The truth behind WWE stars' early deaths: Lethal cocktail of steroids and painkillers, murder-suicide and ringside trauma expose the dark side of wrestling

When Hulk Hogan died last July, it sparked an outpouring of love and respect from the wrestling community. Yet, none of those tributes contained a trace of shock or surprise.

By wrestling standards, he had lived a long life. Unlike many of his peers, some of whom hadn't been fortunate enough to even make it to their 60s, he'd made it to the ripe old age of 71.

Hogan's official cause of death was cardiac arrest, but he reportedly had battled numerous health issues for many years. And he was not the only one. That, it appears, is the price of stardom in the ring – and it's an extremely costly one.

Wrestling has long been a sport riddled with premature deaths, with stars losing their lives to heart attacks, overdoses and even suicide.

Eddie Guerrero died at the early age of 38 in 2005 due to acute heart failure resulting from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Andre the Giant, the beloved colossus who stood at 7-foot-4 and 520 pounds, died at 46 from heart failure. More recently, Bray Wyatt passed away in 2023 at 36, also from a heart attack, which had been exacerbated by Covid.

Randy Savage, Hogan's former ring partner, died at 58. An autopsy found that Savage, who had heart disease, was driving when he suffered 'a cardiovascular event' that caused an accident in 2011.

In 2016, female wrestler Chyna, whose real name was Joanie Laurer, died at the same age as Andre the Giant, in her case from an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs.

And they are just a small selection of the early deaths that haunt the sport. As recently as last month, Siva 'Superfly' Afi died at 77, his cause of death still unknown. 

A 2014 study conducted by Eastern Michigan University found that wrestlers between the ages of 25 and 49 were 4.5 times more likely to die than the general population with 16 percent of wrestlers' deaths occurring below the age of 50. It found that wrestlers ages 45 to 54 were nearly three times more likely than the general population to die prematurely.

The findings pointed to cardiovascular issues as the leading cause of premature deaths among wrestlers, with drugs also a major contributing factor – and both are likely tied to the grueling nature of life in the ring.

Wrestlers, especially those at the highest levels of the sport such as WWE, have to push themselves through an unfathomable physical toll.

With no true offseason, they are facing a backbreaking schedule of 300-plus days on the road, putting their bodies through arduous physicality day in and day out.

Following the early death of Hall of Famer Scott Hall in 2022, his peers Bret Hart and Kevin Nash attested to the grim realities that wrestlers, particularly from the 1980s and 90s, have endured.

'We've lost so many wrestlers from my era, and this is just one more to a list that's far too long,' Hart said in a Facebook post following Hall's death.

'I won't blame any one thing, but I do believe that if the days of wrestling 300 days a year had been kinder and more considerate, if we could've been home with our loved ones more, many of my old friends and brothers would still be here.'

In response to Hart's comments, Nash replied: '100% the meat grinder hasn't been kind to the crews that ran 300 plus days. 'The mental and physical pain of those years scar hard and deep but the men that I shared my life with were such a special breed and many life long friends.'

Hogan himself had made no secret of the multiple surgeries he had endured for chronic pain that pervaded his body from decades of injuries targeting almost every limb. In his lifetime, the fighter had undergone procedures such as spinal fusion surgery, knee and hip replacements, and repairs to his shoulders, biceps and abdominal muscles.

In 2024, he claimed he had undergone 25 surgeries in the past decade alone. And, like many wrestlers, he turned to painkillers to survive.

'We get banged up a lot… you're wrestling on concrete sometimes, and you can't go down, or you won't get back up. Guys start drinking too much, popping pills to keep going… it messes with your heart, your head, everything,' he previously told Joe Rogan.

Many wrestlers have resorted to extreme measures to push through the punishing schedule, including cocktails of steroids, painkillers and alcohol to cope with the chronic injuries.

Diamond Dallas Page, who fought through the 80s and 90s, admitted that his generation of wrestlers partied like rockstars outside of the ring to cope with what they did inside it.

'Way more partying man,' he said of his era on the Chris Van Vliet podcast in 2024.

'What happens to a lot of guys back then, because you drink so much and then you try to kill some of the pain with the muscle relaxers… well, your heart is a muscle. And there were guys who would take multiple pills, drinks and then five more (pills).

