Stardom in the Ring, but an Early Death

New York Times

12-05-2025

Professional wrestling fans are familiar with the feeling: opening the newspaper or clicking a link to discover a favorite has died.
And so many times it seems as if the star died at a young age.
There have been many well-known wrestlers, and many of them have lived long lives. But it is impossible not to notice the many who have died early, some startlingly early. The causes have been many, but the results the same: an early obituary for a titan of the ring.
Most recently, Sabu, who pioneered the so-called 'hardcore' style of wrestling in the 1990s, died at 60. His cause of death was not released.
A study by FiveThirtyEight in 2014 comparing the lives of well-known wrestlers with actuarial data showed that male wrestlers were significantly more likely to die young than the average man, although it drew no conclusion about why.
Though there have been many others — Eddie Guerrero, Owen Hart, several members of the Von Erich family — here are nine who made a big impression in their scripted doings on the mat and then by their early deaths.
Roddy Piper (1954-2015)
Rowdy Roddy Piper played the villain to the hilt in the 1980s and '90s, ranting egotistically and taunting his opponents. But he did it with such glee and charm that he became hugely popular.
Born in Canada, he was billed as coming from Scotland and leaned into the part, arriving in the ring in a kilt to the sound of bagpipes. He had a long rivalry with Hulk Hogan, including at the main event at the first WrestleMania in 1985. Good had to triumph though: Piper and his tag team partner Paul Orndorff lost to Hogan and the actor Mr. T.
Piper, who was born Roderick Toombs, died at 61 of a heart attack. His legacy influenced many in later generations of combat sports. Ronda Rousey, the mixed martial artist superstar of the 2010s (and sometime wrestler), cited him as an influence, and with his permission she took the nickname Rowdy as well.
Read the Times obituary.
Chyna (1969-2016)
Born Joanie Laurer, she had been 'rejected at everything,' she told The Boston Herald in 1999, but realized, 'I could go out and be this big, huge female and entertain people.'
Five feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, she not only dominated most of her female opponents, but also got into the ring with men. She was the first woman to enter the free-for-all Royal Rumble event, in 1999. She died at 46 of an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs.
She parlayed her wrestling career into other pursuits, including acting in shows like '3rd Rock From the Sun' and appearing in reality TV programs like 'The Surreal Life.'
She also boxed Joey Buttafuoco, but lost.
Read the Times obituary.
André the Giant (1946-1993)
Few wrestlers were as beloved as André the Giant. Despite his massive size — 7-foot-4, 520 pounds — and his fearsome victories in the ring, he exuded a gentleness that gave him broad appeal in and out of the wrestling world.
Born André René Roussimoff, he embarked on a yearslong undefeated streak beginning in the 1970s in the World Wrestling Federation. Turning bad guy and finally losing to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III in 1987 did little to diminish his popularity.
His fame spread beyond the ring. He was cast in 'The Princess Bride,' where his natural amiability suited the role of the gentle giant Fezzik. The artist Shepard Fairey made a name for himself by posting stickers of André's face captioned with the word 'obey' in public places.
André died at 46 of a heart attack. He had told the actor Billy Crystal on the set of 'The Princess Bride': 'We do not live long, the big and the small.'
Read The Associated Press obituary, published in The Times.
Bray Wyatt (1987-2023)
As with many professional wrestlers, Bray Wyatt's passion for the sport ran in the family. Born Windham Rotunda, he had multiple relatives in the sport, including a grandfather who wrestled as Blackjack Mulligan and a father who wrestled as Mike Rotunda. His partner, Joseann Offerman, wrestled as JoJo.
The character he mostly played was part of a bayou-dwelling cult called the Wyatt family. In 2017 he briefly reigned as the World Wrestling Entertainment champion following in the footsteps of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan and John Cena. He died at 36 of a heart attack exacerbated by Covid.
Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled as the Rock, said Wyatt had a 'very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling.'
Read the Times obituary.
Miss Elizabeth (1960-2003) and Randy Savage (1952-2011)
Miss Elizabeth, born Elizabeth Hulette, 5-foot-4 and slight, did not have the size to wrestle, so she served as a manager for her partner, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, in the 1980s and early '90s. But she did not play the role of hype-man that most managers do. Instead, she would quietly watch from the sidelines, furrowing her brow in concern.
Their fictionalized relationship was tested by a manufactured love triangle with Hulk Hogan. Then their real-life marriage ended, and Miss Elizabeth moved on from wrestling. She died at 42 of an accidental drug overdose.
Savage, born Randy Poffo, kept wrestling. He would flamboyantly strut into the ring to 'Pomp and Circumstance,' in sunglasses and bandanna, and rasp 'Oooh, yeah!' He died at 58 in a car accident. Though he wrestled at the height of Hogan's fame, he managed two runs as W.W.F. champion and developed a popularity nearly rivaling that of Hogan.
Read the Times obituary for Savage and an essay on Elizabeth's death.
The Ultimate Warrior (1959-2014)
The Ultimate Warrior, born James Hellwig, had an astonishing physique, even by professional wrestling's standards. Those muscles, and often copious face paint, became his trademarks in the late 1980s and early '90s.
But he spent just a few years at the top of the W.W.F. in part because of a bitter contract dispute. A couple of brief comebacks notwithstanding, he was never really an active wrestler again.
He died at 54 of a heart attack, shortly after being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the W.W.E., the new name of the W.W.F. After his career, he admitted that his physique was created at least in part by anabolic steroids.
Read the Times obituary.
The Road Warriors: Animal (1960-2020) and Hawk (1957-2003)
Some wrestling tag teams are temporary alliances between two great individual wrestlers. But other teams, like the Road Warriors, are forever linked, greater than the sum of their parts.
Tag team wrestling was in the doldrums in the 1980s, when the Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk, reinvigorated it in their face paint and spiked armor inspired by the film 'The Road Warrior.' (They also wrestled as the Legion of Doom.)
Entering the ring to 'Iron Man' by Black Sabbath, Animal and Hawk usually left it victorious after using their finishing move, called the Doomsday Device. 'I'd duck down behind an opponent and pick him up on my shoulders,' Animal, born Joe Laurinaitis, wrote in his memoir in 2011. 'As soon as he was balanced in an upright position, Hawk would come off the top rope with a big clothesline and knock the guy for a back flip.'
Hawk, born Michael Hegstrand, died at 46 and Animal at 60, both of heart attacks. They began wrestling together in 1983; after stops with various wrestling companies, they were still an active tag team in 2003, the year of Hawk's death.
Read The Times obituary for Animal.