Kurt Angle was arrested at his home in PA on a drunk driving charge on September 28, 2007. He failed a sobriety test and refused to take a blood test. He was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving.

Steve Austin

Bret Hart talked Vince into hiring him to work for the WWE.

Trish Stratus

Trish was a model before she became a wrestler.

Paul Heyman was the reason why Trish was on the reality show “Armed and Famous”. He knew the producer of the show.

Trish invited Molly Holly and Ivory to her wedding.

She refused to pose for Playboy. She wanted to be remembered for her wrestling career.

Torrie Wilson

She was close friends with Stacy Keibler. They were once roommates.

She was married to Billy Kidman. She filed for divorce in 2006.

Trish opened up a clothing line in Texas.

Finley

Finley was close friends with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit even though they had many matches against each other.

Carlito

Carlito was considered a “sell out” by the Puerto Rican wrestling community when he signed with the WWE.

He wanted to be let out of his contract in late 2007 because he didn't like the direction of his character. Vince McMahon managed to convince him to stay.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

Jim Duggan is a survivor of kidney cancer. He was diagnosed while he was wrestling in WCW.

Jim Duggan and Iron Sheik were arrested together because they were doing drugs. They were both released from the WWE even though Duggan's release was brief.

Jeff Hardy

He was a “jobber” (a wrestler who is paid to lose) as early as age 16.

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho's father was a professional hockey player. He played for the Rangers during the 70s.

He is in a band named Fozzy.

Shawn Michaels

He quit the WWE in September 1993 after a disappointing match against Mr. Perfect. It was announced that Michaels had failed to defend his belt enough times. He was actually suspended because he tested positive for steroids. Shawn has never confirmed this.

Shawn and Bret Hart were real-life enemies.

Shawn hurt his back for real in a casket match against the Undertaker.

Randy Orton

Randy was accused of harassing WWE employees.

Triple H

He was once an Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF) tag team champion with Perry Saturn.

Bret Hart

Bret wanted to be a director when he was younger.

Bret and Jim Neidhart were named the Hart Foundation because their last names were almost similar.

Bret wanted to get his brother, Owen out of his WWE contract when he left, but Vince McMahon threatened to sue him.

Even though Bret recovered from his stroke, he still suffers from an emotional imbalance and other lasting affects common to stroke victims.

Bret divorced his second wife because she didn't want to live with him in Calgary.

Hulk Hogan

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake is now working for Hulk as his bodyguard.

The Undertaker

The Undertaker was molded after a mortician from old Western movies. He didn't feel pain and he possessed supernatural powers.

During his absence in 2007, the Undertaker got involved in real estate.

Sheri Martel:

Sheri Martel was born Sheri Russell on February 8, 1958. She was best known as Sensational Sheri. Throughout her career, she wrestled in WWE, AWA, NWA, ECW, and WCW as well as the independent circuit. She was a women's champion. She was also a manager for Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Ted DiBiase, and Shawn Michaels as well as many others. She was fired from the WWE after failing a drug test. She was also fired from WCW because she wasn't in proper condition.

Death:

She died on June 15, 2007. She died at her mother's house. The police confirmed that she did not die of natural causes. It's possible that she died due to drugs. Her death still remains unsolved. Her husband, mother, sister as well as other relatives survive her. I was shocked by how little coverage her death received. She didn't die of natural causes so it should have been covered more. If I hadn't been looking at a website, I wouldn't have known she died.

Eddie Guerrero:

Eddie Guerrero was born Eduardo Gory Guerrero on October 9, 1967. He went by different ring names, but he was best known as Eddie Guerrero. He was from the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in ECW, WCW, and the WWE. He won numerous championship titles during his career. He battled with an alcohol problem as well as a drug addiction. After his death, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Death:

He was found unconscious on November 3, 2005 in a hotel room in Minneapolis. His nephew Chavo Guerrero found him. An autopsy showed that he died of heart failure caused by an undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He had used narcotic pain killers at the time of his death. His wife, children, as well as other family members survive him. I wasn't really familiar with him until he entered the WWE. It was a shame that he died when he did since he was trying to get his life back on track because of his addictions.

