Here’s a sad statistic for you — according to The Wrestling Observer, over 25 percent of the wrestlers that performed at WrestleMania VII (1991) are dead. The list of deceased WrestleMania VII performers includes legends like Randy Savage, Mr. Perfect, Kerry Von Erich, and Andre the Giant. Take a look at this chart:
That’s completely nuts. Compare that list to the 1991 MLB, NBA, and NFL champions — the vast majority of those guys are still alive. Most of these deaths are drug related — either overdoses of recreational drugs or heart failure accelerated by performance-enhancing drugs.
Thankfully the business is slowly cleaning itself up. Sure, a lot of wrestlers today aren’t as big as the ones in the ’80s or ’90s, but most of them aren’t killing themselves for our entertainment.
Are any of your favorites on this tragic list?
I read this online earlier, the chart I saw had some Rock and Roll legends (from the same era) on it as well that are still very much alive.
I wiki'd Crush and after following several links it seems he died of an overdose.
http://www.wrestling-online.com/news/general/Bria…
A list like that makes me reconsider the stuff I take to work out. No need to mess with heart failure for some stims.
Mr. Perfect is one of my all time favorites.
I loved Andre the Giant, mostly for the Princess Bride though.
"My way's not very sportsman-like."
"Anybody want a peanut?!?"
"I am zee brute squad".
"Hello lady!"
"Be careful, people in masks cannot be trusted."
“I did not mean to jog him so hard”
I honestly didn't know that Hawk, Earthquake, and Bossman were dead… that sucks.
@ Justin
What are the odds of Macho Man being a playable character in SVR 2012?
He no longer works for/with THQ, btw.
DAMN!
*kicks rocks*
Nice imagery N8.
Macho Man and Mr. Perfect were two of my favorites as a kid.
Frankly I think it's only a matter of time before half of today's performers end up on this list. The steroids are only half the problem. The painkillers that these guys need to take to keep going day after day are just as deadly.
Painkillers are part of WWE's wellness policy, though the company is vague regarding prescriptions.
It's kinda a joke honestly. I haven't looked at it recently, but weren't the steroids okay so long as they were prescribed at one point too? Least that's what I seem to remember. That may have changed after the Benoit incident.
The Benoit and Guerrero deaths totally changed the policy.
Admittedly, I haven't followed it nearly as in depth since then as I used to before then. But still, it seems like as with anything, a policy "is meant to be" ignored. I just imagine that 10-15 years from now we'll be talking about John Cena or Rey Mysterio dying young.
Do you expect most NFL, NBA, and MLB athletes to be dead too? The WWE policy exceeds most testing in those sports. Of course the company had to do something like this after Benoit.
A lot of NFL guys do turn up dead. Not at the rate of the WWE guys of course. Really, the difference to me is that I expect the major sports league to enforce the policies, even if the ratings dip. I don't have that same faith in Vince.
It's not just Vince anymore. It's a publicly traded company. Scandals cause the stock to drop. The wellness program is there for that purpose too.
I don't think it's just the wellness policy.
Realize that these are performers that use the talents of athletes but not exactly in athletic competition.
Granted, all the Oscar nominees (except one) for acting in 1991 are still alive. But, painkillers and drugs aren't the driving force for athletes and actors (unless your Charlie Sheen) that they are in wrestling.
Also, wrestlers use more personal creativity than actors, which is more comparable to musicians. Drugs are HUGE in the music industry. However, the music industry is a bigger roller coaster of a ride and the odds of having a very short ride (at comparable level of success to WWE Superstars on TV).
I just looked at the Grammy winners from 1991. Then I remembered all of the politics involved and found the Billboard Top 100 for that year:
http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1991.php
Now… that year wasn't fair to compare to wrestling. This was the lurch between 80's metal and grunge for the rock charts. So, while Ray was discovering Nelson (who Ping says he loves), Thundercracker was burning his thumb from holding his lighter in the air every time Wind of Change came on the radio, Smartguy was wearing Cross Colour denims singing some Color Me Badd B-sides, RROD was doing the running man to C+C Music Factory, and I was saying "You know what… I TOO am down with O.P.P.!!!"… wrestling was active and more worthy of being called Rock Stars than rock stars.
Granted, Most of the people who were in Wrestlemania that year could walk on TV any night today and get pops. The same ratio of musicians on that hot 100 could not do that on any music venue. Some of them couldn't give away tickets to their shows.
Maybe it's tie for a new poll: If you were handed free tickets to see EMF, Amy Grant, and Timmy T… would you go?
Number 1 for that year was Bryan Adams. If someone handed me free Bryan Adams tickets… I'd probably geek. Bryan Adams kicks ass.
Bryan Adams is a great Canadian.
Since were on the topic, I want to clear up any possible confusion:
Bryan Adams is not Brian Adams and Brian Adams is not Bryan Adams. Brian Adams is dead, Bryan Adams is alive. Bryan Adams wrote the Summer of '69 and Brian Adams was in the NWO for the summer of '99. Brian Adams was Crush, Bryan Adams is from the same country as Rush.
There should be no more confusion.
LMFAO N8R that top 100 of 1991 took me way back. I think I was in kindergarten then and I'm surprised at how many lyrics I remember like:
I don't need anybody else
when I think about you
I touch myself
WOW that song is crazy, never thought about that song as an adult lmao!
I know it's horrible…but whenever I see something referenced as "the incident" I instantly picture myself playing Shenmue again.
The NFL is just as vague when it comes to painkillers. I think steroids are a huge part in this.
Until all the leagues start blood-testing for HGH, it's all a dog and pony show really.
I don't have a problem with HGH really. I hear both sides of the issue, but in the end I don't have a problem with it. I do understand if leagues won't to tell players they do not want their players using it, but I don't see it as cheating.
You read about MLB investigating Bartolo Colon's surgery because of possible stem cell use? I wonder if more players will get elective surgery to improve performance. Wade Boggs got voluntary Lasik to make his vision better than 20/20. Is that cheating?
No I don't think that is
Steroids are just like taking a protein in Pokemon…it's just EV training. haha. People already have their IV's set in stone by their genes, but the steroids are just helping increase stats in certain areas. In real life they might be able to go past 255 EV's though.