The life of a wrestler is much harder than it looks. Suffering from physical
and emotional turmoil, many wrestlers don't make it to the young age of 40.
Sara Lee's journey to wrestling began with competitive powerlifting, as recounted by
CNN. She went on to be featured on the WWE reality show competition "Tough Enough" in 2015,
where she became the surprise winner. Lee was the fan-favorite, and she won
$250,000 and a one-year WWE contract, where she made an appearance in the
company's off-shoot NXT program and made her first match as part of a tag-team.
Lee married wrestler Westin Blake, and they had three kids together.
After giving birth to a daughter in 2017, she continued training,
according to Wrestling News. But Sara Lee was only 30 years old when her mother announced
on Facebook that she had died. Her cause of death was never revealed.
Many of her fellow wrestlers paid tribute to Lee on social media, including Chelsea Green,
who posted happy photos of them together on Twitter. Wrestler Bull James then
organized a GoFundMe campaign to help Blake and their children.
It was May 23rd, 1999, and Owen Hart was rigged up near the top of Kansas City's
Kemper Arena to perform a stunt he had done before. As part of his Blue Blazer entrance,
Hart was supposed to descend to the catwalk, but for the first time,
Hart was using a quick-release harness that would allow for him to have a clean transition. However,
the harness was triggered too soon, and Hart fell to his death from 78 feet in the air in
front of a live audience. Only 34 years old, he was survived by two children and his wife, Martha,
who sued WWE. She believed the company had taken safety shortcuts for a stunt that professionals
didn't consider safe. They eventually reached a $18 million dollar settlement.
Many of the 16,000 fans sitting in the arena believed it was a scripted stunt,
but the ring announcer reassured the audience that it was real,
and Hart was seriously injured. The incident occurred more than an hour into the show,
but people watching on TV didn't witness it. The program only paused for 15 minutes
before resuming, which many have considered heartless. Owen Hart's death cast a massive
shadow over WWE, raising questions about the organization's safety and ethics.
Ashley Massaro [muh-SAH-roh] was only 39 years old when she died in
2019. After being discovered in the WWE's Raw Diva Search, she earned a
$250,000 one-year contract, but she went on to make a name for herself in the company
from 2005 to 2008. The highlight of her career was the championship match against
Melina [muh-LEE-nuh] at Wrestlemania 23. But her career wasn't able to go much further than that.
Reports indicated that Massaro died by suicide, following many problems during Massaro's tenure.
In 2006, Massaro took part in a WWE trip to Kuwait, during which Massaro said she
was raped by a military doctor. According to an affidavit that was made public after her death,
Massaro said that former WWE CEO Vince McMahon warned her not to disclose the assault for fear
it would disrupt their partnership with the U.S. military. Former wrestler Paul London said on Rene
Dupree's podcast that Massaro had been repeatedly harassed by McMahon, who would bring her to tears.
After leaving the WWE in 2008, Massaro also had issues from the
long-term effects of concussions and took part in a class-action lawsuit against
the WWE for not properly protecting her and other wrestlers from brain
damage. Massaro said she suffered from depression and memory-loss as a result.
If you ask pro wrestler journalist Dave Meltzer, Perro Aguayo [PAIR-oh uh-GWHY-oh] Jr., was
basically the Triple H of Mexico. He was also the son of one of Mexico's most legendary luchadores.
In his last fatal match, Aguayo was fighting WWE star Rey Mysterio, Jr. and three other wrestlers.
In a move that proved to be fatal, Aguayo landed onto the ropes, and the resulting whiplash broke
his neck. The injury triggered other health issues; it led to a cervical stroke which
then led to a heart attack. Aguayo was only 35 years old when he died during the 2015 match.
For 80 seconds, Aguayo lay helpless in the ring,
while the match continued. While there was a doctor on staff, as well as a group
of medical workers and ambulances on hand, Aguayo didn't receive immediate attention.
Andrew "Test" Martin came onto the scene as Motley Crue's bodyguard, and a man willing to
throw fans off the stage. He aligned himself with The Corporation, cozied up to the WWE CEO Vince
McMahon's daughter, and then proceeded to win five championships with WCW and WWE. However,
his career didn't pan out the way it could have, despite the elaborate storylines he
was given early on in his career. After a second stint with WWE, he was suspended
due to violations of the company's Wellness Policy after testing positive for testosterone,
per ESPN. Test kept wrestling for other promotions before his death in 2009 at 33 years old.