Bam Bam Bigelow:

He was born Scott Charles Bigelow on September 1, 1961. He was most recognized as having tattoos over his body. He was known as the Beast From the East. He wrestled in the WWE, ECW, and WCW. His most memorable match was with Lawrence “LT” Taylor during WrestleMania XI in 1995. Throughout his career he battled a drug problem. He also had run-ins with the law. One was in 2004 when he was charged with endangering the life of a child through reckless driving. The charges were dropped. He was also convicted of possession of cannabis. He was also sued by his ex-wife for non-payment of child support.

Death:

He was found dead in his home in Florida on January 19, 2007. At a time, he was suffering from diabetes. She autopsy report showed that there were multiple drugs found in his system. He was also suffering from a heart problem at the time. Several children survive him. I remember when he debuted in the WWE. I thought he was a pretty good wrestler considering his size. I thought his death should have had more coverage. Once his death was announced, it was quickly dropped. Considering he was from New Jersey, there was not enough coverage about his death in New Jersey papers. I know this for a fact because I'm from New Jersey.

Davey Boy Smith:

He was born David Boy Smith on November 28, 1962. He was best known as Davey Boy Smith. He started in the WWE as a tag-team wrestler with the Dynamite Kid. They were known as the British Bulldogs. I thought they were a great tag team. I thought they worked really well together. Together they held tag-team championships. I'm not sure if you know this, but they were cousins.

After years as tag-team partners, Davey Boy became a singles wrestler. He won championships as a singles wrestler. I think his best match (in my opinion), was against Bret Hart at Summer Slam where he won the Intercontinental title from Bret Hart. Speaking of Bret, Davey was the brother-in-law of Bret and Owen Hart. As well as the other wrestlers, he also had a drug problem.

Death:

He died of a heart attack on May 18, 2002 while on vacation in British Columbia. An autopsy revealed that past anabolic steroid use may have played a part in his death. His children as well as other relatives survived him.

Owen Hart:

He was born Owen Hart on May 7, 1965. He was the youngest of the Hart children. He's from the famous Hart wrestling family. His biggest push in the WWE was during his feud with his older brother Bret. He had tagged with his brother-in-law Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart to form the New Hart Foundation. He held tag-team championship titles as well as the King of the Ring title. I thought he was a good technical wrestler. I thought some of his best matches were with Bret. I thought they brought out the best in each other. I think their best match was at WrestleMania X where he defeated Bret. That win really helped jump start his career in the WWE.

Death:

He was in the process of starting a match in Kansas City, Missouri when he had an accident. He was in the process of being lowered in the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena. He was getting ready to wrestle the Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship. He was to be lowered to just above ring level at which time he would release himself to the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedy relief. Something went terribly wrong. The harness broke and he fell from the top hitting a ring post. He died less than an hour later on his way to the hospital. He died on May 23, 1999.

I remember this as if it happened yesterday. I thought it was part of the act until the medical crew went over to him. The commentators also said that it was really happening. I figured it was a matter of time before he would have died because of the way he was hurt. It has been eight years and I still find his death shocking. His wife, his children, as well as the rest of his family survive him.

It was no secret that Owen loved his home life, and he planned on retiring from the ring when his WWF/E contract expired. He worked hard, and saved as much as he could.

Owen's career started right here in Canada. His father, Stu Hart, was a legendary wrestler and promoter. His own promotion Stampede Wrestling helped pave the way for many superstars of wrestling. Stu's technical style of wrestling, as well as his generally aggressive approach to the business helped mold his own sons, all of them wrestling at some point.

Two of his sons went on to an American promotion ran by Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr., called the World Wrestling Federation. Bret Hart, along with brother-in-law, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart went on to become WWF Tag Team Champions, before splitting up, and allowing Bret's career to sky rocket as a singles competitor. Owen would follow his brother into the WWF and showcased an entirely different style then his brother's. Owen mixed technical wrestling with an ariel style.

After hanging up the Blue Blazer gimmick which Owen wasn't really fond of, he had success in the tag team division. Teaming with Jim Neidhart to form the New foundation, but their partnership wouldn't last. The next partner he had was Koko B. Ware and were aptly called High Energy. Both men worked with an unreal amount of energy, but that partnership would also not last.

