From tragic deaths to shocking scandals, the wrestling world has seen its share of darkness behind the glitz. Join us as we explore the most disturbing and heartbreaking stories that have plagued professional wrestling throughout its history. These real-life tragedies reveal the dark side of an industry where the drama outside the ring often eclipses what happens inside it.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most tragic real-life
00:14stories to affect professional wrestling's biggest stars throughout the industry's
00:19history.
00:20If there was a Mount Rushmore for pro wrestling promoters, Garnier would be in contention.
00:33After all, he founded the American Wrestling Association in 1960 until it closed in 1991.
00:40The promotion was a launching pad for many icons including Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and
00:45Ric Flair.
00:46However, Garnier's circumstances took a downswing in his later life.
00:51In 2009, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, he was living at a nursing facility in Bloomington,
00:57Minnesota.
00:58Garnier got into an altercation with a fellow resident, 97-year-old Helmut Gutmann.
01:03The wrestler reportedly picked up Gutmann and slammed him, causing the older resident
01:08to break his hip.
01:09Sadly, he died from complications.
01:12Due to his illness and not remembering the interaction, Garnier wasn't charged with
01:17murder.
01:18Who better than Canyon?
01:21Not many.
01:22Making his name at WCW, Canyon would move to the WWE when they bought out the company
01:27in 2001.
01:29He left the company in 2004 and made sporadic appearances on the indie circuit.
01:34During this time, Canyon came out as gay.
01:45He soon began writing a book about his struggles of hiding his sexuality in the wrestling business.
01:59On top of dealing with that, Canyon was battling bipolar disorder, leading to him admitting
02:04in an interview about the drastic measures he nearly took.
02:08In 2010, after Canyon hadn't been heard from by his family, his brother went to his
02:13home and discovered he'd taken his own life.
02:21Flying back from the pay-per-view insurrection from England in 2002, the journey would go
02:27down in infamy for all the wrong reasons, mostly thanks to the open bar and allegations
02:33of substance use.
02:35On top of practical jokes, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Hennig decided to do some mile-high amateur
02:41wrestling, causing the duo to thump against the emergency exit, which is terrifying.
02:54Michael Hayes and JBL allegedly fought, leading to X-Pac cutting Hayes' hair while he slept.
03:03Allegedly, Scott Hall and Goldust harassed the female flight attendants verbally and
03:12Ric Flair exposed himself.
03:15Several wrestlers left the company in the aftermath, including Hall and Hennig.
03:19In 2004, the flight workers sued the WWE, which was settled out of court.
03:29Known as Razor Ramon, in the then-WWF, before switching to his real name when debuting for
03:37rivals WCW, the bad guy was an underrated treasure in the ring.
03:42However, Hall had his demons, resulting in substance issues, which could be traced back
03:47to a traumatic experience he had in 1983.
03:51Shortly before he debuted as a wrestler, Hall was a bartender in Orlando, Florida, where
03:56he argued with Rodney Turner.
03:58Reportedly, Hall had made moves on Turner's wife.
04:02After Turner vandalized Hall's car, the wrestler confronted him, who then pulled out
04:06a firearm.
04:10Hall managed to take it from him before fatally shooting Turner.
04:15While Hall was arrested for the incident, the charges were dropped.
04:19However, he was still diagnosed with PTSD.
04:26After making her name in WCW, Daphne became one of TNA's best women wrestlers during
04:35her stints there, all while dealing with bipolar disorder.
04:38Sadly, due to injuries, including several concussions, she had to retire from wrestling
04:44in 2011.
04:45Daphne sued TNA for unsafe working conditions and medical compensation, which was settled
04:51out of court in 2013.
04:53In a 2017 book, she detailed her struggles from repeated concussions.
04:58In 2021, Daphne live-streamed on Instagram.
05:02She gave a goodbye speech and requested her brain be studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
05:13When the police arrived, they found her body.
05:16The shock ignited a discussion in the industry about mental health after other, similar incidents.
05:22Born in Italy and raised in Canada, Bravo became
05:31one of the Great White North's biggest wrestling stars, especially after he joined the then-WWF
05:37in 1985.
05:39He remained there until 1992, having iconic matches with Randy Savage and The Ultimate
05:45Warrior during his stint.
05:46However, in 1993, Bravo's body was found at his home in Laval, Quebec.
05:52He'd been shot numerous times.
05:54The person responsible has never been found.
06:05With Bravo being the nephew of crime boss Vincenzo Cotroni, it's believed the wrestler
06:10fell into organised crime and smuggled cigarettes into Canada.
06:14As such, it's speculated the mob had something to do with his murder.
06:28Best known for his various stints at the WWF slash WWE, Jimmy Superfly Snooker won many
06:34titles across multiple promotions throughout his career.