His cause of death was attributed to an accidental overdose of oxycodone. However, he caught the
attention of noted concussion doctor Bennet Omalu, who analyzed Martin's brain posthumously
and found that Test's brain resembled that of an elderly Alzheimer's patient. Before his death,
Test mentioned he had eight funerals for wrestling colleagues and didn't want to have that same fate.
Kerry Von Erich was part of a legendary family of wrestlers.
Following in their father Fritz Von Erich's footsteps, Kevin,
David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris became superstar wrestlers and competed in Fritz's promotion,
World Class Championship Wrestling. Kerry was the most famous and went on to compete for the
WWE and won the Intercontinental Championship in 1990. Kerry's career would be short lived.
Kerry suffered from substance abuse problems after a motorcycle accident
led to his right foot being amputated, the Baltimore Sun reports. In 1992,
he was sentenced to 10 years of probation for cocaine possession, but prosecutors
were eager to send him to prison. Not a week after a warrant for his arrest was issued,
Kerry's body was found at his father's ranch. He had died by suicide at 33 years old.
His father said tax problems, along with the death of his brothers had weighed heavily on
Kerry and led to his depression. Four of the Von Erich brothers had already died, two of which were
labeled as suicides, with another remaining in question. The string of tragedies have led
people to believe the family was cursed, but their legacy will live on as one of
the first successful wrestling families. A third generation of Von Erichs continue on in the ring.
Umaga, with his tattooed face and 348-pound frame, is kind of hard to forget. He came on
the WWE scene in 2002, made the main roster in 2006, and was released only three years later.
During that stint, he managed to make a name for himself and participate in a
few memorable fights. "The Samoan Bulldozer" put up a string of victories that could have
only been ended by John Cena. His first match was against former world champion Ric Flair,
and he quickly racked up wins against other marquee names, but he never won a
WWE Championship. He did, however, win the Intercontinental Championship two times.
Umaga, whose real name was Eddie Fatu [fah-TOO], was a member of the famous Anoa'i wrestling
family, along with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Roman Reigns. But only six months after
his stint with WWE ended, Umaga died at 36 years old. He had suffered a heart attack,
which was caused by a deadly combination of painkillers and a muscle relaxant, The Associated
Press reported. His death initiated another discussion on the taxing demands of wrestling.
Along with Umaga, Yokozuna was another modern-day wrestler hailing from the Anoa'i
family. Debuting in 1992, Yokozuna set out upon a path of destruction at WWE and topped
several superstars with his 6'4" and 600-pound frame. He held the championship title two times,
and the first win was one for the record books; after defeating legend Bret Hart for the title,
it was taken from him only two minutes later by Hulk Hogan.
That said, Yokozuna, whose real name was Rodney Anoa'i, once didn't receive clearance
for wrestling due to weighing 660 pounds, as reported by Sportscasting. Ultimately,
he remained with WWE for only five years and later explored his options elsewhere,
but his independent career didn't last for long. Like
Umaga, Yokozuna's career was cut short. He died in 2000 at the age of 34 due to a pulmonary edema.
The death of WWE star Shad Gaspard is particularly heart-wrenching. On May 17th,
2020, Gaspard and his 10-year-old son went swimming at Venice Beach
in Los Angeles but were caught in a deadly riptide, reports BBC News. Life guards came
onto the scene but evidently could only save one, and in an act of sacrifice,
Gaspard told them to save his son first. Gaspard did not survive. He was only 39 years old.
Prior to becoming a wrestler, Gaspard was a celebrity bodyguard for Mike Tyson and
Britney Spears. Once at WWE, he was known as "Da Beast" and became part of the fighting duo
Cryme Tyme with wrestler JTG. In 2009, they competed for tag team titles at
SummerSlam. After leaving the promotion, Gaspard returned to his Hollywood roots
and started an acting career, appearing in the 2015 film "Get Hard". Upon his death,
he received tributes from The Rock, Dave Bautista, and Triple H, among others.