Bret's popularity was climbing. In 1993 Bret's feud with Jerry Lawler escalated leading up to November's annual pay-per-view Survivor Series. Lawler constantly took cheap shots at the entire Hart family, but by the time the Survivor Series rolled around, Lawler was injured. Shawn Michaels jumped in to take over Lawler's team of the Knights (Black Knight, Red Knight, and Blue Knight) to face the Hart family of Bret, Owen, Bruce and Keith, with their father Stu standing in their corner. The Hart family prevailed over Shawn and the Knights, except one family member had been eliminated early on. Owen felt he was cheated (his character, not the real man), he felt like Bret was holding him down.

The problems between Bret and Owen, on television, would come to head at the 1994 Royal Rumble, when Owen turned on his brother during a tag team match. At WrestleMania 10 in Madison Square Gardens Owen would gain a victory over his brother in the first match of the night. Owen's character took on the roll as “the black Hart”, making it his mission to out-do his brother.

At the 1994 King Of The Ring Tournament in June, Owen became the second King Of The Ring. Just like Bret did in 1993.

The on-screen feud between Bret and Owen would carry on until 1996, and together would start a small family faction called the New Hart Foundation, with brother-in-laws Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith, and family friend Brian Pillman. Together they stood against Americans, being only loyal to Canada. They battled “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and D-Generation X.

D-Generation X (or D-X) was led by Shawn Michaels. Michaels and Bret had a history. They had amazing matches together, but behind the scenes the two really couldn't stand each other. The fight leading up their final battle was over-shadowed by Bret Hart's upcoming departure from the company. This would lead to the infamous Montreal Screw Job.

Prier to his brother's controversial departure from the company, Owen found success in the tag team team division winning multiple tag team championships with the 600-pounder Yokozuna and again with his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith.

In 1998-99, Owen teamed with Jeff Jarrett and his lovely manager Debra. Once again, Owen found championship success. They worked as a team and as a singles competitors. Things were going great for Owen.

Then the unimaginable happened.

Kansas City, Missouri, Kemper Arena - May 23, 1999:

Earlier in the day Owen rehearsed his entrance into the ring for his match against the Godfather. Owen wasn't thrilled with the entrance, in which he would descend from the rafters in a Superhero like manner as the Blue Blazer. The Blue Blazer wore a cape and a mask, and he would slowly enter the ring, like a bird gliding to it's landing.

The rehearsal went off with no problems. However, Owen verbally stated his discomfort despite the fact that guys like Shawn Michaels, and the Undertaker had performed similar stunts in the past, he still was not comfortable.

That night was a WWF pay-per-view event titled “Over The Edge”. Owen, as the Blue Blazer, was set to take on the Godfather, portrayed by Charles Wright. The character was a pimp-like character who would be accompanied to the ring by scantily clad women who were referred to as “hos”. Owen walked up the catwalk, 78 feet above the ring, where “professional” stunt coordinators proceeded to hook Owen's harness to a clip and pulley apparatus.

Once hooked up, Owen stepped off the catwalk and was suspended in the air, awaiting his entrance. Nobody will ever really know what actually happened but some accounts have stated that Owen, himself, triggered the quick release. Several other's said that the quick release was triggered on it's own. When the clip released, Owen fell from approximately 72 feet (25 meters) to his death.

As he crashed chest first into the turnbuckle in the corner of the ring, the fans at the event though it was a work, that it was part of the show. The audience at home were not treated to the horrific accident, but were watching backstage vignettes and promos at the time. No cameras were rolling inside the actual arena.

Fans, and co-workers of Owen, watched as the REAL EMTs worked on him. Trying hard to revive him. By the time they made it backstage to the waiting ambulance, Owen was gone.

Commentators, Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler, went on the air and informed the pay-per-view audience of the tragedy, while the fans inside the arena had no idea. The show continued, and the wrestler's were given the option to wrestle or not to. Fans at home mourned the loss and the fans inside the arena were left unsettled by what had transpired.

