Today we present you, 12 Wrestlers Who You Didn't Know Tragically Died In Car Accidents
12. Jerry Blackwell
Tipping the scales at nearly 500 lbs,
this grappler from Stone Mountain, Georgia
was an indestructible force.
A true tough-guy who competed in strong-man competitions, Blackwell amazed fans
driving nails into wood with nothing but his forehead.
Joining the AWA, the mountain of a man would have his greatest success as a heel,
alongside Ken Patera,
where the two reigned as AWA World Tag Team Champions.
Turning face not long after, Blackwell would become one of the promotion’s most beloved stars,
thanks in part by the departure of Hulk Hogan,
who had joined Vince McMahon’s WWF.
Feuding with world champions such as Nick Bockwinkel,
and later Curt Hennig,
Blackwell was one of the promotion’s top stars, and for good reason.
Unfortunately, things would come crashing down, as in December 1994,
Blackwell was involved in a car accident
and died just one month later.
The mountain from Stone Mountain has died specifically due to
his injuries from the accident, and was 45 when he passed.
11. Brady Boone
A stocky man to say the least, it didn’t take long
for Brady Boone to capture the attention of WWE.
Debuting in the 1984, Boone would work for years on house shows,
occasionally making it on Television. Originally competing as himself,
Boone would get his most memorable character of Battle Kat in 1990,
with many fans remembering the colourful character of the time.
After years working as a wrestler,
Boone would become a referee in WCW in the late 90s,
where he was able to help coach newer talent.
Driving home from a taping on Orlando, Florida
to his home in Tampa,
Boone sadly died in an automobile accident
on December 15, 1998, aged 40.
Whilst he never held championship gold in either the WWF or WCW,
Boone helped inspire and mentor a young Rob Van Dam,
helping open doors in All Japan Pro Wrestling
for the future WWE Champion
who would capture the richest prize in the industry in 2006.
10. Sailor White
One of the WWF’s most travelled stars,
it’s disappointing that the incredible life of Sailor White
came to a tragic end due to a car accident.
Working as a heel in Japan, South Africa and Malaysia,
White is best known for his time in the WWF as Moondog King,
where he held the World Tag Team Championships with Moondog Rex in 1981.
During this reign though, White’s time competing in the U.S. was cut short,
as visa issues meant he was no longer allowed to compete,
with his disspearence on-screen eerily being explained in kayfabe
as that White had been hit by a car.
Falling into a destructive mix of drugs alcohol and violence,
White would serve time before returning to his native Canada,
where he turned his life around.
Twice running for office,
White would form his own political party,
before spending his final years driving a taxi.
When his taxi crashed in December 2004,
White’s neck and back were severely damaged
and he would succumb to his injuries 8 months later.
9. Adrian Adonis
When Adrian Adonis competed at WrestleMania 3 in front of over 93,000 fans,
no-one could’ve expected that the huge star would be dead not long after.
Facing Roddy Piper, Adonis would come up short against the Hot Rod,
and would even lose some of his brunette locks in the aftermath.
Following this historic defeat, Adonis would take a hiatus from WWE
making appearances on the independent scene,
when his travels took him to Newfoundland. Near the town of Lewisporte
Adonis swerved to avoid a moose,
and the vehicle ended up at the bottom of a deep embankment in the water.
The July 4th, 1998 accident made headlines
as many people were shocked that
someone they had seen not that long ago, was now gone.
That same year, Adonis was posthumously awarded this
Stanley Weston award by Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine,
allowing fans one final chance to say goodbye to the Superstar.
8. Ernie Holmes
While many fans may have forgotten
Ernie Holmes career as a professional wrestler,
older fans may recall the NFL star participating in the football
vs. Wrestler Battle Royal at WrestleMania 2.
Playing for seven seasons in the NFL
Holmes was a crucial part of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots,
though somehow found the time to wrestle on multiple occasions onthe side.
A two-time Superbowl Champion with the Steelers,
Holmes competed in 84 NFL games,
before retiring to a quiet life in Texas.
Later ordained as a minister,
Holmes would spread the word to countless members of his congregation
before his tragic death on January 17th, 2008.
Involved in a single vehicle accident near Beaumont, Texas
Holmes’ car veered off the road and flipped several times. It was later discovered that Holmes had not been wearing his seatbelt,
and had been flung from the vehicle,
and was pronounced dead at the scene.
When Adrian Adonis took his hiatus from WWE
one promoter eager to snatch the Superstar up was Dave ‘The Bearman’ McKigney.
An established wrestler, McKigney was also the promoter behind Big Bear Promotions
an undercover company that ran
throughout Ontario
and Quebec from the 1960s-1980s.
As you can imagine, McKigney got his nickname as
as he would often wrestle against bears at shows,
though became fast friends with Adonis when they worked together.
Unfortunately, the Bearman was with Adonis on July 4th, 1988,
and also perished in the car accident that took Adonis’ life.
Also in the vehicle were wrestles Pat and Mike Kelly,
and though Mike survived, his brother was not so lucky.
The death of three wrestlers in just one day shocked fans to the core,
with Lewisporte hosting no wrestling for nearly twenty years after the tragedy.
6. Billy Redwood
One of the more obscure wrestlers on this list,
William Crumpton made his debut in the world of wrestling in 2001.
