Wrestlers That Have Passed Away

• Frank Gotch (39)--December 16, 1917--Uremic Poisoning
• Ed "The Strangler" Louis (76)--August 7, 1966--Died of Natural Causes
• Stanislaus Zbyszko (88) --September 23, 1967--Natural Causes
• Dory Funk, Sr.: June 3, 1973--Died in his home.
• Bobby Shane (Bob Schoenberger)--February 20, 1975--Died when the private airplane he was piloting crashed near Tampa, FL; he was 40.  Injured in the crash were wrestlers Buddy Colt, Austin Idol and Playboy Gary Hart.
• Chris Taylor--June 30, 1979--Died of heart failure after a long period of declining health.
• Edward "Bearcat" Wright--August 28, 1982--Died from sickle cell anemia
• David Von Erich--February 2, 1984--Died of enteritis (acute inflammation of the intestine)
• Vince McMahon, Sr.: May 27, 1984--Died from Cancer.
• Adrian Adonis: July 4, 1988--Died when a mini van drove off a cliff into a lake.
• Bruiser Brody--July 17, 1988--Stabbed to death in a locker room fight with another wrestler.
• Haystacks Calhoun: December 7, 1989--Complications from diabetes.
• Dick the Bruiser--November 10, 1991--Died of internal bleeding after rupturing a blood vessel while weight lifting.
• Buzz Sawyer--February 7, 1992--Died of a drug overdose.
• Andre The Giant: January 27, 1993--Died of a heart attack.
• Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich: February 18, 1993--Committed suicide.
• Dino Bravo: March 11, 1993--Died of gunshot wounds in his living room.
• Joey Marella (WWF Referee/Gorilla Monsoon's Son): July 4, 1994--Died in motorcycle accident.
• Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell--January 22, 1995--Died of complications from injuries sustained in a road accident.
• Big John Studd: March 20, 1995--Died of liver cancer.
• Ray Stevens--May 3, 1996--Died of heart failure.
• Dick Murdoch--June 14, 1996--Died of heart failure.
• Sapphire: September 10, 1996--Died from a heart attack.
• Dr. Bill Miller--March 24, 1997--Died of heart failure.
• Stan Stasiak: June 12, 1997--Died from heart failure.
• Dick "Bulldog" Brower--September 15, 1997--Died of heart failure.
• Brian Pillman: October 5, 1997--Died from arteriosclerotic heart disease.
• Bobo Brazil: January 20, 1998--Died from complications from a stroke.
• Louie Spicolli: February 15, 1998--Died from arteriosclerotic heart disease caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy syndrome.
• Junk Yard Dog: June 2, 1998--Died in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel.
• Sky Low Low [famous midget wrestler]: November 9, 1998--heart failure.
• Shohei "Giant" Baba: January 31, 1999--Died of colon cancer.
• Rick Williams [Renegade in WCW]: February 23, 1999--Died from suicide.
• Ravishing Rick Rude: April 20, 1999--Died from heart attack.
• Owen Hart: May 23, 1999--Died from 50 foot fall from ceiling to ring.
• Brian Hildebrand (WCW Referee Mark Curtis) (37)--September 8, 1999--Died after a two year battle with stomach cancer.
• Gorilla Monsoon  (62)--October 5, 1999--Died from a heart attack.
• Bobby Duncum, Jr (34)--January 24, 2000--Drug overdose.
• Gordon Solie (71)July 27, 2000--Died from cancer.
• Toru Tanaka (70)--August 22, 2000--Died from a heart attack.
• Yokozuna (34)--October 22, 2000--Died from a heart attack.
• Johnny Valentine (72)--April 24, 2001--Natural Causes.
• Tex McKenzie --May 31, 2001--Died of an aortic aneurysm.
• Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy (40)--July 16, 2001--Blood clot in the heart.
• Rhonda Singh (40) --August 2, 2001--Drug Overdose which caused a Heart Attack
• Blaise Alexander (WCW race car driver) (25) --October 4, 2001--Complications from a head injury received in a car race.
• "Gentleman" Chris Adams (46)--October 7, 2001--Shot to death.
• Helen Hart--November 4, 2001--Complications from a seizure.
• Russ Haas (27)--December 15, 2001--Heart Attack.
