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WWE has been home to several Superstars who have strived to make it big in the industry by performing with the biggest wrestling company in the world. Although WWE has always been the dream promotion for almost every wrestler who has stepped into the industry, only a few have managed to become WWE Superstars after putting in the required hard work.
Every WWE Superstar hopes of making it big in the company and retiring on personal terms, after which they hope to get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to fully live the dream, as real-life occurrences can throw any plan off course.
Similarly, several WWE Superstars have run into real-life tragedies that have cut their careers short, leaving the WWE Universe in shock each time. In this article, we'll look at 5 WWE Superstars whose careers ended prematurely due to tragic events.
#5 Droz
The Attitude Era was home to many of WWE’s most unique Superstars, and Droz walked into the company in 1998 feeling right at home. With the unique ability to regurgitate on command, Droz was seen as a star by Vince McMahon right after he first met him.
After debuting in the ring, he soon aligned himself with the Legion of Doom to get a push in his career. However, a match against The Headbangers ended his alliance with L.O.D. after he was rolled up by Mosh to pick up the victory while trying to help his partner, Animal.
He was then given a solo run where he turned heel and tried his hands at a new gimmick, but it didn't take him very far.
Droz’s WWE career come to a sudden end
Droz’s heel career saw him take on a few babyfaces of the brand, but one particular match ended it all for the former WWE Superstar. In a match against D’Lo Brown at a taping of SmackDown in October 1999, Droz was at the receiving end of a botched running powerbomb that severely injured his neck. The bad landing broke two vertebrae in his neck, leaving the Superstar without any movement below the neck.
Droz has revealed that he was wearing a loose shirt during the match that may have led to Brown getting a bad grip on him.
While Droz has been able to regain some movement in his upper body, he remains wheelchair-bound and requires constant care. He is one of the few Superstars who had unexpectedly short WWE careers.
#4 Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit made a name for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and WWE with his superior technical skills in the ring.
After a career spanning over two decades, Benoit was scheduled to compete against CM Punk at Vengeance: Night of Champions in 2007 after defeating Elijah Burke in a match to progress in the tournament set to crown a new ECW World Champion.
After informing WWE officials that his wife and son had food poisoning and skipping a house show before the pay-per-view, Benoit no-showed the event, prompting WWE to replace him with Johnny Nitro for the night.
Officials believed that Benoit had missed the big match due to another family emergency, but it was later revealed that Benoit, his wife Nancy, and son Daniel were all found dead at their home.
WWE decided to remove all mention of Benoit
The tragic news of the former World Heavyweight Champion and his family’s demise broke the WWE Universe down, but the details of how it all happened made things even worse.
WWE and its Superstars paid tribute to The Candian Crippler on the Monday Night RAW that followed, but the company decided to wipe off all mention of him from its website and content after it was made public that Benoit had taken the lives of his wife and son before committing suicide. This prematurely ended the career of one of the best technical wrestlers we have ever seen.
#3 Tyson Kidd
Tyson Kidd wrestled in various promotions before signing with WWE in 2006. Soon after, Kidd joined The Hart Dynasty where he was paired up with David Hart Smith and Natalya.
Kidd was always seen as a promising Superstar who had a bright career ahead of him as he was among the best athletes the company had. Kidd competed in his final televised WWE match at Elimination Chamber 2015 alongside Cesaro, after which tragedy struck.
The night after Elimination Chamber 2015, Kidd competed in a dark match on RAW against Samoa Joe. During the match, Joe delivered his finisher famously known as the “Muscle Buster” to Kidd, which ended up going wrong.
Even though Joe had been using the finisher for almost 15 years in different promotions, it led to Kidd suffering a spinal cord injury that took him out of WWE for over a year.
Tyson Kidd opens up about his tragic WWE career-ending injury
The Workhorse later revealed the severity of the injury and came to terms with the fact that his time in the ring had come to an end. In 2017, WWE moved him to the alumni section of their website and gave him a new role as a backstage producer in the company.
Kidd spoke to Chris Van Vliet a year later and opened up about the injury and how he was glad that he made it through without any permanent damage.
"I remember everything, I lost feeling for about five seconds head to toe, time stands still, you just sit there like in no control whatsoever it wasn't in my control, I was at someone's mercy just sitting there, you can't move anything, everything in your body feels like it weighs like two million pounds. There was some weird voice telling me that this isn't permanent, it doesn't mean that it's right but luckily, thankfully it was."
Kidd’s wife Natalya stayed by his side through it all and continues to wow the fans with her performances in the ring to this day.
#2 Owen Hart
Owen Hart had a great short stint in Japan while performing for the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion before he made his way back to the United States and joined WWE.
He returned to his roots soon after but rejoined the company for a longer run in 1991. He won the 1994 King of the Ring tournament and became a two-time Intercontinental Champion and four-time Tag Team Champion.
Hart had some memorable rivalries in the company as a member of the Hart Foundation and a solo wrestler, winning several big matches and having many big moments.
Hart falls to his death in front of the WWE Universe
During the Over the Edge pay-per-view in 1999, Hart was booked to take on The Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship at the event. Hart decided to make a grand entry at the PPV to compete and pick up his third Intercontinental Championship Title, a move that proved to be extremely costly for the legendary Superstar.
He was in the process of descending via a harness into the ring, but the equipment gave way, and he fell. EMTs rushed Hart to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. WWE paused the event for just 15 minutes before they continued it as scheduled. WWE announcer Jim Ross continued to remind fans watching live and at home that what had just transpired was not kayfabe or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly.
Hart’s demise is remembered as one of the most tragic incidents in the world of sports entertainment, as he was considered a genius by many in the industry.
#1 Eddie Guerrero
Fans of wrestling are well acquainted with the Guerrero wrestling family and its most prominent member, Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero became prominent as the second incarnation of Black Tiger in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), after which he moved on to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and WWE.
As a multi-time Champion in the latter three promotions, Guerrero became a prominent figure on television and won the hearts of the WWE Universe with his amazing character and dedication towards his work.
After a storied career that lasted over two decades, his time came to a tragic end on November 13, 2005, after he was found unconscious in his hotel room by his nephew and fellow wrestler, Chavo Guerrero.
What caused the former WWE Champion’s demise?
Heart failure was found to be the cause of his demise at a time when he was traveling with the company during a WWE Live tour. The former WWE Champion’s death broke the hearts of every single wrestling fan as he was among the most well-respected athletes in the business.
WWE dedicated episodes of RAW and SmackDown to the late Superstar, showing exactly how much he meant to them and the entire WWE Universe.
His storied career still inspires young Superstars to this day, and tributes continue to pour out from those he inspired and worked with.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