The night that Owen died stands out in my mind. It's just one of those moments in ones life where you remember where you were and what you were doing. My friend April and I were at my house. We decided not to get the pay-per-view that night, but instead hung out in my bedroom where we watched the made-for-Television-movie about Jesse “The Body” Ventura's life and run for Governor.

I actually did not find out until the next morning, when my brother told me that Owen Hard died. Normally I wouldn't believe my brother about things like that but since my brother never watched wrestling in his life, nor had he ever heard of Owen with the exception of my talking about him (Adam never listens when I talk wrestling, so that is also doubtful), I knew it had to be true. I didn't want it to be true. I hoped that it was just a work. I was shocked.

Along with millions of fans around the world, I mourned the loss of a great man. A great son, brother, husband and father. A great wrestler. We mourned along with his family, as his widow invited the fans to the funeral home to hear the service.

It was later revealed that the clip used to hold Owen in his harness, was originally designed for a sailboat which would only require a maximum of 6Ibs to trigger the quick release. Owen weighed 225Ibs.

Just from reading the wrestler's biographies like The Rock, Mick Foley, Edge's and the book his widow, Martha wrote, I learned a lot more about the man who Owen was. He was a guy who preferred to be at home with his family. But on the road he was respected by the entire locker room. He loved pulling pranks and making his fellow friends laugh and smile. He was a loving, caring man who worked as hard as he played. Owen touched many people's lives.

On the anniversary of his death, we are not mourning the loss of an amazing man and wrestler, but choose to celebrate his life. We are two years away from the tenth anniversary and I believe that Owen would want us to smile when we think of him, not cry. We are his fans, and friends from a distance. A faction of people who care enough to stop and raise our glasses of wine, or lemonade, in a silent salute every once in a while to him.

Owen has one more thing to accomplish, and hopefully within the next two years, we will all see him being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Everyone raise your glasses, smile, think of Owen.

Cheers to you, from all of our Harts!

However, whether they partied too hard, or a tragic accident that freakishly happened and permanently pushing life out of reach. Thus proving that they are not as superhuman as fans would love to believe.

Within the last ten years (1997-current) there has been at least eighteen deaths in professional wrestling, all of these happened to superstars under 50. Some have been accidents, some suicide, some from long term drug and alcohol abuse. All of that abuse from the previous years, takes it's toll on these guys' hearts.

Majority of deaths in professional wrestling are from heart failure due to previous or current drug use. Since 1997, we have seen at least seven cases from heart failure, two from accidental overdoses, three random accidents, and four suicides. You can be the judge yourself.

October 5, 1997 - Brian Pillman - Age 35:

Brian Pillman's career in the WWF (now WWE) was rather short (though he worked for many years prior), starting in 1996. Despite this short run, which ended with his death a year later, he was a major player in one of the most controversial segments in wrestling history.

This infamous segment was based around his feud with former tag team partner, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Pillman's house was surrounded by friends when Austin showed up, taking out all of Brian's buddies, before he proceeded to break into the house. Pillman pulled out a gun and pointed it at Austin. The feed goes dead, leaving the viewers dumb founded. The censors up here in Canada, cut the entire segment short. Later, Both Brian and the WWF/E had to apologize for the controversial angle as well as Pillman's accidental slip up when he used the word “fuck” on live television.

Brian was found in his hotel room in Minnesota on October 5th. The autopsy concluded that he died of arteriosclerosis heart disease.

June 2, 1998 - Sylvester Ritter (Junk Yard Dog) - Age 46:

Sylvester Ritter was a major fan favorite in the mid 80's. Best known for his after match ritual of inviting young fans into the ring for a celebratory dance.

He died in a car accident while driving home form his daughter's high school graduation when he fell asleep at the wheel.

April 20, 1999 - Richard Roode (Ravishing Rick Rude) - Age 40:

“Ravishing” Rick Rude was known to all WWF/E fans for his narcissistic, arrogant, womanizer who gyrates his hips to saxophone music to entice the ladies. He would insult the men, as well as some of the women in the audience before picking a beautiful woman to come into the ring. He would wrap his muscular arms around them, dip and then kiss them.

Rude died from an overdose of mixed medications, steroids and Gamma-Hydroxy-Butyric (GHB), which caused heart failure.

