The Deaths That Shocked the World of Wrestling

 I used to watch wrestling when I was younger with my pops and my brother. I loved The Rock, my brother loved Stone Cold Steve Austin and my dad liked Raven. They were the good ol' days.

There was a point in time where I though wrestling was real. I refused to believe that it was "staged" so to speak but I've come to realise that it's all rehearsed and results predetermined. There's nothing wrong with that however, as it's the entertainment value that we get from wrestling that makes it an amazing product.

I've somewhat grown out of it but I still have an appreciation for it. Let's go through the most shocking deaths that occurred in the world of wrestling.

4. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero was born into the prominent Guerrero wrestling family. He performed in the ECW as well as the WCW but he's best known for his time in the WWF/WWE. Not only was Guerrero popular, but he's also regarded as one of the greatest WWF/WWE performers and entertainers of all-time.

Guerrero won the WWF European and Intercontinental Championships. He also formed the Los Guerreros tag team with his nephew Chavo, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship.

At his peak Guerrero was one of the best wrestlers in WWE's Smackdown brand. He suffered with much publicised issues with alcohol and painkiller addictions. In November 2005 Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room by his nephew and fellow wrestler Chavo, with a toothbrush in his hand. By the time paramedics arrived he was already declared dead. Guerrero had died from heart failure due to cardiovascular issues with his arteries.

What makes his death particularly shocking is that he was only 38 and was considered a top three wrestler at the time. Fellow wrestlers, including his nephew Chavo, paid tribute to Guerrero in the immediate aftermath by performing Guerro's finishing move the Frog Splash in matches.

3. "Macho Man" Randy Savage

Randy Savage was described by many as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time. The popular wrestler was well known for his colorful personality, his deep and raspy voice, his outrageous fashion and his catchphrase "Oooh yeah!". He was signed by MLB's St. Louis Cardinal's as a catcher straight out of high school and was put into the minor leagues to develop and played 289 games of minor league baseball.

A 21-year old Randy Savage would get his break in wrestling during a baseball offseason and would quit baseball, and he went on to enjoy a more than 30-year career and became best known for his time in the WCW and WWF. He would eventually pickup the nickname "Macho Man" and was one of the greatest entertainers with the same sort of wrestling stature as Hulk Hogan. In his prime he was known for his speed, agility, power and his technical skill.

In 2011 Savage died at the age of 58 as a result of a sudden heart attack while driving his car, subsequently losing control of his Jeep which hit a tree in a minor collision. It was found that he had an enlarged heart and had coronary artery disease, his arteries narrowing at an advanced stage of 90%.

2. Owen Hart

Canadian wrestler Owen Hart was the youngest of twelve children and was one of the biggest wrestling draw cards during the 80's and 90's. Recognised as one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time, his accolades include two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, four-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, the 1994 WWF King of the Ring and one-time WWF European Champion.

Hart's death in 1999 shocked the wrestling world as it occurred during a live pay-per-view event. During an Intercontinental Championship match with The Godfather, Hart was being lowered via a harness and lifeline into the ring at Missouri's Kemper Arena. The idea was for Hart to be lowered and fall into the ring from turnbuckle level. Instead Hart fell 78-feet (24 metres) landing chest first onto the top rope.

The accident wasn't seen by viewers and instead as a pre-recorded interview was showing while Hart was descending toward the ring. As the telecast returned to live viewing, the cameras had quickly turned away from the ring and toward the audience. One of the ringside commentators ran to check on Hart and was immediately visibly distressed.

Paramedics attempted CPR on Hart but he was not responding, and would be pronounced dead shortly after at hospital. Upon the fall, Hart severed his aorta - the main artery carrying blood away from the heart and to the rest of the body. Controversially the WWF chose to continue with the event and viewers were told about Hart's death an hour after he fell. Hart was only 34 years of age.

A lawsuit followed with the Hart family suing the WWF for the poor planning of the stunt and because of claims the harness system was defective. After a year and a half, it was settled out of court with damages totalling $18m.

1. Chris Benoit

Benoit was a headline for multiple WWE pay-per-views and had a huge year in 2004, winning the 2004 Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XX all in the space of just under three months. Fans will likely be aware of the tragic and gruesome death of and at the hands of Benoit, who killed both his wife, son and himself.

On June 25th a welfare check was conducted as Benoit was not heard from in days. On the 22nd of June he had killed his wife, and the next day had then killed his son. The following day he then killed himself in the weight room by using a lat pulldown machine to hang himself.
The reasoning behind his actions have been thought to have been because of a marriage breakdown and personal problems.

There have also been suggestions of alcohol and steroid abuse and tests following his death confirmed that he had severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the death.

It's a condition many former NFL players have also suffered from and led to erratic behaviours. Benoit's brain had damage to the equivalent of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.

Benoit's actions meant his death and murderous actions were a scandal that went well beyond wrestling's inner circles and was mainstream international news. His existence can't be denied, but his wrestling record and achievements have effectively been suppressed and any mention of his name by the WWE has been avoided.

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