FanPost

The final bell: Wrestlers who died in 2017

WWE.com

Just as with last year, here's a chronological rundown of obituaries remembering those who passed on over the course of this year:

Timothy Well (born Timothy Smith, died aged 56) was known to many as Rex King, under which name he formed the Southern Rockers with Steve Doll, winning the NWA Pacific Northwest tag title seven times and the WWC tag belt in Puerto Rico four times, in the middle of which he took the same title in USWA with Joey Maggs. King and Doll eventually became heel midcarders Well Dunn in WWF between 1993 and 1995. After his release he briefly formed the Canadian Glamor Boys with Sean Morley (Val Venis) in WWC and wrestled until 2012. Never recovering full health after a 2012 road accident and eventually succumbing to kidney failure, Chris Jericho, who with Lance Storm feuded with the Southern Rockers in SMW, funded his funeral costs.

Jimmy Snuka's (James Smith - later Reiher for family reasons, 73) legacy is complicated. He was arguably WWF's biggest star of the immediate pre-Hogan era, and certainly the great high-flyer of the age, but the Nancy Argentino case cannot be overlooked - always the only suspect in her 1983 death due to injuries described by a coroner as consistent with domestic violence, he lost a district court judgement in 1985, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in September 2015, but was found unfit to stand trial due to dementia the following June and charges were dismissed twelve days before his death. Snuka made his name in the Pacific Northwest, where he was heavyweight champion six times between 1971 and 1978 and tag champion with Dutch Savage another six times. He also won titles in Texas, Georgia and Mid-Atlantic and teamed with Bruiser Brody against the Funks at Tokyo Sumo Hall. Superfly came into WWF at the start of 1982 as a heel under the guidance of Captain Lou Albano, feuding with champion Bob Backlund in a series of matches including a cage match at MSG that June in which he performed the first of his legendary leaps from the top. Fan support helped turn Snuka face shortly afterwards, eventually producing the most famous Superfly Splash of them all against Don Muraco again in the MSG cage - that moment has been cited as inspiration by spectators Mick Foley, Bubba Ray Dudley, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman. There was an encounter with a coconut at the hands of Roddy Piper, an arm injury caused to Cowboy Bob Orton that led to his infamous adoption of a cast, and he was corner man for Hulk Hogan and Mr T at the first Wrestlemania. Snuka left in 1985, returned in 1989 and became the reliable veteran putting future stars over, including being the first victim of the Undertaker's Mania Streak. After his second departure in 1992 he became Eastern Championship Wrestling's first heavyweight champion (for a day, though he did later get a second reign) and after the ECW transition let Tommy Dreamer become the irst person ever to kick out of the Splash, though Snuka still won. Inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame in 1996 he would make sporadic appearances for the next two decades, including a showdown with Piper in the 2008 Royal Rumble and a handicap match alongside Piper and Ricky Steamboat against Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XXV, and watched two of his children, James (Deuce/Sim Snuka) and Sarona (Tamina), follow him into the company.

Chavo Guerrero Sr (68), the oldest of the legendary Gory's four sons who followed him into the business, was one of the very best babyface workers around. Moving to California and NWA Hollywood in the early 1970s, he became NWA Americas heavyweight champion either 15 or 17 times (sources vary) between 1975 and 1980, mostly feuding with Roddy Piper. It was thought in the industry that 229lbs Guerrero beating 315lbs Ernie Ladd would be the death of the territory; instead it made Chavo a legitimate star, working MSG and drawing heavily back in Texas. That NWA Hollywood folded a year or so after Guerrero and Piper left town is likely not a coincidence, but his lack of size worked against him after he left LA and he never got a good run in America. He did though make an impact in All Japan, having a substantial feud with Tatsumi Fujinami - they had the match of the night on the Shea Stadium card in 1980 that set the then North American gate record - and Atsushi Onita while holding the NWA International junior heavyweight title. In fact it has been argued that the popularity in Japan of junior titles is largely due to their success in this period. Chavo Classic, as he was known, had a short run with WWE in 2004 accompanying Chavo Jr and a comedic stint with the Cruiserweight title, and then helped/hindered his son in Lucha Underground; his legacy was given a boost around the same time by the Mountain Goats song 'The Legend Of Chavo Guerrero'. Guerrero died of liver cancer.

