Wrestling Deaths Two

Yokozuna

Yokozuna was born Rodney Anoa’i on October 2, 1966 and died on October 23, 2000.He was a Samoan-American professional wrestler. He was best known for wrestling in the WWE. I remember that he was billed as a Japanese wrestler who didn’t speak a word of English. A match that comes to mind was the shortest championship reign that he had. In WrestleMania IX, he won the Heavyweight championship from Bret Hart and lost the belt to Hulk Hogan the same night. I also remember the double main event match that he had with Lex Luger and Bret Hart at WrestleMania X. Yokozuna beat Lex Luger earlier in the night and then lost the belt to Bret Hart later. I am a huge Bret Hart fan so it was a great moment to watch Bret win the belt back a year later. Anyway, I remember that I always felt sorry for the victim of the Samoan splash. He would stand on the ropes and then jump on his opponent. I used to wonder how Yokozuna pulled that off without hurting someone since he outweighed his opponents by quite a bit of weight.

Death

Yokozuna died of a heart attack on October 23, 2000 at his Liverpool residence in London. I was shocked by his death since he was so young. Then again, since he was a large man, I guess the heart attack was inevitable.

Adrian Adonis

Adrian Adonis was born Keith Franke on September 12, 1954 and died on July 4, 1988. He started his wrestling career in 1974. He wrestled in the AWA and WWE. My memory of Adrian Adonis was when he took on an effeminate persona. I had never seen a wrestler dressed up like that before. One of his most memorable feuds was with Roddy Piper. I remember the Hair Match/Retirement Match as if it happened yesterday. It helps how I just saw that match on an old tape. (LOL!)

Death

Adrian Adonis was killed in a car accident on July 4, 1988. I really can’t believe that this year will make it 20 years since he died.

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant was born Andre Rene Roussimoff on May 19, 1946 and died on January 27, 1993. He was believed to be 7 ft. tall when he was really 6 ft. 10 in. I just assumed he was 7 ft. tall. I became familiar with him during WrestleMania I. I remember how he used to be a babyface wrestler and was friends with Hulk Hogan. This was around WrestleMania 1 and 2. The next thing you know, they were wrestling against each other in WrestleMania 3. I remember the match really well. I did remember how Andre looked like he was a little tired while he was wrestling Hulk. Andre ended up losing the title, but it was still one of his most memorable matches in my opinion. The event also broke attendance records and the record still hasn’t been broken.

Death

Andre died in his sleep on January 27, 1993. It turned out that he died of congestive heart failure. He was survived by his daughter. I wasn’t surprised by his death since he was sick during the end of his wrestling career.

Crush

Crush was born Brian Keith Adams on April 14, 1964 and died on August 13, 2007. He rose to fame as Crush. He used to tag with Ax and Smash of Demolition. One of the best matches he had with Demolition was a handicap match with the Hart Foundation at Summer Slam “90. It was a two out of three match and it was tied up until the Legion of Doom interfered. I was so happy to see the Hart Foundation win the match. Crush ended up leaving the WWE for a while and returned as a singles wrestler. I think that he wrestled better alone because it gave the audience a chance to see what he could do.

Death

Crush was found by his wife on August 13, 2007. He wasn”t breathing. According to an autopsy report, he died of a overdose of pain killers and antidepressants. This was another shocking death to me because I didn’t hear much about him once he left the WWE so I assumed everything was okay with him.

The Fabulous Moolah

The Fabulous Moolah was born Mary Lillian Ellison on July 22, 1923 and died on November 2, 2007. She held the record for the longest title reign by any athlete in any professional sport. She had a 38-year championship reign in 1956. I’m familiar with her feud with Wendy Richter. I also remember her later matches with the late Sheri Martel and she even fought with Mae Young. Like her or not, the Fabulous Moolah was able to accomplish a lot during her career that female wrestlers today will never accomplish. She never had to use her body in order to get where she did. She let her skills speak for itself.

Death

The Fabulous Moolah died on November 2, 2007. According to her daughter, the cause of her death was a possible heart attack or a blood clot that was related to a shoulder replacement surgery. She was survived by her daughter Mary. I was surprised that there was so little coverage about her death. I guess since she didn’t die from drugs, the reporters didn’t care.