Professional wrestling is truly a dangerous sport. Wrestlers are usually astonishing athletes that carefully plan all of their moves, although, on TV, they may seem spontaneous and in-character. They do their best not to break the first rule of the business – kayfabe. Maintaining the illusion is the most important thing, no matter what happens. That being said, life is full of unpredictable situations and the biggest one of them is, certainly, death. Whether it happens onstage or offstage, it still makes a high impact on the audience that can’t be ignored. Here are some of the biggest names in wrestling whose death touched so many.
Marianna Komlos
The first up on the list is Marianna Komlos, also known as simply Marianna. She was a famous bodybuilder who was introduced to the WWF as Mrs. Cleavage, the mother of the Beaver Cleavage, while later she played his girlfriend. Sadly, at only 35 years old, she died from breast cancer. She is still fondly remembered today as a female representative of an era.
Richard Erwin Rood
Rood, also known as the “Ravishing” Rick Rude, was a famous wrestler that participated in all three major promotions of his time, WWF, WCW and ECW. His performed onstage as a self-proclaimed sexiest man alive, often showing off his chiseled body and strong muscles. He was also one of the founding members of the famous D-Generation X. He died in 1999, aged 40, suffering a heart attack, while training in the gym for his comeback.
Michael Lockwood
Crash Holly, as this wrestler was also called, was a young promising wrestling star who won 22 Hardcore championships. Before arriving at WWF, he gained a reputation through participating in various independent promotions for about ten years. He died at the age of 32, due to complications from mixing alcohol and medications.
Curtis Michael Hennig
Curtis Michael Hennig is yet another well-known wrestler who left us far too early. Known inside the ring as “Mr. Perfect,” Hennig performed in all of the big promotions of the days like AWA, WWF, WCW, and even TNA. Member of a famous wrestling family, Curtis was loved by both his fans and his coworkers. He met his death in 2003, following a cocaine overdose. The wrestler’s father later suggested that heavy steroid use also attributed to his death.
Michael Verdi
Trent Acid, as was his stage name, was an independent professional wrestler, known best for being a part of a tag team – The Backseat Boyz. A troubled soul, Acid often had problems with the law, and was even arrested in 2010 for possession of heroin. Just a few months later he overdosed. Trent was featured in a documentary film called Card Subject to Change, where he discussed his drug addiction.