06:37However, in 1983, he was embroiled in a massive scandal, with run-ins with the police before
06:44After Bravo suspected domestic abuse against his partner, Nancy Argentino, officers arrived
06:49at a hotel in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
06:52They found a badly injured Argentino.
06:56Sadly, she died from her injuries, which included massive head trauma, as well as many cuts
07:05and bruises.
07:06Beyond Argentino's parents winning a default judgement against Snooker in 1985, he didn't
07:12face criminal consequences.
07:21That changed in 2015, when he was charged with murder.
07:25However, due to Snooker being declared unfit to stand trial, the case was eventually dropped
07:31shortly before his death.
07:42On the surface, she was a pioneer in wrestling, becoming one of the most influential and famous
07:47women wrestlers to grace the sport in a career that began in 1949.
07:52However, allegedly, she took advantage of this prestige when she opened her own school.
08:05According to her former students, Moolah would take a hefty portion of their booking fees,
08:10even stealing money and claiming that the promoters had paid them little.
08:22She was also accused of sending women to promotions, promising officials intimate services for
08:27her students in exchange.
08:29In 2018, the allegations against Moolah resurfaced when the WWE planned the Fabulous Moolah Memorial
08:34Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34, before the company scrapped it based on the backlash.
08:48The father of three professional wrestlers, Jake The Snake Roberts, Rockin' Robin and
08:53Sam Houston, Smith was a wrestler in his own right, working for various NWA territories
08:59and the WWF.
09:00He later became a promoter and then a road agent with WCW.
09:04However, as detailed by his children, Smith was abusive to them and others.
09:15According to Roberts, his father was dating his grandmother.
09:19Smith allegedly then forced himself on his partner's daughter, resulting in Roberts
09:23being born.
09:24According to the wrestling legend, this traumatic experience was a key contributor to his substance
09:31issues, something we'll get into in the next entry.
09:34Robin also came forward in a documentary to state she was a victim of Smith's abuse
09:39too.
09:48Everyone loves a comeback story, but many wrestling fans seriously doubted that one
09:52Jake The Snake Roberts would ever return from the brink of his personal abyss.
09:58That's because Roberts overcame massive traumatic issues at home to become one of
10:05the business's most respected in-ring technicians, only to fall into the depths of addiction.
10:18It wasn't until linking up with Diamond Dallas Page and getting clean, where Roberts
10:23was able to return to the business he loved.
10:26Jake's struggles were even documented in the film, The Resurrection of Jake The Snake,
10:31where all of his demons were set on full display for all to see.
10:44The Ultimate Warrior was a bodybuilder-turned-wrestler that seemed destined for in-ring stardom.
10:50He had the look and the energy, but he also had an ego.
11:00The man-born James Helwig was so successful during his late 80s, early 90s peak that it
11:06seemed as if nothing could stop him.
11:09But Helwig was his own worst enemy, as conflict with WWE owner Vince McMahon led to his departure
11:15from the company, a second career as a conservative public speaker and warrior criticism for his
11:27homophobic rhetoric, although Helwig did eventually patch things up with the WWE.
11:33Strangely, The Ultimate Warrior died from a heart attack mere days after being inducted
11:39into the company's Hall of Fame, and making a memorable return on Monday Night Raw.
11:49It's called the Von Erich Curse, a string of horrific events that seem to follow the
11:57first family of Texas wrestling.
12:06There are simply no words to describe the electricity conducted by the old Texas stadium
12:12and sportatorium brawls between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs.
12:17But just as crowds cheered on their hometown heroes, so too did they weep as brother after
12:22each Von Erich brother seemed to fall.
12:25Young Jack Jr. was accidentally electrocuted in 1959, Kerry, Chris and Mike Von Erich soon
12:32after ended their own lives.
12:35While David Von Erich passed from enteritis in Japan.
12:42Although Kevin Von Erich and his sons continue on the family legacy, fans have never forgotten
12:47that hard road in the rearview mirror.
12:56Brian Pillman was a natural in the ring, a man seemingly born with everything it took
13:01to be a pro wrestling star.
13:04Charisma, looks, agility and mic skills, the athlete once known as Flyin' Brian, or the
13:10Loose Cannon, was poised for greatness.
13:13However, as is the tragic case with so many professional wrestlers, a hectic travel schedule
13:19and personal demons eventually lead down the road of addiction.
13:25Ultimately, it was a heart attack brought on by atherosclerotic heart disease that caused
13:32Pillman's death on October 5th, 1997.
13:38However, the WWE's decision to interview Brian's widow, Melanie, the next night on
13:44Monday Night Raw, was primetime poor taste at its worst.