George 'The Animal' Steele (Jim Myers, 79) had a masters' degree from Central Michigan University and spent most of his career as a part-timer due to a regular teaching job, but was best known as an untutored, green-tongued savage who ate turnbuckle padding and boasted a hairy back so celebrated it was referenced in Seinfeld. He actually started under a mask as The Student, but his undisciplined wild man character was strong enough that he kept it after being discovered by Bruno Sammartino and unmasking. Sammartino took him to the WWWF for a lengthy feud including an hour-long draw at MSG. Vince McMahon suggested Steele, by all accounts a good promo, go full-on imbecilic wildman and grunt in interviews, which made him a star under the wing of Captain Lou Albano, entering his most famous feud with Randy Savage after developing a crush on Miss Elizabeth and taking it into getting involved with Savage's Wrestlemania III classic with Ricky Steamboat. Crohn's Disease ended his career in 1988, though he would work as a road agent for several years afterwards and be inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1995 alongside acting in the Tim Burton film Ed Wood. While he managed to control the disease over time other ailments built up leading to his death due to kidney failure.

Nicole Bass (52) was far more famous as a bodybuilder, the 6'2 New Yorker winning the 1997 NPC National Bodybuilding Championship billed as the world’s largest woman, and also for being a member of Howard Stern's Wack Pack from 1993 until her passing. Her wrestling debut came in 1998 in ECW apparently at Tommy Dreamer's suggestion, aligning herself with Justin Credible's entourage, then joined WWF as Sable's muscle in time for Wrestlemania XV before being aligned with Val Venis, but her push suffered for the realization that Chyna's gimmick would be ruined if a woman taller and heavier than her was in the same company. Bass later filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company, which was dismissed in 2003. She wrestled a few indie shows but suffered ill health, nearly dying of pancreatitis in 2006, and passed on after a massive stroke.

Ivan Koloff (Oreal Perras, 74) was the prototype and archetype of the great 70s and 80s Russian heels - that is to say, he wasn't Russian in the slightest. Born in Ottawa, he started out in Toronto as a redheaded, eye-patched Irish heel called Red McNulty, a gimmick he took to Japan with some success. In 1968 he moved to Montreal and became The Russian Bear, winning the IWA International Heavyweight Championship twice, before joining WWWF a year later under Captain Lou Albano. Like so many other incoming big men he immediately started a feud with heavyweight champion (and personal inspiration) Bruno Sammartino. Unlike so many others Koloff beat him, on January 18th 1971 in Madison Square Garden, with a top rope kneedrop. That, ended Sammartino's 92 month title reign and was the only ever defeat he took in the Garden. Really Koloff's was a transitional reign - Bruno needed time off to heal injuries and pushed Koloff as his conqueror himself, Pedro Morales taking the title three weeks later in a show that broke MSG's gate record - but it was a landmark moment of the territories, Dave Meltzer labeling it "the single most remembered and talked about pro wrestling match in the United States of its era". Koloff left the company soon after leaving the title - partly, it's claimed, for fear of what could happen to someone with that much heat - but would return for three future runs, including Bruno getting his win back twice over, and sell out MSG as a headline attraction every time for the rest of his career. In between he spent years on and off in AWA and the NWA's Georgia, Florida and Mid-Atlantic territories, having reliably good feuds with Dusty Rhodes (with whom he helped Georgia Championship Wrestling become the highest rated cable TV show in the country in 1978-79) and Verne Gagne, and later bringing in kayfabe nephew and shoot protege Nikita Koloff. Joined later by Krusher Kruschev (Barry Darsow, later Smash and Repo Man), The Russians became the great heat magnets of the mid-80s in Jim Crockett Promotions' best drawing era, working against Dusty, the Road Warriors, Rock'n'Roll Express and Magnum T.A., whose career-ending road accident directly led to Nikita's face turn. After that Ivan joined Paul Jones' faction with the Powers Of Pain and had a brief face run before leaving JCP in 1989, working for a few more years before becoming a born-again Christian and ordained as a minister before dying of liver cancer.

