5 WWF/WWE wrestlers who unfortunately died before they turned 35

The world of professional wrestling is replete with examples of wrestlers who died young. A lot of it can be attributed to fatal injuries, drug addiction, and other such factors. Few academic research papers have shown that they die younger than athletes from other sports. The most common cause of their death has been cardiovascular disease.

There have been many wrestlers who died young like Ravishing Rick Rude (40) and Eddie Guerrero (38). We take a look at five WWF/WWE wrestlers who died before they turned 35.

#5 Lance Cade

Born in 1981, Lance Cade started his wrestling career in Japan. He gained popularity in a quick span of time, so he returned back to the USA and signed up with Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2003. He partnered with Mark Jindark as a tag team and started wrestling on Raw brand.

Trevor Murdoch and Cade formed a tag team where they posed a threat to D-Generation X. Although they were defeated by Shawn Michaels and Triple H in a street fight, the storyline became quite a hit with the fans. Most wrestling observers and commentators feel he did not get a push from WWE hence did not live up to the expectations.

Cade suffered from a heart condition and died at the age of 29 after a complication leading to cardiomyopathy. He was hugely talented but never realized his potential.

#4 Crash Holly

Crash Holly spent 10 years as indie-wrestler before he joined WWF in 1999. He formed a tag team with Molly Holly and Hardcore Holly, who were his kayfabe cousin. He won the WWF/WWE Hardcore Championship twenty-two times in his career.

The fans loved him for his skills and foxiness which enabled him to come out of impossible situations unharmed. He was also quite an entertaining performer in the mid-card for WWE.

The Houdini of Hardcore died due to an overdose of a prescription drug called 'carisoprodol.' He was 32 when he committed suicide.

#3 Chris Candido

Chris Candido was an American wrestler born on March 21, 1972. Along with his girlfriend Tammy Lynn and Tom Prichard, he formed a tag team 'The Bodydonnas.' Candido was a crafty, and an all-rounder performer. For his achievements inside the ring, they inducted him into the 'Hardcore Hall of Fame.'

Early in his life, he became a drug addict but became clean once he became a professional wrestler. While fighting a match in TNA Impact Wrestling against Sonny Siaki and Apolo, Candido fractured his fibula and tibia. He underwent surgery but after three days, died due to a blood clot that developed during surgery. He was only 33.

#2 Adrian Adonis

Adrian Adonis joined WWF in 1980 as a no-nonsense and rough wrestler. But WWF made him wear scarves, dresses, eye shadow, and pink dress to portray womanish "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. The fans hated him due to his actions and looks, but he played his part with absolute honesty.

Adonis was with fellow wrestlers in a minivan when the driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid hitting a moose. The van fell into a creek. He died at 34.

#1 Brian Pillman

Born in 1962, Brian Pillman played professional basketball along with balancing a career in professional wrestling. He became famous in the 1980s with some great performances in 'Stampede Wrestling'. Later, he participated in ECW, WCW, and WWF in the 1990s.

The Yellow Dog was known for his agility although an injury badly damaged his ankle. WWF created a gimmick 'The Loose Cannon' which earned him a reputation of being bad and unpredictable. In the Attitude Era, there was an angle where Steve Austin invades Pillman's house only for Pillman to aim his gun at him in self-defense.

He was a good friend of Austin, and his feud with Goldust was legendary. The Hart Foundation and Pillman also defeated the American team of Ken Shamrock, The Legion of Doom, Goldust, and Austin in a tag team match.

In 1997, Dude Love and Pillman were scheduled to wrestle when the news came that Pillman was found dead at his hotel. After the autopsy, the doctors attributed the cause of his death to arteriosclerotic heart disease. This disease had also taken his father's life.

Pillman will always be remembered for playing a high-flying and striking cruiserweight with excellent technical skills.

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