May 23, 1999 - Owen Hart - Age 34:

No other death in wrestling has ever received the media coverage that this young Canadian. He was from one of the most beloved families in the business. Owen Hart was a young man, with two beautiful children (and plans for a third), a beautiful wife. He was planning on retiring when his contract expired. He had just had his family's dream house built. His death was tragic, and even more so because it could have been prevented.

Owen grew up the youngest of twelve children (7 other brothers, 4 sisters) in Calgary, Alberta. He was a second generation wrestler, following in his father's, Stu, and older brother's, Bret, footsteps.

The night of “Over The Edge” pay-per-view was the night that changed the lives of family, friends, co-workers, and fans around the world. Though this incident could have been prevented, it still shocked everyone. Owen was set to take on Charles Wright's character, The Godfather. He was dressed as a masked villain who mocked Hulk Hogan's former character, named the Blue Blazer. The Blue Blazer was suppose to enter the ring in a slow decent from the sky. In a harness.

Owen waited on the cat walk at the Kemper Arena, in Kansas City, Missouri, while he was being hooked up to his harness. Unbeknown to Owen the harness clip that was used was designed for a sailboat, and only required six pounds to trigger the quick release. Owen weighed 225 pounds.

Just before he was to be lowered, the quick release was triggered and Owen fell 78 feet (24m) into the ring, smashing his chest on the turnbuckle. The camera's were not on but the crowd witnessed the fall. They didn't really understand the severity of the incident. Not long after, commentator's, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler broke the horrific news to the pay-per-view audience. The WWE took major heat from the family, fans and media for continuing on with the show. Despite the fact that Vince McMahon made the decision optional to the Superstars to wrestle or not. The WWE banned all similar stunts to prevent another unfortunate occurrence.

October 22, 2000 - Rodney Anoa'i (Yokozuna) - Age 34:

Yokozuna was known for his size, and the gimmick of being a grand champion sumo wrestler. Rodney Anoa'i wasn't really a sumo wrestler, in fact he wasn't even from Japan. He was carrying on a family tradition, his uncles Afa and Sika worked as a tag team, and he had many cousins also in the business, Rikishi, Samu, Rosey, Umaga, and the now incredibly famous, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Rodney's weight was reported to be around 600 pounds at the time of his death. He suffered a massive heart attack due from his obesity.

July 27, 2001 - Rhonda Singh (Bertha Faye) - Age 40:

Rhonda is most likely remembered as the perky and pampered, trailer-trash girlfriend of the overly nerdy, skinny manager, Harvey Wippleman. Her most notable feud was with Alundra Blayze (WCW's Medusa). Her run in the WWF/E was a short one as Rhonda had a hard time adjusting from her former long-time character of Monster Ripper to the gimmick which was trusted on her.

She retired from the ring in early 2001, and later died from a heart attack due to a drug overdose.

May 18, 2002 - David Smith (British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith) - Age 40:

Davey Boy Smith was one half of an amazing tag team, on more than one occasion. He had a successful run as WWF/E Intercontinental Champion. He was a man of amazing physique of pure solidness. He was a member of the Hart family, Bret and Owen's brother-in-law, marrying their sister Diana.

While vacationing in British Columbia, Smith suffered a heart attack. Allegedly the heart attack was due to long time use of steroid and Human Growth Hormones (HGH).

February 10, 2003 - Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect) - Age 45:

Mr. Perfect was one of the most technically sound superstars in history. His memorable vignettes showed off Hennig's character in the perfect way. Being the perfect athlete. Hennig's vignette's pioneered the use of vignette's in order to help get character's over. His were outstanding and showed just how perfect Mr. Perfect was. Fans were treated to weekly video's of how Mr. Perfect was the all-around superior athlete, as he showed he was perfect he was at everything, from football, basketball, baseball, bowling, pool, diving, darts, and more.

Hennig died in his Florida hotel room from acute cocaine intoxication.

May 1, 2003 - Elizabeth Hulette (Miss Elizabeth) - Age 43:

Miss Elizabeth brought in the beauty amongst the beasts in the wrestling world. She gained popularity during her time in the WWF/E in the mid 80's as “Macho Man” Randy Savage's classy manager. She was involved in some classic angles during her six years with the company.