Outlaw Ron Bass (Ronald Heard, 68) was the classic 1970s wrestling cowboy - black hat, bullwhip, the works. He started working with kayfabe brother Don (who died last September) as a pair of badass brawler Texans, holding NWA tag titles in the three years they were together. He would then win tag titles in Florida, California, Pacific Northwest, the Central States, and have a heavyweight title run by himself in Georgia. His most sustained singles success came in Florida, first with and then against Dusty Rhodes. All Japan called in 1982 and he was Stan Hansen's regular partner before Bruiser Brody arrived, the pair having a five day International tag team title run. A mid-card heel run in WWF followed from 1987 to 1989, infamously cutting Brutus Beefcake's head open with the spur on his boots, a feud that ended in a hair vs hair match that Bass lost. He retired in 1991 and earned a bachelor's degree, passing after complications following burst appendix surgery.

Dennis Stamp (70) has gone down in memetic folklore via Beyond The Mat, not being booked for Terry Funk's first retirement show. In fact the Minnesotan was a highly reliable territory worker, initially being named AWA's rookie of the year for 1971, then as the quintessential reliable mid-card traveler, holding tag titles in NWA Tri-State, NWA Western States and Vancouver and the TV title in LA. Stamp spent the 1980s as an occasional WWF and AWA jobber, retiring in 1989, though he was booked by AIW in 2015 to team with Grado and Supercop Dick Justice. He overcame a bout of cancer in 2011 but suffered a reoccurrence and died of lymphoma.

Joaquín Roldán (62) was CEO of Lucha Libre Worldwide AAA, making him one of the most powerful men in the wrestling world. Having been head of legal for the company from its 1993 inception, the death of founder and brother-in-law Antonio Pena in 2006 left him as at least the public face of the operation alongside wife Marisela and son Dorian. Expected to decline without Pena, AAA went from strength to strength until recent years of in-fighting and personnel loss, and even then Joaquin had another successful outlet in his part-ownership and patronage of Lucha Underground. He also appeared in AAA as an onscreen face authority figure feuding with Dorian and Konnan, usually being outmaneuvered by the rudos so they could be kept strong for the big face victory - during his time he had his head forcibly shaved and legitimately broke his nose on a turnbuckle. After Konnan left he moved backstage and left Marisela as the TV face of the company. It is believed he died of stomach cancer.

Fishman (José Nájera, 66) was one of Mexico's biggest stars of in the 1970s and early 80s. Named after an offhand comment from a tag partner that his mask eyes looked like a fish, he designed a gold and black colored mask inspired by a manta ray, being changed to emerald green and yellow when he was signed by EMLL in 1971 as one of their main eventers already used those colors. He instantly caught on as a brawler rudo, winning the Mexican National Welterweight Championship in 1973 and holding it for two and a half years, later regaining it twice. He then claimed the NWA World Welterweight Championship in April 1976 and held it for seven months until losing as part of a long running storyline with Mano Negra. In 1978 he was part of a major exodus to the newly formed Universal Wrestling Association, which prided itself on a stiffer form of wrestling, winning their World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1980 and the (unofficially credited) WWF Light Heavyweight Championship the following year. UWA at this time could draw nearly a million fans at its bi-weekly shows, and that while wrestling was banned from television in Mexico City. Three more Light Heavyweight title reigns would follow, as would appearances for WCCW, NJPW and AJPW. After 1988 he began splitting his time with the WWA in Tijuana, where he won the mask of Rey Misterio (Sr), then as UWA began failing moved to AAA in 1992. A return to what was now CMLL came in 1998 as a nostalgia act before eventually unmasking in independent promotion GWAS in August 2000, a show in a 20,000 seater arena that drew 800 paid.

'Pretty Boy' Larry Sharpe (65) was a mid-card journeyman and tag team specialist, winning titles for Stampede in Canada and in WWWF and WWC as half of the (original) Hollywood Blonds with (the original) Jack Evans. After retirement the WWC kept Sharpe on as a manager for the likes of Abdullah the Butcher and Bruiser Brody. His greatest success in the business would come as co-owner (with Nature Boy Buddy Rogers) of The Monster Factory, the New Jersey school opened in 1983 and considered to be the first publicly available professional wrestling school. Big Show, Sheamus, Tony Atlas, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Raven, D'Lo Brown, The Godfather, Chris Candido, Tatanka, Balls Mahoney and John Zandig all had at least some training through Sharpe and Monster Factory, and while Sharpe's ownership was bought out in 2011 it continues churning out pupils, most notably Matt Riddle.

