A tribute to greats of the past
This small tribute to deceased pro wrestlers began in 1991 as an occasional posting to the Usenet newsgroup rec.sport.pro-wrestling. It's been on the Web since 1996, and is now visited by thousands of people each week (in fact, it's by far the most visited page on my entire Web site).

There may not be another business as popular as pro wrestling in which there is so little recognition paid to its past stars and pioneers. You can discover information on star performers from baseball, football, hockey, basketball, films, TV, music, and just about every other field on the Web or in your local library, but there's very little to be found on pro wrestling's greats ... even though many of them were far bigger attractions in their day than performers from those other fields.

It would be wrong, though, to interpret this lack of recognition as a lack of interest, or that the greats of the past have been forgotten. They haven't been. For years, I've heard enthusiastic tales from fans remembering matches from years ago with wrestlers long since gone from the public eye. The wrestlers of the past are remembered well and fondly by the people who were lucky enough to see them perform. And for many wrestlers, that was quite a large audience now left to keep the legends alive.

Pro wrestling -- a tough life
Many people comment on how many wrestlers on the list died at an early age. Pro wrestling can be a very tough and dangerous life -- with the constant travel and performances, and the little time to recover from painful injuries that all wrestlers sustain (only recently and in the biggest organizations have wrestlers been able to collect a paycheck when injured -- and few are accepted for insurance coverage). Even though most pro wrestlers are very athletic, their big size also adds to their risk for various health problems. Contrary to popular belief, dozens of wrestlers have died during or just after a match -- most often from a heart attack.

Legend for main list (below):
*	Wrestlers who died in the ring or shortly after a match
[A]	Announcer
[M]	Manager or Valet
[P]	Promoter
[R]	Referee
Wrestlers who also worked in the roles listed above are listed only as wrestlers.

Other resources on this site: Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: Profiles of top Canadian wrestlers through history -- Whipper Watson, Yvon Robert, Gene Kiniski, Killer Kowalski, Bret Hart, and more.

2013 Necrology:
Count Billy Varga, Johnny Allan, Marquis de Paree, Billy the Kid, Tito Montez, Spike, Ciclon Negro, Paul Bearer, Don Carson

2012 Necrology:
MS-1, Savannah Jack, Rick Lancaster, Sonny Meyers, Woody Farmer, Doug Furnas, Tommy Weathers, Dick Woehrle, Joe McCarthy, Joe Blanchard, Chief Jay Strongbow, Buddy Diamond, Del Skinner, Gorgeous George Jr., Hans Schmidt, Dara Singh, Goldie Rogers, Don Savage, Black Jack Daniels, Rita Cortez, Red Bastien, Don Fields, Stan Pulaski, Bobby Jaggers, Mike Graham, Brad Armstrong, Dave Deaton, Siegfried Stanke, Awesome Kong, Buddy Roberts, Mike Boyette, Ian St. John, Gordon Nelson, Rip Hawk, Bill Dromo, Amazing Zuma, Luigi Macera

2011 Necrology:
Verne Langdon, Gordon Scozzari, Guy Coffey, Jack LaLanne, Val Puccio, Dr. Death, Shawn Osborne, Johnny Heideman, Nick the Greek, Oliver Humperdink, Ham Lee, Pierre Morrison, Chip Fairway, Manny Guzman, Dusty Feldbaumer, Randy Savage, Milt Avruskin, Duncan MacTavish, Mando Lopez, Terry Yorkston, Scott LeDoux, Bobby Fields, Rafael Halperin, Donna Christanello, Little Tokyo, Johnny Barend, Septiembre Negro, Killer Karl Kox, Umanosuke Ueda

2010 Necrology:
Jim White, Ludvig Borga, Ed Chuman, Katsuhisa Shibata, Ida Mae Martinez, Jack Brisco, Charles Baillargeon, George Eakin, Angelo Poffo, Sandy Scott, Stomper Guy Mitchell, Corsica Joe, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Tom Burton, Chris Kanyon, Gene Kiniski, Mr. Hito, George Grant, Kinji Shibuya, El Supremo, Rusher Kimura, Jet Monroe, Rocket Monroe, Grizzly Smith, Trent Acid, Toni Adams, Lance Cade, Ted Allen, Skandor Akbar, Tony Borne, Luna Vachon, Anton Geesink, J.C. Bailey, Mike Shaw, La Fiera, Giant Gonzalez, Edouard Carpentier, Joe Higuchi, King Curtis Iaukea, Sweet Brown Sugar, Jack Laskin, Paul Morton, Hans Mortier, Donn Lewin, Connie Marker

2009 Necrology:
Cousin Junior, Paul E. Normous, Jim Wilson, Renato Torres, Robert Bruce, The Beast, Test, Steve Doll, Rick Crabtree, Abismo Negro, Ted Grizzly, Playboy Buddy Rose, Princess Jasmine, John Tolos, Mitsuharu Misawa, Billy Red Lyons, Bud Osborne, La Parkita, Espectrito Jr., Waldo Von Erich, Karl Von Brauner, Takashi Matsunaga, Woodie Johnson, Al Tomko, DJ Rizz, Karl Von Hess, Gladys Gillem, Shelby Adcock, Butcher Brannigan, Kerry Brown, Lester Welch, Lou Albano, Ryuma Go, Adam Firestorm, Orig Williams, Mike LeBell, Umaga, Colt Steel, Clem Turner, Elmer Gibson, Steve Williams

2008 Necrology:
Arman Hussein, Tony Olivas, Johnny Weaver, Don Curtis, Gary Hart, Bestia Salvaje, Chase Tatum, Ron Slinker, Carl Engstrom, Barney Tucker, Sara Lee, Bill Savage, Yvon Robert Jr., Omar Williams, Leo Garibaldi, Judy Grable, Penny Banner, Crusher Cortez, Chief White Owl, Rudy Kay, Great Kusatsu, Oni Wiki Wiki, Joe Lesperance, Igor Volkoff, Frenchy Roberre, Art Dominguez, Alfonso Dantes, Mike Blazer, Sonny Fargo, Ole Olsen, Ron Hill, Killer Kowalski, Rick Renslow, Pee Wee James, Jack Reynolds, Lia Maivia, S.D. Jones, Joe Ball, Hogan Wharton, Charles Buffong, Steve Bradley, Mike Bell, Rollin Hard, Lumberjack Luke

Scroll down for the complete list of deceased wrestlers with dates, ages, and real names.