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List Of All Old School Wrestling Stars Who Passed Away & Their Cause of Death

List of All Old School Wrestling Stars Who Passed Away & Their Cause of Death

Unfortunately a lot of our Childhood Old School Wrestling 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.

Now for the first time, we have listed all major Old School Wrestling Stars who are no longer with us, including their date & cause of death:

R.I.P. LIST

• 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

• 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 Cause

• 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

• Tomomi “Jumbo” Tsuruta – May 16, 2000 – Internal Bleeding

• Gordon Solie – July 27, 2000 – 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 – Natural Causes

• 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 7, 2002 – Natural Causes

• Mass Transit – May 14, 2002 – Unknown

• Big Dick Dudley – 34 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 17, 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

• 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 – unknown

• 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

• “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

• “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 – Accident

• 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

• 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 – natural death

• 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 – Drug 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

• Kip Abee – April 4, 2017 – unknown

• “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe – April 10, 2017 – health issues

• Rosey – April 17, 2017 – congestive heart failure

• Hans Schroeder – April 29, 2017 – unknown

• “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers – May 16, 2017 – unknown

• Buddy Wayne – June 17, 2017 – heart attack

• 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 – road 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 tumour

• 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 injured 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


        
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