Rosey (Matthew Anoa'i, 47) - son of Sika, brother of Roman Reigns, nephew of Afa, cousin of Rikishi, Umaga and Yokozuna - started in ECW with Samu as the Samoan Gangsta Party while also working FMW in Japan, where he held the Hardcore Tag Tean Championship, before being signed to a developmental contract in 2001. He and cousin Eddie (Jamal) became Eric Bischoff's destroyers 3 Minute Warning but didn't make much headway in-ring before Jamal was released in mid-2003, at which Rosey was taken under The Hurricane's wing and rechristened as a Super Hero In Training. They got a four month world tag title run but were pure lovable comedy fodder, and four months after Hurricane turned on Rosey - shortly after Eddie was re-signed to eventually become Umaga - he was released. Anoa'i went to All Japan as Ro-Z and made the 2006 World's Strongest Tag League final, wrestling occasionally until 2014 before falling ill to congestive heart problems related to ongoing weight issues.

Brazo de Oro (Jesus Alvarado Nieves, 66) was another fallen member of a large wrestling family - son of Shadito Cruz, brother of Brazo de Plata (briefly in WWE as Super Porky) and the late El Brazo, father of Los Ingobernables co-founder La Mascara, uncle of AAA's Psycho Clown and Maximo Sexy (formerly of CMLL, his departure semi-related to Alvarado's death) Named 'The Man with the Golden Arm' after a Frank Sinatra film, he and Brazo de Plata teamed together all over Mexico from 1977, mostly for UWA, plus New Japan and NWA Hollywood. When El Brazo joined the business shortly afterwards the Los Brazos trio was formed, becoming one of lucha libre's biggest rudo teams of the era, and their long, rough feud with Los Villanos was one of the biggest in Mexico. A Luchas de Apuestas match eventually happened in October 1988, where all six men bled and all three of Los Brazos ended up losing their masks. They continued working together but became tecninos and eventually a comedy unit. Brazo de Oro later became booker and wrestler's union head for CMLL, wrestling occasionally until 2015, and was a prime mover behind last year's announcement of a national holiday to celebrate lucha libre.

Gran Apache or El Apache (Mario Balbuena, 58) was never a major star in his own right but will be best remembered for his achievements as a trainer, having a hand in the development of almost every young prospect to come through AAA over the last two decades, including Kalisto, Penta 0M and Rey Fenix. Persuaded to go full-time by El Santo and given his name while training at Blue Demon's gym thanks to his Native American Indian-like features and hair, he won the AWWA tag titles with student Gran Apache II but the team are best remembered for bringing in Balbuena's wife Lady Apache - future three-time CMLL women's champion and twice AAA Reina de Reinas - as their valet. When AWWA's parent company closed down Apache moved to EMLL and formed the Rudos del Ritmo faction, but dissatisfied in Mexico he started working for IWA Japan in 1994 before returning home and to AAA as wrestler and head trainer a year later. His career defining feud began at this stage with his daughter Faby Apache's husband Billy Boy, spending the next five years in an angle with Apache as the overprotective father, so much so the birth of their son was worked into the storyline. Faby herself eventually ended the feud in a steel cage match in 2009, by which time Apache, who had already won two hair vs hair matches against Billy Boy, had moved on to working with younger luchadors. In 2016 he became involved in Faby and his other daughter Mari's feud with Los OGT, refereeing their Triplemania bout and reuniting with his daughters after protecting them from light tube shots, and won the Trios Championship this March in absence, although his intestinal cancer diagnosis wasn't publicly known until his passing.

"Pretty Boy" Doug Somers (65) achieved his greatest success fifteen years into his career in 1986 in the AWA, where with Playboy Buddy Rose and Sherri Martel he won the World Tag Team Championship and held onto the title for eight months before falling to their long time feud partners the (Midnight) Rockers, with whom they rose from low carders to main eventers with some excellent matches, some of which are on Shawn Michaels' DVDs. After Rose and Martel moved on Somers would continue to work on and off for the AWA, turned up in the original GWF in 1991 and lost to Van Hammer at WCW Halloween Havoc 1991, making the occasional enhancement talent appearance in WWF the following year.