'I'll tell you what I see today. A lot of these guys are straight edge - they don't drink and they don't take drugs.'

He admitted that he would continue to increase the amount of pills he would take until he was popping multiple at a time, claiming that they began to lose their effect over time. 'I needed those f***ers to work,' he said.

Hogan also shared that, at one point, he developed a long-term dependence on painkillers, including opioids, and admitted that he had begun washing down dozens of pills with alcohol.

In 1994, Hogan testified in a case against his former employer, WWE co-founder Vince McMahon. He told the court that he had regularly used anabolic steroids throughout the 1980s, not just to build his physique but 'to heal injuries, to keep on going,' adding that it was 'fairly common' among wrestlers at the time. McMahon was ultimately acquitted of supplying them.

The risks of steroids have been well-documented; high blood pressure, blood clots and heart problems, including an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The 2014 study also claimed that it is 'plausible that the painful injuries are self-treated with high doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which can cause or worsen hypertension and increase the risk of heart and kidney failure.'

It also stated that it was reasonable to assume that the abuse of pain-relieving prescription drugs 'plays a role in the premature drug-related deaths and possibly suicide.'

Yet, the abuse of painkillers and other drugs may not be the only cause of horrific deaths among wrestlers. While the heart is undoubtedly affected by the lifestyle of a wrestler, another vital organ is also taking hits.

Wrestlers have sustained countless traumatic brain injuries from decades of taking hits to the head and even continuing to compete through concussions.

Chris Benoit died in a double murder-suicide in 2007, killing his wife, Nancy, and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, before taking his own life.

Tests were conducted on Benoit by West Virginia University's head of neuroscience following the horrific incident. They revealed that the 40-year-old Benoit had damaged his brain via countless concussions that it 'resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.'

Former WWF/WWE wrestler Marty Jannetty was involved in a class-action suit against his former employers in 2016.

'We do get slammed on the floor and our heads bounced on the floor. There have been so many times when I get up and didn't remember how I finished the match,' he claimed in his testimony. The case was later dismissed.

Chyna's death from drug overdose in 2016 was tentatively linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a concussion-related injury. Her brain was donated to CTE researcher Dr Bennet Omalu following her death. The findings of CTE tests were never made public. 

CTE has become an increasing cause for concern among wrestlers and other athletes who compete in contact sports, such as football and hockey.

Several pro wrestlers claimed in lawsuits filed in 2018 that the WWE had failed to adequately protect them from repetitive head injuries leading to brain damage.

These were eventually dismissed and later appeals were declined by the US Supreme Court. In all, more than 50 wrestlers, a majority who hit their peak in the 80s and 90s, were listed as plaintiffs.

Per their attorney, Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara and Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka passed away in 2016 and 2017 respectively and were posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

In addition to brain damage, repeated head trauma is associated with cognitive decline, depression and higher rates of suicide, per Eastern Michigan University's study.

The study also found that 98 percent of wrestlers had a BMI ranging from overweight to morbidly obese. It theorized that 'BMI is significantly associated with the hazard of death from total time wrestling' and that while pro wrestlers in general are more likely to die early because of heart disease, morbidly obese wrestlers are 'especially at risk.'

The issues were likely compounded in past decades due to a lack of understanding of medical practices and health insurance, and an oversight of injuries.

Industry practices have changed since the wild days of the 1970s and 80s with modern promotions implementing stricter wellness policies, testing for drugs and PEDs, and improved medical monitoring.

Wrestling superstar Bryan Danielson, previously known as Daniel Bryan, was forced to retire by WWE in 2016 after he suffered at least 10 concussions during his 16-year career. Following intensive treatments, he was eventually cleared to return to wrestling, transitioning his career to AEW.

Back in 2006, WWE established a Talent Wellness Program which includes cardiovascular and brain function testing, in addition to substance abuse and drug testing, among other things.

'The business has changed so much since I started. I think a whole lot better,' John Cena said during a 2023 interview with Kevin Hart.

'The talent are better taken care of. They're more professional. They're more understanding. They're not as wasteful, they're a lot smarter. They're a lot healthier,' he added.

Tragically, it is too late to undo the decades of damage already done to the older generation of fan favorites.