WWE: Death grip – The dark side of pro-wrestling

We as professional wrestling fans, have our own set of wants and desires from the performers. Often, we criticize them about how sloppy they are, or how they’re not cut for the business. We fail to understand the sacrifices these superstars make just to perform in front of the crowds, so that they can earn their living. Performers are just like us; they would’ve grown up watching the product, and would’ve fallen in love with it. As it is the case with us, growing up, all they ever wanted to do was to perform, to become one of those ‘larger than life’ characters they were huge fans of. Whether it is CM Punk or Edge, all the superstars are wrestling fans first, and performers second. That is what separates them from athletes in any other sport. All the pain and being away from your loved ones isn’t worth it if you don’t love what you do. Sadly, there are high risks of these performers not seeing their families ever again, much more than any other sport. In an instant, everything can change, and everything can go wrong.

Whether it is those unknown performers in the independent scene who fail to make it to the ‘big league’, or those who find themselves to be small fish in a big pond, at one point or the other, the professional wrestlers resort to extreme measures to make sure that they at least succeed in this business, and if they’re lucky enough, they might just make it big in one of the top organizations in the world. In doing so, they lead a life of stress, drugs, alcohol and virtually live on the very edge. In a sport that is unforgiving, often we forget that things can go wrong in an instant, and how these are mere mortals who can crumble down. In this article, I take a look at five such promising performers, who lost their lives to their personal demons, those who were the most unfortunate, and succumbed to their past.

Mike Awesome

Mike Awesome is known to be one of the saddest stories in professional wrestling. As a man who was destined for greatness with his size, strength and agility, Awesome made huge waves in the North American wrestling circuit, at a time when wrestling was at its peak. Awesome was ECW’s answer to Bill Goldberg, and was similar to Brock Lesnar, who’d later debut in the WWE. Awesome won the ECW Heavyweight championship, only to jump ships to WCW, and although he was over with the crowd early on, the backstage politics and nonsensical storylines ended his hot streak, and he was relegated to the mid card. Awesome was briefly signed to the WWF, but was released soon afterwards. Awesome made an appearance during the ECW: One Night Stand PPV in ’05, which happened to be the last time he was seen on prime time wrestling circuit. It is sad to see a performer not reaching his potential, but it gets worse to see him giving up on life. Awesome hung himself in ’07, leaving behind his wife and two children.

Andre The Giant

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Having a big heart’, but that took away one of wrestling’s favorite sons. Andre The Giant was loved by everyone, and he was the reason professional wrestling was seen as a ‘serious’ sport. Andre was arguably the biggest sports entertainer in the 70s, and was one of the most popular faces in the world. He was kind hearted, and his peers loved and respected him because of the obstacles he crossed, and the hardships he faced. Andre was born with a rare medical condition, and he was told that he wouldn’t live past 40, but that didn’t faze Andre. He lived his life to the fullest, but his body soon gave up on him. Andre started drinking heavily, and was once rumored to have finished 156 12 – ounce beers in one sitting! He couldn’t walk properly towards the end of his life, and in ’93, Andre’s father passed away, and in a matter of days, Andre left his friends behind. He passed away due to congestive heart failure, and remains as one of the true tragic tales of professional wrestling.

Brian Pillman

‘Flyin’ Brian’ was destined to become a superstar, being different from everyone else. He was the outrageous character in a world which only had the good and the bad. Pillman was entertaining and edgy, something that was influential in the career of Steve Austin. Pillman endured more than most others at a very young age, going through over 36 throat surgeries! As a member of the ‘Hollywood Blondes’, Pillman had a huge impact on Austin’s career, as Austin’s ‘redneck’ gimmick was a mere extension to Pillman’s character. Pillman was found dead in his hotel room due to a previously unknown heart condition. Pillman’s wife was pregnant at that time, and Pillman wasn’t aware of it. About a decade later, Pillman’s daughter, Alexis, who decided to pursue wrestling like her father passed away after a serious motorcycle accident. She was 26 at that time.

Rick Rude

If you had to choose one person who had the looks and the skills to be a champion, it was Rick Rude. Very few performers have the charisma and the mic skills that Rick had, and he was tipped to be a main eventer, and was involved in some of the edgiest segments in WWF history! Rude was claimed to be years ahead of his time, but all of that crumbled down when Rude suffered a career ending injury while working for WCW in ’94. Although Rude made appearances afterwards for WWF and WCW, he was never able to compete in the ring, and a great career came to an end. Rude acknowledged that he took anabolic steroids, and was addicted to alcohol and drugs, which ultimately led to his demise in ’99, as he was found dead and had a mixture of medications in his system. Rude was survived by his widow and three children.

The Von Erichs

And the saddest tale of them all in the history of professional wrestling was of Von Erichs’. The Von Erichs are referred to as the greatest wrestling family in the history of the business. Fritz Von Erich had 5 sons, and all of them were professional wrestlers. Fritz lived to see four of his sons fall before him, with one dying while on a tour and three others committing suicide. The tragic tale of the Von Erichs echoes in the industry as a sad reminder of what could be, if proper measures are not taken. Professional wrestling business is as heart wrenching as any other sport, but the fatalities in this business is way beyond any other.