At one point of his life, Brian Pillman was an NFL football player who couldn't get teams to
take a chance on him beyond the preseason, leaving him to find takers in the CFL, reports Bleacher
Report. One of the factors holding him back was his size; he played defensive tackle, but many
deemed him too small. But what held him back in one sport propelled him forward in another. Once
a wrestler at WCW in 1989, with training from the storied Stu Hart, he developed a reputation
for his in-the-air maneuvers. People started calling him "Flyin" Brian. In 1996, Pillman
took his aerial prowess and lively personality to WWE, but his time there would be short lived.
In 1997, Pillman died at 36 years old. The cause was heart disease, which may have been hereditary.
Behind the scenes, Pillman dealt with an addiction to alcohol and drugs during his wrestling career,
which made it all the more impressive that he managed to pull through while he could.
Crash Holly is often an overlooked member of the WWE's Attitude Era,
but he was once a World Tag Team Champion as one half of the Holly cousins. With his debut in 2000,
Crash had a lot of spunk and used his small frame to his advantage,
providing comic relief through an ongoing bit after he won the WWE Hardcore Championship.
Crash said that he could defend the title 24/7, no matter the location, starting a new tradition.
The challenge found him trying to fight off other wrestlers at airport baggage claims,
hotel rooms, and even at a circus. He eventually lost it after being hit with a trash can.
Crash, whose real name was Michael John Lockwood,
later won the European Championship and the Light Heavyweight Championship, but his career
with WWE came to an end when he was released in 2003. In November of that year, it was reported
that Crash died by suicide after taking alcohol and muscle relaxants. He was only 32 years old.
Adrian Adonis had a short but memorable career as one of WWE's top villains. He came onto the
wrestling scene with the American Wrestling Association in 1979, where he won a title,
and he soon joined the WWE roster. In 1985, he made his heel persona more flamboyant,
wearing pink clothing and overdone makeup, taking on the personality of
"Adorable" Adrian Adonis, who used his effeminate style to antagonize others,
which was quite the turn from his previous leather-jacket era. After
a peak in which he fought Hulk Hogan for his championship title, Adonis was fired in 1987.
Adonis died a year later after a tragic car accident. He and three other wrestlers were
riding along the Trans-Canada Highway when they suddenly swerved off the road,
likely to avoid a moose, per UPI. The car landed into a brook, and the
three passengers sustained life-ending injuries. Adonis was only 34 years old.
Lance Cade came onto the scene as Shawn Michaels' protege,
having been trained and given a contract by him in 1999. In 2003,
Cade made his WWE debut, forming two different tag teams with Mark Jindrak and Trevor Murdoch,
the latter earning him multiple tag team championships, notes the Bleacher Report.
One of his biggest fights came against Michaels in 2008. He lost,
marking his final major match with the WWE, ending a career that never fully
blossomed. Cade was released from his contract for reasons not fully clear,
but it seemed like a comeback was on the horizon when he was rehired in 2009. However, an addiction
to sleeping pills stunted that possibility, and Cade was again left without a WWE job.
In August 2010, Cade died at the age of 29. He had been suffering from an enlarged heart,
possibly due to steroid or drug use. The medical examiner's report revealed
that he had consumed a fatal mixture of drugs, which exacerbated his condition.
For some WWE fans in the early aughts, the name Eddie Guerrero [gur-AIR-oh] will
conjure up good memories, but others may have memories of him lying, cheating,
and stealing his way to the top. Originally from El Paso, Texas, Guerrero began his
career in Mexico and found his way to the States through Extreme Championship Wrestling. There,
he wrestled alongside Chris Benoit [ben-WAH] and Chris Jericho before making his way to World
Championship Wrestling , where he won his first major U.S. title. In 2000, he joined WWE and had
an entertaining storyline as wrestler Chyna's love interest. It was around this time that Guerrero
began struggling with an addiction to painkillers and alcohol and then separated from his wife. He
was released from WWE in 2001, but he managed to turn things around and was reinstated less than
a year later. This led to the pinnacle event of his career — his WWE Championship title in 2004.
But he wouldn't experience glory for long. He died in 2005, and according to the autopsy report,
it was due to steroids and recreational drugs, which had damaged his heart. He was 38 years old.