Ron Starr (Bobby Nutt, 66) served two tours of duty in Vietnam before becoming one of the better regarded brawlers to have never worked for a national company, having won titles in the Gulf Coast region, Central States, San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest, Los Angeles, Southeastern, Stampede, Atlantic Grand Prix, Memphis and Puerto Rico. He was also a two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion, in 1976 and 1980. Mick Foley, who wrote the foreword to his autobiography, claims Starr taught him how to brawl effectively when both were in Continental, and Jim Ross called him "one of the best kept secrets in the game".

Chandler Biggins (Chris Bryan, 34) was co-owner of Cleveland's Absolute Intense Wrestling, which earned a cult following among indie fans in recent years for its unique approach, inventive booking policies and ability to pick up on many future stars early; the podcast he co-hosted with co-owner John Thorne, The Card Is Going To Change, was one of the most illuminating in terms of company booking and indie life. Often referred to as one of the friendliest and best people to work for, Kevin Owens wrote "(his) love and passion for wrestling was palpable... (AIW) rekindled in me a love for independent wrestling that was growing thinner and thinner... (Biggins and Thorne) lifted my spirits and made me feel like I could still have fun".

Mr Pogo (Tetsuo Sekigawa, 66) was one of the standard bearers for Japanese deathmatch wrestling, often as one of Atsushi Onita's biggest rivals. He was actually briefly a pro sumo wrestler and started out in a New Japan dojo but quit to tour Canada, where he worked for Stampede as Judo Joe or Mr Sekigawa and held the North American Heavyweight Championship and (with Dynamite Kid) the International Tag Team Championship. He then went through Kansas, Tennessee, Texas and NWA Western States. Renamed by Terry Funk, he returned to New Japan briefly before a long stopover in Puerto Rico where he held WWC's tag title seven times (and, lore has it, was caught up in the events that led to his friend Bruiser Brody's murder) FMW finally tempted him back home in 1990 and he immediately fell into a feud with Onita, which led to his making deathmatches a specialty. Onita would later claim that were it not for the rivalry the company would not have survived for long, but inevitably Pogo got bored and spent two years in W*ING instead as their top star. He went back to FMW in 1993 to be sent through more sharp objects by Onita, Funk etc in main events, winning two Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championships, the first an explosive no rope barbed wire match that drew more than 36,000 fans. Pogo retired in 1996 after breaking his neck after falling wrongly into exploding barbed wire. Inevitably he returned a year later as a freelancer, coupling that with running unsuccessfully for a Diet (House of Representatives) seat in 2003. Pogo suffered a stroke after spinal surgery led to a massive drop in blood pressure and died from a cerebral infarction.

Smith Hart (68), who died of prostate cancer, was the oldest of Stu and Helen's twelve children. He debuted for Stampede in 1973 and would, bar a 1974 excursion to Japan, spend the bulk of his career there until it was bought out in 1984 and he moved on to Puerto Rico and Montreal. Smith made two cameo appearances for WWF/E, attempting to climb the cage during Bret vs Owen at Summerslam 1994 and backing Bret against Vince at Wrestlemania 26. Having attempted to halt the sale of the Hart House in 2003 by barricading himself inside, in 2011 he briefly brought the Stampede name back for a revival show in Ontario and later became involved with Teddy Hart's Hart Legacy Wrestling in Calgary.

Ruben Juarez (90), 'the Northern Express', was one of Mexico's most successful tag wrestlers in its El Santo-driven heyday of the late 1950s and 1960s. Starting as a full-timer in 1955, he was quickly noticed for his look and fast working style, achieving his greatest domestic fame teaming with Humberto Garza, with whom he moved to Mexico City and EMLL in 1957 where they held numerous regional tag team titles. On his own Juarez became known as the "1000 days champion" for his actually 1043 days long run as the Mexican national light heavyweight champion from 1960. He didn't work in America in his heyday, but the increasing success of Mexican visitors meant he earned a well hyped tour in 1972 during which he held the Pacific Coast title four times and beat Americas Title holder Ernie Ladd in a non-title cage match at the LA Olympic Auditorium, though Ladd retained the title in the subsequent rematch. Juarez also held the Americas tag titles twice over before returning to Mexico for good, working on and off until 1992.