Weeks prior to Elizabeth's death, her live-in boyfriend Lex Luger (Larry Pfohl), had been arrested for domestic abuse. The police had found numerous amounts of drugs, hydrocodone, alprazlam (Xanx), anabolic steroids, testosterone and saizen in their home. Two weeks later, Luger called 9-11 from his home, where the operator instructed him to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She was pronounced dead on arrival. The police launched an investigation due to Luger's recent arrest, however he was cleared of any wrong doing in her death.

The autopsy showed that she died of an accidental overdose having ingested her medication with vodka.

October 19, 2003 - Michael Hegstrand (Hawk) - Age 46:

Hegstrand was known for being one half of one of the greatest and most decorated tag teams in wrestling history. The Road Warriors (and Legion Of Doom), Hegstrand (Hawk) and Joey Laurentis (Animal) were the only tag team to have captured all three North American tag titles; AWA, NWA, and WWF. Also captured the All Japan-Pro tag titles. Hawk's catch phrase “uhhhhh-ohh-whhhataaa Ruu-shhhh” was history making.

Once the party guy on the road, he later changed his ways and sobered up. However, those days caught up with him. The former abuse had put stress on his heart, and died of a heart attack in his sleep.

November 6, 2003 - Michael Lockwood (Crash Holly) - Age 32:

Michael Lockwood joined the WWF/E as one of the Holly “cousins”, Crash. His success came when he defeated Andrew “Test” Martin for the Hardcore Championship. The famous rule of 24/7 came from Crash's willingness to take on all comers. This made the title a hot commodity with the fans. The belt could change hands at any time, making Crash a marked man. At anytime, any place as long as a WWF official was present, that title could change hands. He held the Hardcore Championship 22 times.

Lockwood died while staying with close friend and wrestler, Steven Richards. He choked on his own vomit after allegedly taking over 90 pills of Carisoprodol.

March 6, 2004 - Ray Fernendez (Hercules) - Age 47:

Ray Fernendez was known for being one half of the tag team, Power and Glory with Paul Roma. Fernendez was a powerhouse, a former bodybuilder who had appeared in several muscle magazines. In 1992, Fernendez headed to WCW where he earned very little success as a masked wrestler, “Super Invader”.

He died in his sleep. However I was unable to find documented cause of death.

September 22, 2004 - Ray Traylor (Big Boss Man) - Age 42:

Being the Big Boss Man wasn't as far of a stretch for Traylor. He worked as a prison guard who wrestled part-time. Soon his part-time gig would take on as a full-time career. His former life was his gimmick. He left the WWF/E in 1993, but returned to the same gimmick, but much more evolved than before, in 1998. He no longer wore the same blue prison guard uniform as before, but now wore a black (and slimming) S.W.A.T style uniform. He joined Vince McMahon as security for McMahon's corporation.

Traylor died at home from a massive heart attack.

April 28, 2005 - Chris Candido - Age 33:

Another freak accident took the life of Chris Candido. Not just a freak accident for a wrestler, but for anybody. In 2005, Candido was working for (then) newer promotion, TNA (Total Non-stop Action), and during their Lockdown pay-per-view, Candido fractured both his tibia and fibula, as well as dislocating his ankle. He had surgery on April 25th to repair the damage and was expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks. He appeared at the TNA television taping the following day which was set to run on the 29th of April.

On April 28th, Chris was rushed to the hospital to have his lungs drained due to a sudden case of pneumonia, he was administered a local anesthesia twenty minutes later. During this time Chris Candido would die from a blood clot in his leg.

November 13, 2005 - Eddie Guerrero - Age 38:

I clearly remembered where and what I was doing the night of the 13th, when I found out Eddie had died. My best friend and I were debating whether or not to by TNA's pay-per-view, since there were rumors flying around that her favorite former WWE star could appear (she's a Test fan). We held off. Instead we planned to read the results first and if he showed up, then we would get the replay later.

