 2016 – Multiple sclerosis
– Gypsy Joe – June 16, 2016 – extended illness
– Mr. Fuji – August 28, 2016 – unknown
– Lord Littlebrook – September 9, 2016 – natural causes
– Frenchy Martin – October 21, 2016 – bladder and bone cancer
– Timothy Well – January 9, 2017 – kidney failure
– “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka – January 15, 2017 – stomach cancer
– Chavo “Classic” Guerrero Sr. – February 11, 2017 – liver cancer
– George “The Animal” Steele – February 16, 2017 – kidney failure
– Nicole Bass – February 17, 2017 – cerebral death
– Ivan Koloff – February 18, 2017 – liver cancer
– Johnny K-9 / Bruiser Bedlam – February 21, 2017 – unknown
– “The Outlaw” Ron Bass – March 7, 2017 – complications following surgery
– Dennis Stamp – March 14, 2017 – blood cancer
– “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe – April 10, 2017 – health issues
– Rosey – April 17, 2017 – congestive heart failure
– “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers – May 16, 2017 – unknown
– Mr. Pogo – June 23, 2017 – cerebral infarction
– Smith Hart – July 2, 2017 – prostate & bone cancer
– “Big” Otto Wanz – September 14, 2017 – unknown
– Bobby “The Brain” Heenan – September 17, 2017 – complications from throat cancer
– Lance Russell – October 3, 2017 – complications from a broken hip
– “Z-Man” Tom Zenk – December 9, 2017 – unknown
– Steve Gatorwolf – 2017 – unknown
– “Luscious Johnny V” Johnny Valiant – April 4, 2018 – car accident
– Paul Jones – April 18, 2018 – unknown
– “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino – April 18, 2018 – multiple organ failure
– Big Bully Busick – May 8, 2018 – brain tumor
– The Rockin’ Rebel – June 1, 2018 – suicide
– Big Van Vader – June 18, 2018 – cardiac arrhythmia & pneumonia
– Matt Cappotelli – June 29, 2018 – glioblastoma multiforme
– “Mr.” Masa Saito – July 14, 2018 – complications of Parkinson’s disease
– Brickhouse Brown – July 29, 2018 – prostate cancer
– Nikolai Volkoff – July 29, 2018 – dehydration and other issues
– “Grandmaster Sexay” Brian Christopher – July 29, 2018 – suicide
– Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart – August 13, 2018 – fell at home and hit his head
– Yoshi Kwan – August 22, 2018 – stroke
– Don Leo Jonathan – October 13, 2018 – natural causes
– “Dirty” Dick Slater – October 18, 2018 – unknown
– José Lothario – November 6, 2018 – natural causes
– Dynamite Kid – December 5, 2018 – severe health problems
– Larry “The Axe” Hennig – December 6, 2018 – kidney failure
– Bill Fralic – December 13, 2018 – cancer
– “Mean” Gene Okerlund – January 2, 2019 – health issues
– Alexis Smirnoff – January 5, 2019 – kidney failure
– Les Thornton – February 1, 2019 – natural causes
– Salvatore Bellomo – February 9, 2019 – cancer
– Pedro Morales – February 12, 2019 – unknown
– King Kong Bundy – March 4, 2019 – unknown
– The Destroyer – March 7, 2019 – natural causes
– Yamaguchi-San – March 9, 2019 – lengthy illness
– Silver King – May 11, 2019 – heart attack
– Ashley Massaro – May 16, 2019 – suicide by hanging
– Rene Goulet – May 25, 2019 – natural causes
– Maxx Muscle – June 27, 2019 – unknown
– “The King” Harley Race – August 1, 2019 – lung cancer
– Fake Razor Ramon – September 20, 2019 – unknown
– Moondog Rex – December 14, 2019 – unknown
– Rocky Johnson – January 15, 2020 – pulmonary embolism
– Howard Finkel – April 16, 2020 – health issues
– Shad Gaspard – May 17, 2020 – drowned
– Hana Kimura – May 22, 2020 – suicide
– Mr. Wrestling II – June 10, 2020 – natural causes
– Kamala – August 9, 2020 – COVID-19 & complications from diabetes
– Road Warrior Animal – September 22, 2020 – natural causes
– Tracy Smothers / Freddie Joe Floyd – October 28, 2020 – lymphoma
– Pat Patterson – December 2, 2020 – cancer
– Zeus – December 10, 2020 – health problems (his manager said he showed COVID-19 like symptoms a few days before his death)
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