Otto Wanz (73) was one of the earliest stars of the European wrestling scene to make a name for himself internationally through one of wrestling's most controversial major world title changes. Debuting in 1968 in his native Austria, the nearly 400 pound former amateur boxer formed the rounds-based Catch Wrestling Association in 1973, which had talent agreements with the AWA and NJPW so was able to bring over a large amount of international talent (Inoki, Fujinami, Benoit, Owen Hart, Vader, Funk, Liger, pre-fame Scott Hall and JBL) for its residential European tours with the promise of good pay and plenty of work. Its World Heavyweight Championship was eventually recognized as a legitimate European World Championship, Wanz holding it four times. While on an American excursion in 1982 he won the AWA title from Nick Bockwinkel and held it for six weeks, the unproven but solidly reported long-time rumor being that Wanz paid owner Verne Gagne $50,000 for the privelege and resulting credibility. A powerhouse who got into the Guinness Book of World Records for his ability at ripping up phone books, one of very few people to have bodyslammed both Andre the Giant and Yokozuna, Wanz finally retired in 1996, went on to act and organize strongman competitions and was cited as an influence by Arnold Schwarzenegger (who shared his home town) in his WWE Hall Of Fame speech, although Wanz' career started after Arnold had moved to the States.

Bobby Heenan (Raymond Heenan, 72), who passed away through organ failure due to complications from the throat cancer he'd been battling since 2002, is a live candidate as both the greatest manager and greatest color commentator in wrestling history. His quick wit, ability to read a situation and ability to draw heel heat through mike work, as well as ensure that heat was eventually paid off through physical comedy and high quality bumping ability, kept him at the top of his game for more than three decades in the business and gave him lasting fame as the foil to Gorilla Monsoon at ringside. Heenan started in 1965 as a wrestler and manager under the nickname Pretty Boy, making his name in Indianapolis-based WWA, adopting The Brain moniker in 1974 on moving to the AWA as Larry Hennig was already calling himself Pretty Boy. There he took charges Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens to multiple tag titles as they Bobby Duncum Sr and Lanza formed the first version of the Heenan Family, perennially feuding with the likes of The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser, the latter of whom invented the "weasel" insult that would follow him everywhere. What got Heenan over was not just his heat-seeking but his willingness to take a crimson masked beating as as result and still come back afterwards with his reputation undamaged, so much so that one night in 1975 a fan was so angry at his helping Bockwinkel beat Verne Gagne that they fired five shots at the ring, luckily all missing everyone. Bockwinkel landed the AWA World Heavyweight Championship that same year - he'd hold it for nearly five years and then have another four runs with it, though he and Heenan fell out over the aforementioned Otto Wanz title change - and the following year Heenan became first man to simultaneously manage both a major promotion's singles and tag team champions. Heenan briefly left the AWA to form a Family with Lanza and Ernie Ladd in Georgia but fell out with Ole Anderson and went back to manage Bockwinkel and Ken Patera in feuds with Hulk Hogan during the AWA's biggest drawing period ever. When WWF started asset-stripping the territories in 1984 Heenan, who'd almost entirely given up in-ring after Atsushi Onita landed on his neck and broke it during a match in Japan the previous year, went along and took Big John Studd under his wing, going on to manage Hogan's world title opponent at Wrestlemania twice - King Kong Bundy at II, Andre the Giant at III (he was also ringside when Ted Dibiase helped Andre buy the title in 1988). The WWE Family also included at various times Harley Race, Rick Rude (with whom he won the Intercontinental title at Mania V by holding down the Ultimate Warrior's leg), Paul Orndorff, Mr Perfect, the Brain Busters, the Islanders (with whom he had an in-ring Mania win at WMIV), Playboy Buddy Rose, Sivi Afi, Hercules and the Barbarian. While still managing much of the time, broadcast journalism called by 1986 and Heenan replaced Jesse Ventura to call the ham-and-eggers for the humanoids on Prime Time Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge, not to mention hosting The Bobby Heenan Show. Although he was scaling back as a manager it was left to Brain to act as adviser and talk up Ric Flair as the real world champion when he signed in 1991, leading to his landmark announcing performance at the 1992 Royal Rumble, and later introduce Lex Luger to the company in 1993. At the end of that year he chose to retire due to the working hours and the state of his neck, but WCW offered a lighter schedule and health insurance so he joined them for nearly seven unhappy, conflict-ridden years. In the subsequent years Heenan made brief appearances in ROH, TNA, WXF and WOW, taking up the mike once more for the WrestleMania X-Seven Gimmick Battle Royal and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Lance Russell (91) was, according to Dave Meltzer, "the greatest host of a pro wrestling show that there ever was, or ever will be". For nearly forty years it was his job to be primary face and voice of the Memphis territory, being trusted to help advance storylines and establish wrestlers' storylines all round while attempting to keep some order to television proceedings as loose cannons fired off around him. Russell began as a general sports announcer in Jackson, Tennessee who was asked to call a match in 1955 and decided, aside from hosting hit dance party show Lead Out, that this was his career's calling. He moved to Memphis in 1959 to call NWA Mid-America and its legacy promotion Continental Wrestling Association, every Saturday morning initially for WHBQ-TV Channel 13, where he was also director of programming for the then ABC affiliate, then for WMC-TV Channel 5 from 1977. It was through this that Jerry Lawler would become, to quote writer David Bixenspan, "Muhammad Ali to Lance’s Howard Cosell", initially by airing the drawings that the budding artist would send in, giving Lawler a foothold into the business that he officially joined in 1970, starting a professional relationship that saw Russell announce many of his career peaks (including the Andy Kaufman feud, and Russell makes a cameo appearance a ring announcer in the biopic Man On The Moon) Lance was physically attacked by the Road Warriors and was doused in flour by Jimmy Hart, but as the show was drawing at least a 60 per cent share of the metropolitan audience through the WWF's mid-80s rise that was something he could cope with. Russell also announced Monday night matches at the Mid-South Coliseum and was live announcer for house show matches in Tupelo, Mississippi during the late 1970s. In 1989 Lance left Memphis to go nationwide with WCW alongside Jim Ross and Gordon Solie but returned home in 1993, where he also announced for the last years of Smoky Mountain Wrestling before going into semi-retirement in 1996. Having seen his daughter pass away from cancer four days earlier, he died of complications after sustaining a broken hip in a fall.