13:51It's difficult for many wrestling fans to imagine the career of Owen Hart without
14:05the pain of wondering what he might be doing now.
14:08That's because the life of this incredibly influential performer was cut short on May
14:1323rd, 1999, when he accidentally fell from the Kemper Arena rafters to the ring below.
14:26Hart was preparing a ring entrance that required a quick release drop, only the mechanism let
14:32go too soon, leaving the fans watching at home and in the arena stunned.
14:37A lawsuit followed, with the WWE eventually settling with the Hart family for $18 million,
14:43but it was little comfort for the void Owen's loss left behind.
14:55Sometimes the line between character and performer can be incredibly blurry, while other times
15:01they couldn't be more different.
15:03Bruiser Brody was an absolute madman in the ring, coming across as unhinged during the
15:08incredibly violent encounters with contemporaries like Abdullah The Butcher.
15:13However, the man born Frank Goodish was actually a devoted family man with a wife and young
15:19son, the complete opposite to the protected character of The Bruiser.
15:23However, his time as a squared circle superstar was cut short on July 16th, 1988, when he
15:30was attacked in the shower by a fellow wrestler, Jose Huertez Gonzalez, aka Invader Juan.
15:42Medical response was slow to arrive, Brody succumbed to his injuries, and Gonzalez was
15:47acquitted of the crime in controversial fashion.
15:56She was the ninth wonder of the world, an absolute phenomenon in the world of WWE's
16:01women's division, and a pioneer for female professional wrestlers around the world.
16:06Her name was Chyna, and she deserved better.
16:09Chyna's in-ring career was well-regarded during her heyday of the late 90s into the
16:14early millennium, despite the WWE being largely concerned with objectifying women than raising
16:20them up during this time.
16:22Despite this, her exit from the company was complicated due to her former romantic involvement
16:27with current company COO Triple H, while Chyna's personal life devolved into addiction, reality
16:34television appearances, and an eventual career in adult films.
16:38She passed away after an accidental overdose on April 17th, 2016.
16:51For many, the world of professional wrestling is largely about the major leagues of WWE
16:56or AEW, but there also exists the vibrant world of indie wrestling, and somewhere deep
17:05below that world lies the subculture of deathmatch wrestling.
17:09One king of this deathmatch style is Nick Gage, an absolutely brutal competitor in a
17:15world that applauds the most violent and unhinged antics imaginable.
17:20That said, Gage's personal life has seen painkiller addiction and homelessness in its
17:25rearview, while the hardcore icon even spent time in prison for robbing a bank in 2010.
17:32Today, however, Nick Gage is a free man, although still as vicious and unpredictable as ever.
17:49Our third pick was cut from a similar cloth as Nick Gage, an absolutely authentic slide
17:55of pro-wrestling counterculture who is as dangerous as they come.
18:02He once told the documentary crew for the 1999 film, Beyond the Mat, that he had four
18:08justifiable homicides, he critically injured multiple opponents during his hardcore wrestling
18:13career, and he was unapologetic to the very end.
18:19New Jack was New Jack to the very end, take it or leave it.
18:23He also competed to the very end as well, despite failing health and a history with
18:28painkillers.
18:30New Jack suffered a heart attack on May 14th, 2021, leaving behind a complicated but compelling
18:36history of violence.
18:50Known for buying the WWF from his father and turning the company into the wrestling juggernaut
18:55that is WWE, McMahon balanced his promoting works with a villainous on-screen character.
19:06Apparently, Art was imitating life, only in a far more sinister way.
19:11In 2022, it was discovered he had falsified accounts to use millions of the company's
19:16finances to pay several women for non-disclosure agreements.
19:21McMahon briefly retired from the WWE as a result.
19:36The same year, former wrestling referee Rita Chatterton issued a lawsuit against him for
19:42assault from 1986, which was settled out of court.
19:46In 2024, former WWE employee, Janelle Grant, issued a lawsuit against McMahon and other
19:52officials, including John Laurinaitis and Brock Lesnar, for trafficking and abuse.
20:16It's difficult to come to terms with the amazing career of Chris Benoit, and the horrifying
20:27fall from grace that was the man's personal life.
20:35Although he was once an in-ring mainstay, Benoit committed the unthinkable crime of
20:39murdering his wife and son, before taking his own life on June 24th, 2007.
20:46It's important to note that concussion protocols weren't the same during Benoit's day as
20:50they are now, and images of Chris' brain showcase the toll that countless bouts of
20:55head trauma had on the wrestler.
20:58Of course, this changes nothing about the final outcome, but it offers a disturbing
21:03view into how the life of a wrestler can change someone from family man to madman.
21:15Are there any other dark wrestling tales we missed from the list?
21:19Let us know in those comments below.