Trained by Jimmy Cicero,
The Bruiser
and Corporal Punishment,
Crumption would compete as Billy Redwood and later as Billy Beater during his career.
Whilst he never made it big in WWE,
Redwood would become a two-tome Hardway Wrestling tag champion in Philadelphia,
and also held the MCW Pro Wrestling TV Title.
Amongst his opponents included former ECW stars
like Axl Rotten,
Chris Chetti
and Rockin Rebel,
as well as former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion,
Duane Gill, better known by fans as the man called Gillberg.
Sadly, Redwood’s career was cut short when he died
in a vehicular accident on July 3rd 2004.
Stading 6-foot-5 and weighing close to 300lbs, who knows how far Redwood’s career could’ve gone
if the blue-chipper hadn’t tragically been struck down
just three years after entering the business.
5. Joey Marella
The son of the legendary Gorilla Monsoon,
Joey Marella had huge shoes to fill when he joined
the WWF in 1983 at just 20 years old.
Becoming a referee instead of a wrestler,
Marella would become one of the most recognisable refs of all time
before the likes of Earl Hebner,
Nick Patrick
or Charles Robinson.
Arguably his biggest moment came in 1987,
when Marella was chosen to call the main event of WrestleMania 3,
which saw Hulk Hogan slam Andre the Giant to retain the WWF title.
Driving home after refereeing matches in Ocean City, Maryland,
, Marella fell asleep at the wheel on July 4th, 1994
in New Jersey, and died after a car accident, aged 31.
Also in the car was Harvey Wippleman,
who fortunately survived
as he was wearing his seatbelt, something Marella reportedly had not done.
As tribute, ring announcer Tony Chimel
would name one of his sons after Marella,
and when his father passed in 1999,
the pair were laid to rest side-by- side at Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
4. Pierre Lefebvre
When Vince McMahon decided his promotion would host the very best talent,
many assumed that Pierre ‘Mad Dog’ Lefebvre would be first on the list.
ntering wrestling aged 17, Lefebvre would earn the respect of many fans
and wrestlers for his ferocity in the ring,
as at 5 foot 10 and 233lbs,
would often find himself overpowered.
Though he did have some success in the U.S. as part of Georgia Championship Wrestling,
the Canadian star would have his best success in Quebec,
where he won the International Tag Team Championships seven times.
On Christmas Eve, 1985,
Lefebvre’s life was tragically snuffed out aged 30,
during a car accident which happened whilst he was returning home for the holidays.
What makes this even worse, is that Lefebvre wasn’t travelling alone,
with both his passengers also perishing: referee Adien Desboris,
and one half of the first-ever WWF Tag Champions, Tarzan Tyler.
3. Buddy Landell
Though many current-day fans may not have heard the name Buddy Landell,
the former Superstar was once poised to be one of the greatest of all time.
After several years wowing fans in the 80s,
Landell feuded with fellow Nature Boy Ric Flair,
and was poised to dethrone the 16-time World Champion
for the NWA World Championship,
but departed the company in 1985 after a falling out with management.
Despite this, Landell would still do well,
was slated to face off against Buddy Rogers before his death,
and was awarded the State of Kentucky’s governor office in 1990
as the state’s most influential wrestler.
Being involved in an automobile accident on June 21, 2015,
news of the incident instantly hit social media,
though it looked like Landell was going to be okay.
After being seen at hospital,
Landell was sent home,
but was found dead by his wife the next day, at the age of 53.
2. The Junkyard Dog
Whilst Hulk Hogan may have been the face of the WWE
during it’s expansion in the 1980s,
it was the colourful cast of characters that helped prop the Hulkster up.
One such character was the Junkyard Dog
who after debuting in 1977,
became a huge star of the promotion.
A fixture on the short lived ‘Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n Wrestling’ cartoon
JYD’s popularity continued to build
even competing at the very first WrestleMania,
where he defeated Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine.
One of the most athletic Superstars of his generation,
Dog would remain active in the industry until
his death on June 2nd, 1998.
Falling asleep at the wheel, JYD sadly died
moments after his daughter’s graduation ceremony,
in what must’ve been one of the best and worst days for the family.
Despite holding several regional titles,
the Junkyard Dog never held gold in the WWE,
though was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 2004,
the night before WrestleMania 20.
1. Randy Savage
Although he was one of the most recognisable wrestlers of all time
Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage became something
of a recluse after his contract with WCW came to an end.
Despite a brief stint in TNA
and a cameo as Bonesaw McGraw in the 2002 Spider-Man film,
fans would not get a chance to see the former WWF Champion for years
until a video at San Diego Comic Con showed him
speaking about the new Mattel image of himself.
With fans hopeful that this was the start of Savage’s return to the company,
his sudden death on May 20, 2011
hit fans worse than
any of his patented diving elbow drops.
After his death,
it was determined that Savage had suffered a cardia arrest whilst driving,
which had caused him to crash his car into a tree.
A huge loss for the wrestling community,
fans still consider the Macho Man as one of the greatest
and most gifted stars of his time,
and he was rightly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015,
by his brother Lanny ‘The Genius’ Poffo.
Well guys that's our list, and it was a morbid one, what do we say we all cheer each other up by sharing some of our favourite memories of these superstars down in the comments sections below
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