And the list of pro wrestlers who died way too young has just gotten longer.
Ray Traylor, better known as the Big Boss Man, died last week of a heart attack. He was 42.
I haven't paid much attention to pro wrestling for a few years — pick your own Jump the Shark moment: the WWF changing to WWE or buying out WCW — but the Big Boss Man was always one of my favorites, because how can you not love a guy who promised to deliver "hard time" and made good by pummeling guys with a night stick? And here's something I did not know: he really once was a corrections officer.
According to one fan's memories of the Big Boss Man, he once "casket-surfed" in an angle involving the Big Show's dead father. Now that's comedy. Maybe not up there with 70-something Mae Young being amorous with 400-pound Sexual Chocolate and giving birth to a hand, but close. Maybe on par with that time Roddy Piper cracked Jimmy Snuka in the head with a coconut and the entire Piper's Pit set folded like the Mets in August.
Of course, the real story is Traylor's age. One way or another, pro wrestlers die young. Usually by way of a heart attack.
Hercules Hernandez died at 46.
Road Warrior Hawk died at 45.
Curt Henning died at 44.
Rick Rude died at 41.
Terry Gordy died at 40.
Davey Boy Smith died at 39.
Brian Pillman died at 36.
They all died of heart attacks. All of them. You know any other "sporting" industry that sees guys under 45 just drop dead like this? Whatever benefits exercise provides the body, these guys are not getting it.
Related Links:
• Wrestling Deaths — Dates, causes and ages, including the tragic deaths of four Von Erich brothers (one apparent overdose, three suicides) over a nine-year period.
• DeadVonErichs.com — No, not a fan site dedicated the famously cursed wrestling family. It's a rock band named the Dead Von Erichs.
• My Favorite Wrestlers — A list I compiled in 2002 of my favorite pro wrestlers and the stereotypes they embody in front of young viewers. Can you guess the black hustler, the dumb Polack, the cold Russian, the hot-tempered Mexican?
• WWE Fantasy League — I'm not kidding. There's now a fantasy league about a fantasy league. At least I can bid on Stacey Keibler's services. How's all my money sound?
• Big Boss Man Items on eBay — If you're looking to pick up a memento.
The same thing is happening with bodybuilders dying young too. People forget that the heart is a muscle and steroids make your heart bigger as well as other muscles.
Posted by Tony at September 28, 2004 3:42 PM