What’s the story?
After suffering through a prolonged battle against liver cancer for over a decade, former WWWF wrestler Ivan Koloff, passed away last night at the age of 74. This has been a tough week for the wrestling industry, due to George ‘The Animal Steele’ and Nicole Bass also passing away earlier in the week.
WWE stars took to social media to offer respect and prayers for Koloff and his bereaved family.
In case you didn’t know...
Born on a dairy farm in Montreal, Ivan made his debut in professional wrestling with the International Wrestling Association in 1967. Following his success, Koloff next debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1969 and gained popularity for his rivalry with the then-WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino.
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In 1981, the Canadian wrestler paired up with Ray Stevens to defeat Paul Jones and Masked Superstar to win the NWA World Tag Team Championships. Eventually, Ivan went on to win four NWA World Tag Team Championships, winning the belts with Don Kernodle and twice with his nephew, Nikita Koloff as "The Russians".
The heart of the matter
Also known as the ‘Russian Bear’, the former WWWF World Heavyweight Champion was suffering from a diminished liver function, along with jaundice and shortness of breath, which was caused due to an accumulation of fluid in his abdominal cavity stemming from liver failure.
Reactions
Here are some of the Tweets posted in memory of Ivan Koloff by wrestlers all across the world.
Sportskeeda’s take
Ivan Koloff was one of the most prominent wrestlers of his time. It’s a sad demise for the entire sports and the wrestling fraternity as they mourn the loss of yet another legend. We here at Sportskeeda offer our condolences to the bereaved family.
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