As I skimmed through the results on totalnonstopaction.com , I caught a glimpse of the word “Guerrero”. I went back, and saw “Eddie” ahead of it. Then, it was there. A notation that was with the current results, saying that there was a 10-bell salute. I had to re-read it several times. I had my friend re-read it. Neither of us could process this information. It was like someone had drop kicked you. We definitely did not want to believe it. Then we went to WWE.com.

Eddie Guerrero had this presence in the ring. He could fuel an entire match with just his emotions. His facial expressions were his connection to the fans, with those expressions, he brought us fans into the match. He loved what he did. He loved the business.

Chavo Guerrero, Eddie's nephew and fellow WWE superstar, found him in the morning in his hotel room. Eddie was approaching his fourth year of sobriety. Pass use of painkillers and alcohol contributed to his death. The autopsy showed that Eddied died of undiagnosed arteriosclerosis cardiovascular disease.

June 7, 2006 - John Tenta (Earthquake) - Age 43:

John Tenta was best known for his WWF/E character, Earthquake. His most notable feuds were with Hulk Hogan and Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the early 90's. No one can forget when Earthquake squashed Robert's snake, Damien (kaye fabe of course).

The one battle Tenta was not able to squash, despite his efforts, was bladder cancer.

January 19, 2007 - Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow - Age 46:

Bam Bam was this massive dude with his skull tattooed with colorful flames. His smile was a devious, toothless grin full of aggression. His career highlight would be his match against NFL great Lawrence “L.T.” Taylor at WrestleMania.

At the time of his death, Bigelow was suffering from an infection and diabetes. However, despite the speculation of death from complications, it was later reported that he died from an overdose of various drugs.

February 17, 2007 - Mike “Awesome” Alfonso - Age 42:

Mike Alfonso became a star over in Japan where he would receive his first major exposure. In ECW he would be a two-time ECW Champion and tag team champion. His friends found him in his home late at night. He had hung himself.

Death before the age of fifty, has unfortunately become a frequent occurrence in professional wrestling. Accidents and suicide can't be helped by an outside party, and even if one could prevent one or the other, it's often too late. Fate intervenes. Drug use can be stopped. Chairman of the WWE, Vince McMahon took immediate action following Guerrero's death. He put together a Wellness Program, where his Superstars, would randomly be tested for any type of drugs. Actions have been taken against all who have failed. Usually punishments starts with suspension without pay, then rehab, and if the problem continues, the immediate dissmissle.

It's not just the last ten years that has seen a rise in deaths. There was a small rise in 1993. Andre Roussimoff (Andre the Giant) diet at the age of 43 on January 28, 1993. He died from congestive heart failure in his sleep. Kerry Adkisson (Kerry von Erich) committed suicide at age 33, a few weeks later on February 18th. He was the third brother in the family to commit suicide. Less then a month later on March 11th, Aldolfo Bresciano (Dino Bravo) was 45 when he was murdered in Montreal. On March 20th, 1995, John Minton (Big John Stud) died from Liver Cancer at the age of 47. That is just a brief list.

Death is not something you can prevent. That bell tolls for everyone sooner or later. The suicide rate is about 50%. Either your time on this Earth is up or not. Death is shocking, scary, sad, and for some, a relief. Some see death as an easy escape from their problems, but what problems were yours beforehand become those of your family. Even if you washed down some somas with a glass of Jack Daniels in order to find that temporary relief, it can kill you and you won't see it coming.

Everyone involved in the wrestling world from the wrestlers, divas, the guys behind the theatrics to the fans, all the way up to the head offices are a small community. Fans invite this product and these superstars into their homes each week, on occasion more than once. Though technically we don't actually know these guys, we still feel like we have lost a member of our family. Our secondary family. A family who helps us escape from our very own everyday hassles for two hours at a time. Losing Owen, Brian, Chris, Elizabeth, and Eddie was like losing a member of our family.

Wrestling is a give and take business. We give them our money, and we take their time to entertain us. They give us amazing shows, take our money, and then use that money to feed and clothe their own families. It's never going to be easy, you can't take bets or predict who will be next to because in every wrestling fan, we never want to see any member of our family pass on. The best we can do is, keep their legacies alive in our heads and our hearts. Allow them to Rest In Peace, as we all ring our own bell in a 10-bell salute.