Wrestlers Who Died In The Ring

Professional wrestling is a dangerous job and it is not uncommon for

wrestlers

to die early. For some of them, the end comes before they even leave the

ring

. Here there are professional

wrestlers

who

died

in the

ring

, sometimes with an audience and sometimes without. Mitsuharu Misawa is one of the biggest names of all time in Japanese wrestling. He rose to fame in the 1980s as "Tiger Mask," a character who, naturally, wore a tiger-themed mask. He was so popular that when he unmasked himself in 1990, his fame only increased. In 2009, he was a 46-year-old veteran who had been named professional wrestler of the year three times and was still competing.

The tragic fight that cut short Misawa's stellar career occurred on June 13, 2009. One of his opponents gave him a back suplex, a fairly common move. However, what happened next shows that nothing in wrestling is truly routine, and even the most basic moves can turn into tragedies. Misawa did not move after the impact. The match was immediately stopped. All the wrestlers surrounded the ring and the crowd softly chanted Misawa's name as the doctors and nurses attempted to administer CPR. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, although he was probably already dead before he was taken away from the ring.

The official cause was heart failure. Malcolm "King Kong" Kirk was a well-known British monster and a frequent teammate of the even more massive Giant Haystacks. This former rugby player did not use any tricks, as his 350-pound frame was more than enough to intimidate his opponents. On August 23, 1987, Kirk confronted Shirley "Big Daddy" Crabtree, who said that Kirk had the strength of three people. The match went exactly as planned until the end, when Big Daddy gave Kirk his finishing move: a big splash that saw him leap onto his prone opponent. Kirk never came away from that punchline. The 50-year-old powerhouse was left lying in the ring, but it wasn't the finishing move that killed him.

An investigation into the incident found that Kirk

died

from a pre-existing heart condition. Big Daddy was cleared of any responsibility, and even Kirk's widow said she bore no ill will against her late husband's latest opponent. "As long as I live, I'll never forget seeing him lying there, on the canvas, instead of standing there, furious and, you know, flying." Wayne Van Dyke, also known as Richard Delicious, was an independent wrestler who worked in small Florida promotions. He was only 29 years old when he suffered a series of heart attacks that began during a tag team match at an event organized by the Ronin Pro Wrestling promotion.

He complained to his tag partner that he was not feeling well and suffered his first heart attack right after retiring. After that, things went from bad to worse. Attempts to perform CPR at the scene left Van Dyke with at least one broken rib and a punctured lung. He then suffered a second heart attack on the way to the hospital. When he finally arrived at the facility, he had a third. At that point, hospital staff had to induce a medical coma. Unfortunately, the damage was too much for his system and Van Dyke's family soon confirmed the fighter's passing on Facebook.

Japanese wrestler Plum Mariko died in the ring after her opponent bombed her in 1997. It wasn't until after the match that the other wrestlers realized that she still hadn't moved and was now snoring, which was a sign that his brain was bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, but surgery could not save her. The 29-year-old died of brain damage. Mariko had racked up a collection of nasty injuries over the years, including multiple concussions and an undiagnosed brain abscess. Doctors believe she died due to the combined effects of these injuries, rather than just one from the energy bomb.

They also said that if she had been examined earlier she probably would have survived because no doctor would have let her fight in her condition. Mariko's death was the first death in a wrestling ring in Japan. What makes her fate even more tragic is that the signs of brain damage were there. Owen Hart was a member of the legendary Hart wrestling family. At the time of his death in 1999, his gimmick was a masked superhero character known as "The Blue Blazer." For the May 1999 "Over the Edge" show, the WWF decided to give him his own superhero entrance in which he would fly.

An elaborate cable system was installed to lower him into the ring from the rafters above. But the system failed while he was 78 feet above the ring, causing him to fall when he hit the top rope and then bounced back into the ring. Although the incident never made it to television, the 16,000 people at Kansas City's Kemper Arena witnessed medical personnel's futile attempts to revive Hart, who died of internal bleeding. At first, some spectators thought it was a trick and that the falling figure was a doll. However, this impression would not last long. The announcer soon informed the audience that what had just happened was completely unscripted.

Before the event ended, WWF commentator Jim Ross announced to the world that Hart was dead. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, there will be more grunge videos about your favorite things coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and press the bell so you don't miss a single one.