• Wahoo McDaniels (63)--April 18, 2002--Died from complications from renal failure and diabetes.
• Lou Thesz (86)--April 28, 2002--Died from natural causes after heart surgery earlier in the year.
• Randy Anderson (42)--May 5, 2002--Cancer
• Big Dick Dudley (36)--May 16, 2002--Kidney failure
• "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith (39) --May 18, 2002--Died from a heart attack.
• Rocco Rock of Public Enemy (49)--September 21, 2002--Heart Attack.
• "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (44)--February 10, 2003--acute cocaine intoxication.
• Miss Elizabeth (42)--May 1, 2003--Died from a combination of alcohol and painkillers.
• "Classy" Freddie Blassie ((85)--June 2, 2003--Unknown
• Stu Hart (88)--October 16, 2003--Natural Causes
• Hawk [Michael Hegstrand] (46)-- October 19, 2003--Heart Attack
• Crash Holly (32)--November 6, 2003--Drug overdose
• Larry "Moondog Spot" Booker (51)--November 29, 2003--Collapsed in the ring
• Malice/The Wall [Jerry Tuite] (37)--December 6, 2003--acute heart attack
• Jack Tunney (69)--January 24, 2004--Heart attack
• Hercules "Hernandez" (46)--March 6, 2004--Died in his sleep.
• James Dudley (93)-- June 1, 2004--Died of natural causes.
• Ray "Big Bossman" Traylor (41)--September 22, 2004--Heart failure.
• Chris Candido (33)--April 28, 2005--Blood clot and complications due to surgery.
• Lord Alfred Hayes (76)--July 21, 2005--Complications from a series of strokes.
• Moondog King [Ed "Sailor" White (56)]--August 26, 2005--Complications from car accident
• Eddie Guerrero (37)--November 13, 2005--Enlarged heart due to years of drug use.
• Johnny Grunge of Public Enemy (39)--February 16, 2006--Complications from sleep apnea.
• John Tenta [Earthquake]  (42)--June 7, 2006--bladder cancer.
• Bam Bam Bigelow [Scott Bigelow] (45)--January 19, 2007--Drugs.
• Mike Awesome (42)--February 17, 2007--Apparent Suicide. 
• Bad News Brown (63)--March 6, 2007--Heart Attack
• "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd (68)--March 10, 2007--Cancer
• "Sensational" Sherri (Martel) (49)--June 15, 2007--Accidental overdose.
• Nancy "Women" (Sullivan) Benoit (43)--June 25, 2007--Strangulation. Died at home with Chris Benoit and their son Daniel (Suffocation).
• Chris Benoit (40)--June 25, 2007--Suicide by hanging
• Brian "Crush" Adams (43)--August 13, 2007--Overdose of prescription medications.
• The Missing Link (Dewey Robertson) (68)--August 16, 2007--Died from cancer
• Fabulous Moolah (Lillian Ellison) (84)--November 3, 2007--Complications due to surgery.
• Gary Hart (66) March 16, 2008-- Heart Attack
• Walter "Killer" Kowalski (81) August 30, 2008--Complications from heart attack
• S.D. Jones (63) October 26, 2008-- Stroke
• Andrew "Test" Martin (33) March 13, 2009--accidental overdose of Oxycodone.
• "Playboy" Buddy Rose (56) April 28, 2009--natural causes
• Capt Lou Albano (76) October 14, 2009--natural causes
• Umaga (36) December 4, 2009--Heart Attack
• Dr. Death Steve Williams (49) December 29, 2009--throat cancer.
• Ludvig Borga (47) January 10, 2010--suicide.
• Chris "Kanyon" Klucsaritis (40) April 3, 2010--apparent suicide
• Lance Cade (29) August 13, 2010--Apparent heart failure.
• General Skandor Akbar (75)--Prostate cancer.
• Luna Vachon (48) August 27, 2010--Drug overdose.
• Bastian Booger (53) September 12, 2010--Heart Attack.
• Giant Gonzales (44) September 22, 2010--Kidney Failure
• Randy "Macho Man" Savage (58) May 20, 2011--Car accident caused by a heart attack.
• Doug Furnas (50) March 2, 2012--heart disease.
