80s/90s wrestling superstars - where are they now

[alien]

would be awesome if scsa came back but it probably wont happen...

 

[Iafeta]

If we're talking about drug related deaths, I believe Bam Bam was another

2 others who have gone are Junkyard Dog and Texas Tornado, not sure if they were directly as a result of drug abuse.

This all said, Vince McMahon cannot be held accountable, there were far more superstars who have not died from drug abuse. Its similar to holding the Dairy owner or CEO of a cigarette company responsible for all the lung cancer deaths, at the end of the day its the individuals choices.

By Texas Tornado, do you mean Kerry Von Erich? Yes, he's gone, and it was certainly to do with painkiller and steroid drug abuse.

Junkyard Dog was a car accident.

 

[Evil_Mush]

The following page seems to be pretty comprehensive (there's a whole lot that I haven't heard of and seems to contain all the major names I can think of), and seems up to date including the likes of Sean O'Haire, Reid Flair, Mabel/Viscera and Warrior from this year alone : http://prowrestling.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Wrestlers_who_have_died

 

[Martin Bella's Luvhandles]

Thanks

Goes to show just how many have passed

But no, of course Vince don't have a problem :roll:

 

[afinalsin666]

Bah, blaming Vince is ridiculous. Drug abuse was ingrained in the culture of the wrestling from a grassroots level. You think coming through the territories these guys were all clean? Nope, not happening. The only way to get booked was to look larger than life. Ain't no Daniel Bryans or CM Punks back then, they for the most part were jacked to shit, spectacle over wrestling talent. You think some random small time Tennessee promoter is gonna be asking for drug tests and not hiring a known draw because of morals? Nope. Not happening.

Not only that, they were broke as shit. Stone Cold lived on potatoes for months coming through the old system. Knowing what we know of protein and building clean nowadays, how you think Stone Cold had a nice body eating nothing but simple carbs? Yeah, exactly. And that wasn't because WWE Forced him or whatever, it's what he had to do to get ahead in the most cut throat of businesses. 99.9% of these guys didn't start in WWE, they just brought their baggage with them. It was bad back in the days, but things have definitely changed, and for the better.

But to blame an entire industry's failings on one man just because he is the most prominent is stupid. Blame the industry, not the man that has built himself as the face of it.

 

[madunit]

why not include the Fabulous Moolah.

It's McMahon's fault she isn't immortal and couldn't continue living past the age of 84

 

[Martin Bella's Luvhandles]

Bah, blaming Vince is ridiculous. Drug abuse was ingrained in the culture of the wrestling from a grassroots level. You think coming through the territories these guys were all clean? Nope, not happening. The only way to get booked was to look larger than life. Ain't no Daniel Bryans or CM Punks back then, they for the most part were jacked to shit, spectacle over wrestling talent. You think some random small time Tennessee promoter is gonna be asking for drug tests and not hiring a known draw because of morals? Nope. Not happening.

Not only that, they were broke as shit. Stone Cold lived on potatoes for months coming through the old system. Knowing what we know of protein and building clean nowadays, how you think Stone Cold had a nice body eating nothing but simple carbs? Yeah, exactly. And that wasn't because WWE Forced him or whatever, it's what he had to do to get ahead in the most cut throat of businesses. 99.9% of these guys didn't start in WWE, they just brought their baggage with them. It was bad back in the days, but things have definitely changed, and for the better.

But to blame an entire industry's failings on one man just because he is the most prominent is stupid. Blame the industry, not the man that has built himself as the face of it.

:roll:

Yeh sure it wasn't just WWF...but why do you think all the guys in indis wanted to be massive? To try to get in to WWF and they knew full well that that's what Vince wanted

 

[afinalsin666]

What the audience wanted, you mean. Big guys always made more money than little guys. You can try to twist it whichever way you want, but the audience wanted to see freaks and supermen, literally larger than life.

The Vince wants them big so they got big is a chicken egg argument. Vince hired the biggest draws from the territories, the biggest draws were actually big. Did they get big because they wanted in on the wwe, or did they get big to become huge draws in their own territory? Did Vince hire them because they were known draws?

I'd say no on the first, and yes on the next two. Vince was always about money, and it is a fact that larger than life athletes drew bigger markets and a ton more money when kayfabe was still alive. Now we appreciate the performance side of it, tastes have changed.