Bill Kersten (84) was the voice of Heart of America promotions, better known as Central States wrestling, across Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Starting out as ring announcer and timekeeper, he worked his way up in 1965 to become local TV announcer, a position he held until 1982. He was announcer when local star Harley Race began his four year reign as NWA world heavyweight champion by beating Dory Funk Jr in 1973, and when Ric Flair won the same title for the first time from Dusty Rhodes in 1981.

Tokyo Joe (Yukihiro Sakaeda, 75), also known as Joe Daigo, was labeled "probably the best legitimate wrestling trainer in the world" by Bret Hart in 2015. His promising in-ring career was ended in 1974 during a spell in Montreal when he and some colleagues were in slid into a ditch in bad weather; while Joe was assisting the tow truck another car lost control on black ice and couldn't avoid hitting him, costing him his right leg. He decided to stay in Canada and became a scout, trainer and booker of international talent for New Japan, giving breaks to the likes of the Undertaker (who briefly worked there as Punisher Dice Morgan a few months before joining WWF), Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Yokozuna and Sid Vicious. NJPW would in return send prospects to Calgary for training with him, including Jushin Thunder Liger, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kensuke Sasaki, Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe and Shinjiro Otani. Joe's befriending of the Harts meant he also had a hand in training Natalya (the only woman he ever worked with), Davey Boy Smith Jr, Viktor, Jack Evans and Tyson Kidd, who after Joe succumbed to colon cancer wrote "I don’t know what my life would have been had you not come into it. I promise you I wouldn’t have survived (his broken neck). But the truth is I wouldn't have made it to that point anyway."

Tom Zenk (59), a bodybuilder introduced to wrestling by Road Warrior Animal, never quite kicked on after being named joint Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year with Jushin Thunder Liger but was a very reliable hand at tag team level. Having been in the same graduate year at the same high school as Rick Rude and Curt Hennig, Zenk started with Mid-South and the AWA in 1984 before moving onto NWA Pacific Northwest, then onto Montreal where he met Rick Martel. When the pair were signed to WWF in 1986 they formed the Can-Am Connection (although the pair had already worked that year's All Japan Tag League) and won the opening match at Wrestlemania III, but Zenk abruptly left mid-push in 1987 and didn't resurface until two years later in the AWA. Two years later he joined WCW as The Z-Man, winning the US Tag Team title with Brian Pillman and becoming both the final NWA World Television Champion and the first WCW holder of that title. After a brief run with All Japan and AWF he retired in 1996.

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