A Disheartening Trend? Wrestling's Lengthy Death Toll
World Wrestling Entertainment officials say they see no connection or pattern to the deaths of dozens of professional wrestlers over the past decade or so. Among those who have died Are,
·Eddie Guerrero
Former WWE champion Eddie Guerrero, a close friend of Chris Benoit's, died of heart failure in 2005 at the age of 38. The heart failure was reportedly the result of an enlarged heart caused by years of steroid use.
·Chris Benoit, a World Wrestling Entertainment star, strangled his wife and suffocated his 7-year-old son before hanging himself at their home Benoit, 40, left no suicide note. Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house.
·Mr. Perfect
Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig died of a cocaine overdose in 2003 at the age of 44. His father, also a professional wrestler, said years of using steroids and painkillers contributed to his death.
· Brian Pillman, 35, a former NFL player who wrestled against Guerrero and with Benoit in a World Championship Wrestling group called the Four Horsemen, died in October 1997. Cause of death: heart attack.
· Owen Hart, 34, Benoit's teenage training partner and longtime friend, died in May 1999 when he fell more than 50 feet from the rafters at a World Wrestling Federation show in Kansas City, Mo.
· Mike "Johnny Grunge," Durham, 39, Benoit's neighbor and confidant after Guerrero's death and Petty's longtime partner in a tag team called Public Enemy, died in February 2006, about three months after Guerrero. Cause of death: complications from sleep apnea.
·Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, 45,the tattooed heavyweight professional wrestler. On the morning of January 19, 2007, Bigelow was found dead in his home due to multiple drugs found in his system including toxic levels of cocaine and benzodiazepine (anti-anxiety drug). Bigelow was also suffering from a heart problem, specifically arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