• Brad Armstrong (51) November 1, 2012--Medical distress
• Paul Bearer (58) March 5, 2013--Heart attack
• Doink the Clown [Matthew Osborne] (55) June 28, 2013 --Drug overdose
• Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon (84) November 21, 2013 -- Natural Causes
• Mable (Nelson Frazier, Jr.) (43) February 18, 2014--Heart attack.
• The Ultimate Warrior (54) April 8, 2014--Heart attack.
• Lee Marshall (64) April 27, 2014--Esophageal cancer.
• Sean O'Haire (43) September 8, 2014--Suicide.
• Jimmy Del Ray (52) December 6, 2014--Injuries from a truck accident earlier that day.
• Dusty Rhodes (69) June 11, 2015--Complications from a fall.
• Buddy Landel (53) June 22, 2015--Died from complications from a car crash.
• "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (61) July 31, 2015--Died from a cardiac arrest.
• Nick Bockwinkel (80) November 14, 2015. Died from unknown causes.
• "Iron" Mike Sharpe (66) January 17, 2016. Died from unknown causes.
• Blackjack Mulligan (73) April 7, 2016. Died from unknown causes.
• Balls Mahoney (Jonathan Rechner) (44) April 12, 2016 Died from unknown causes.
• Chyna (Joanie Laurer) (45) April 20, 2016. Died from an overdose of drugs and alcohol.
• Jimmy Snuka (James Smith) (73) January 15, 2017. Died from stomach cancer.
• George "The Animal" Steele (William Myers) (79) February 17, 2017. Died from kidney failure.
• Nicole Bass (52) February 17, 2017. Died of a heart attack.
• Ivan Koloff (74) (Oreal Perras) February 18, 2017. Died from liver cancer.
• Ron Bass (68) (Ronald Heard) March 7, 2017. Complications from a burst kidney.
• Rosey (47) (Matt Anoa'i) April 17, 2017. Died from congestive heart failure.
• Bobby "The Brain" Heenan (72) September 17, 2017. Organ failure due to cancer.
• Johnny Valiant [Luscious Johnny V] (71) April 4, 2018. Hit by a car while crossing the street.
• Bruno Sammartino (82) April 18, 2018. Organ failure.
• Leon "Vader" White (63) June 18, 2018. Complications from pneumonia
• Nikolai Volkoff (70) July 29, 2018. Causes unknown
• Brian Christopher (46) July 29, 2018. Suicide.
• Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart (63)--August 13, 2018. Fatal fall.
• Jose Lothario (83)--November 6, 2018.
• The Dynamite Kid [Tom Billington] (60)--December 5, 2018.
• Larry "The Axe" Hennig (82)--December 6, 2018. Kidney failure.
• "Mean" Gene Okerlund (76)--January 2, 2019. Injuries from a fall.
• Pedro Morales (76)--February 12, 2019.
• King Kong Bundy (63)--March 4, 2019. Died from complications from diabetes.
• Ashley Massaro (39)--May 16, 2019. Died from suicide.
• Harley Race (76)--August 1, 2019. Died from lung cancer.
• Rocky Johnson (75)--January 15, 2020.
• Howard Finkel (69)--April 16, 2020. Died from a pulmonary embolism.
  
• "Bullet" Bob Armstrong (80)--August 27, 2020.  Died from bone cancer.
• Pat Patterson (79)--December 2, 2020.  Died of liver failure from a blood clot.
• Brodie Lee / Luke Harper (41)--December 26, 2020.  Died from a non-COVID lung issue.
• Butch Reed (66)--February 5, 2021. Died from heart complications.
• Paul Orndorff (71)--July 12, 2021.  Died from unknown causes.
• Bobby Eaton (62)--August 4, 2021.  Died in his sleep.
• Daffney (46)--September 1, 2021.  Died from apparent suicide.
• Dave Hebner (73)--June 17, 2022.  Died after suffering from an illness.
• Tim White (68)--June 19, 2022.  Died from health issues.
• "Superstar" Billy Graham--May 17, 2023.  Died from Sepsis and multiple organ failure.
• The Iron Sheik [Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri] (81)--June 7, 2023.  Died from unknown causes at this time.
• Droz/Puke (Darren Drozdov) (54)--June 30, 2023.  Died from natural causes.
• Terry Funk (79)--August 23, 2023.  Died of unknown causes as of press time.
• Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda)--August 24, 2023.  Died of unknown causes as of press time.