Wrestlers dying young and/or in their prime

[glorious83]

After watching the Dark Side of the Ring episode with Owen Hart and the shocking death of young Japanese wrestle Hana Kimura last week, i just wanted to get people’s thoughts on some wrestlers who died young and/or were in their prime.

My first thought comes to Gino Hernandez. He was a young great talent for World Class who had a real presence and would have probably been in WWF or the NWA(before it was WCW) and main eventing there if not for his drug problems and involvement with some dirty people. Just sad.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Not prime in physical, that was well behind him, but as far as what a character could do, Pillman. He would have been a great Attitude Era character.

[Jaws the Shark]

In Mexico, Oro. My understanding is that he was one of the first to really push the boundaries of athleticism in lucha libre and adopt the spectacular high-risk style that became popular with luchadors in the mid/late nineties and spilled over into the States.

And on the subject of wrestlers who were a big deal in Mexico, Art Barr. It may have been that his criminal past and drug problem stopped him from ever really being a star in WCW or the WWF at the time, but he was certainly starting to hit his prime years when he died and had bags of unrealised potential.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

May 29, 2020 18:22:09 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Not prime in physical, that was well behind him, but as far as what a character could do, Pillman. He would have been a great Attitude Era character.

If not for the ankle injury in his car accident, Pillman would’ve absolutely been a huge star in the Attitude Era had he lived. Austin would’ve absolutely made sure to work with him

[The Thread Barbi]

Perfect, Bulldog and Quake died relatively young. 38 and two 43s I think are no age at all.

[XIII]

I think that David Von Erich would have had much success.

Yokozuna and Umaga had more to offer if they could have kept their issues under control as well

[Cranjis McBasketball]

May 29, 2020 18:51:41 GMT -5 The Thread Barbi said:

Perfect, Bulldog and Quake died relatively young. 38 and two 43s I think are no age at all.

Well, they all died young, but they were all done.

[Doctor Of Style]

Louie Spiccoli stands out to me, he had a match with Koko B Ware that was shown on WWF Prime Time Wrestling that really caught my attention. He looked a lot better than an average jobber, but he wasn't trying to steal Koko's shine. I used to tape Prime Time for the Heenan skits, but that match made me take notice.

[Peeetah]

If Larry Sweeney was around now I imagine he would be a huge part of AEW as a top manager or something similar.

[Mozenrath]

May 29, 2020 19:20:42 GMT -5 Peeetah said:

If Larry Sweeney was around now I imagine he would be a huge part of AEW as a top manager or something similar.

Possibly, or some kind of cherry position in ROH, maybe, or NXT given some of the friends he's had go through. Hard to tell with him.

Hana is obvious to state but still, she was 22.

[J. Hova]

Benoit hurt the most for me. I was and still am a huge fan of his work. I absolutely loved watching any of the Radicalz work and WM20 was the last time I remember being on my feet at a wrestling show I was watching on TV. I still remember going to a RAW taping in the mid 2000s and it was him vs. Christian and they just beat the piss out of one another. I kinda became a Christian mark after that match.

Obviously with the events surrounding his death caused me to sour on him as a person, but after a few years, I found myself being able to separate the two and watch his matches for what they were, masterpieces.

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

Lance Cade was only 29 when he died. Test was only 33. Both super young and both were only a few years removed from their WWE runs when they died.

[Numero Dos]

A UK-centric choice but there’s no doubt in my mind that had he not got cancer Kris Travis would’ve been a massive part of the British wrestling boom in recent years. He would’ve fit in well in NXT UK and probably would’ve been one of the top guys he was only 32 when he died.

[Natural Born Farmer]

Mike Awesome.

[AJ Smudgico]

Lionheart in UK

[cassonova]

It's a morbid read, but Wikipedia has an article/list of workers who passed away prematurely. Premature being defined as passing before the age 65. It's arranged by age and gives basic information, such as companies worked for and cause of death.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_premature_professional_wrestling_deaths

[Venti]

Umaga was a big part of mid-late 2000s WWE, was only 36 when he passed, yet never seems to get talked about, especially by WWE.

It's a shame, he was such a great big man in the ring and really knocked his gimmick out of the park.


Seeing Test in his last run always makes me sad. His physique was so unhealthy looking, and I don't remember him ever talking or doing anything beyond some matches. It makes him look like a shell of his former self, and with the knowledge that it's his final run is doubly sad.


The 2000s decade had such a ridiculous number of wrestlers passing away, I'm glad the current generation is doing a better job at taking care of themselves.

[Feyrhausen]

What about Matt Cappotelli? Everything I have seen and heard about him said he had IT and would have been a star.

[The Lach is very tired]

Art Barr is someone that gets overlooked alot. Was 28 when he died in 94. So many workers who would go on to be massive stars over the following decade said he was one of the best they had worked with. The sexual assault conviction might have held him back but we will never know.

[lucas_lee]

May 29, 2020 18:22:09 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Not prime in physical, that was well behind him, but as far as what a character could do, Pillman. He would have been a great Attitude Era character.

That car accident really derailed him mentally and physically