There are a number of crazy ways that wrestlers have died young, some much more insane than others.
Pro wrestling has a big issue with their superstars dying early, owed to the hard life on the road, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as some other more suspicious ways wrestlers have been killed.
In this article, we’ll go through how some wrestlers died in ways that you may not have expected.
Chris Benoit
The most infamous wrestler’s death is when Chris Benoit killed himself on June 24th, 2007.
While suicide is a very common way that wrestlers have died, his was much more horrific.
Before he killed himself, Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son in their homes, before living in the house for a day or two prior to his suicide.
Benoit’s death proved a turning point in the wrestling industry, with the WWE taking drug issues and concussions much more seriously thanks to his death.
Owen Hart
One of the most horrific early deaths in pro wrestling was the death of Owen Hart.
The younger brother of Bret Hart was killed during a WWE PPV, with his harness snapping as he descended from the stage to the ring, fifty feet in the air.
He plummeted to the ring, landing chest first onto the turnbuckle, dying soon after. He was only 34-years-old, and his death sent shockwaves across the wrestling world.
His widow, Dr Martha Hart, refused to allow Owen Hart to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, refusing to allow WWE to profit off her husband because it was their negligence that killed him.
Bruiser Brody
One of the most controversial wrestler deaths was the murder of Bruiser Brody in Puerto Rico on July 16, 1988.
After a backstage argument about losing a match against Dan Spivey, he was invited into the show to discuss the issue by the promoter José Huertas González.
After a scuffle, Tony Atlas entered the show to see Bruiser Brody bent over, clutching his stomach as blood covered his hands, while González held the bloody knife.
Nobody has ever been punished for his death, leading this to be one of the most controversial wrestler deaths of all time.
Perry Aguayo Jr
A freak accident happened on March 20, 2015 when Perro Aguayo Jr. was killed in the ring, while being set up for the 619 by Rey Mysterio.
During an AAA show, a routine dropkick by Mysterio caused Perro Aguayo Jr.’s death.
Aguayo died from a cervical spine trauma caused by whiplash from the dropkick, although it is a such a basic move that is performed multiple times per match that Rey Mysterio can’t be blamed for his death.
This was similar to Mitsuharu Misawa’s death, who also had a build up of spinal injuries that eventually led to his death in the ring during a wrestling match.
Mitsuharu Misawa
On June 13th, 2009, Japanese legend Mitsuhiro Misawa teamed with Go Shiozaki against GHC Tag Team Champions Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith, but the bout never found a conclusion.
Saito hit Misawa with a simple belly-to-back suplex during the match, to which Misawa would never recover from.
He remained motionless in the ring, as the crowd chanted “MI-SAW-WAH!” in vein, willing their hero to regain his fighting spirit and get up.
Misawa died after a cervical spinal cord injury caused a cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead when he was taken to hospital.
Eddie Guerrero
On November 13 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found in an unconscious state at the Marriott Hotel City Center in Minneapolis. He was discovered by Chavo Guerrero, his nephew who was raised like a brother during the pairs’ childhoods, growing up in Texas.
He was reportedly alive, but barely clinging to life when Chavo discovered him and called an ambulance to try and save him.
Eddie Guerrero was pronounced dead at the scene, when the ambulance arrived. He died aged 38, with the autopsy revealing he died due to died as a result of acute heart failure due to underlying atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
King Kong Kirk
During a match in 1987 against King Kong Kirk and King Kendo alongside his nephew Steve Valentine, Big Daddy performed his patented Splashdown, Kirk didn’t sell the move at all.
Instead, he turned an “unhealthy colour” according to reports, and was immediately rushed to hospital. It took eight men to lift Kirk’s stretcher into the ambulance, with Kirk weighting around 350lbs at the time of his death (around 25 stone).
King Kong Kirk was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Big Daddy was not charged with killing the wrestler, as it was a completely accidental incident that happened during the normal wrestling process.
Emergency medical workers tried to revive the 350-pound Kirk at the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth after the accident, but he was already gone by the time he arrived at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.