recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Jack Donovan

**Joe Jack Dunnavant** (November 24, 1928 - November 27, 2004), best known by his ring name **Jack Donovan**, was an American professional wrestler.

## Early life

Dunnavant played baseball and basketball in high school, and went to the University of Florida for veterinarian medicine on the G.I. Bill. He also had a stint in the Air National Guard and was on Florida's wrestling team.

## Professional wrestling career

Donovan started wrestling early in 1952 in Georgia, competing there for the next few years and also working as a referee. In 1956, Atlanta promoter Paul Jones assigned Donovan to shepherd Gorgeous George, who had a drinking problem, from town to town, which he did for five months whilst still wrestling in the ring.

Donovan found success in West Virginia, competing as a bleache blond heel for Ace Freeman, which was in part inspired by his time shepherding Gorgeous George. His success was not limited there as he also thrived in Florida, Tennessee (as Count X), Atlanta and Oklahoma, competing there as “Dandy” Jack for Leroy McGuirk.

He accumulated tag team championships with Jackie Fargo in Alabama in 1962, The Viking in Kansas City in 1966, Ron Reed in Missouri in 1967, Louisiana in 1968, and with Frank Dalton in East Texas and Alabama. Donavant was also married to Verne Bottoms, which ended in 1973.

Donovan wrestled until his last match took place in 1979. During his retirement, he ran a painting company with his second wife Shirley, and served as music director at various churches. He was honored by his peers at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in April 1999 in Newton, Iowa.

## Death

On November 27, 2004, Dunnavant was instantly killed in a construction accident which saw him fall off a ladder. He was 76 years old.
Jerry Bryant

**Jerry Glenn Bryant** (March 27, 1953 - December 23, 1989) was an American professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

Jerry Bryant was born on March 27, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was friends with future area legend Jerry "The King" Lawler when they attended Treadwell High School together. Bryant was trained for a professional wrestling career with the help of Lawler.

According to Lawler in his book, Bryant was told not long into his career that he had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, but this didn't stop him from competing.

Bryant started wrestling in the mid 1970s. Throughout his career, he wrestled primarily in Memphis, including Jerry Jarrett's territory from 1977 to 1980 and from 1984 to 1988.

He also formed a tag team with Lou Winston, collectively known as Memphis Vice. This was capitalizing off the success of the film *Miami Vice*, with Bryant and Winston earning a steady push as both heels and faces.

They notably had a feud with Downtown Bruno and his team of Bubba and Goliath. During the feud, Bryant and Winston brought a fan (claiming to hold the occupation of a "computer operator"), Emily Author, in as their "mystery partner" to handle the meddlesome Bruno for them.

## Death

On December 23, 1989, Bryant died at his home at the age of 36 after battling with Lou Gehrig's disease for years.
Sir Dudley Clements

**Steven Geoffrey Beresford** (October 14, 1947 – April 21, 1976) was an English professional wrestler who started out as **Steve Clements**, before becoming a manager known as **Sir Dudley Clements**.

## Professional wrestling career

Steven Beresford was the son of Ted Beresford, a wrestling promoter in the United Kingdom. He started wrestling in the 1960s and was a part of the Yorkshire Terriers tag team, with Mick McManus. Clements later traveled to Mexico and competed there, winning the World Welterweight title in 1966.

Upon his return to wrestling in England, Clements, known for his rebellious attitude at the time, made his father concerned that he was going to end up in jail, so Ted placed a call to his friend Jerry Jarrett. It was this move that made Clements move to the United States to work for Jarrett in Tennessee.

Clements' move to the States was initially believed to be a dud as he was considered too light to be a junior heavyweight. However, his size was perfect to play the role of a manager to other wrestlers. Thus, he was rechristened as English aristocrat Sir Dudley Clements. donning a derby hat, three piece suits and wielding an umbrella or cane to use against his team's opponents.

Clements found success working for Nick Gulas and Roy Welch; among those he managed included the original Heavenly Bodies (Don and Al Greene), Lorenzo Parente, Charlie Fulton, and David Novak. He also managed Al Costello and Don Kent of Fabulous Kangaroos fame for the World Wrestling Association (WWA) in Indianapolis.

He also served as the assistant manager for "Playboy" Gary Hart during a time in Georgia. One of Clements' final clients was Brute Bernard, who he managed in Detroit, Ohio and Toronto, using a cowbell to help console him. Before his death, he had been scheduled to wrestle Randy Poffo, who he faced a few times before.

## Death

On April 21, 1976, Clements was a passenger on a pickup trick driven by his client Brute Bernard. The two had been on a card at St. Marys High School in Ohio earlier that night. While traveling from Toronto to Detroit, Bernard accidentally drove off the road and crashed into a cement divider near Van Wert. Clements died from injuries sustained in the accident at a local hospital at the age of 28.
Tex McKenzie

**Frank Hugh McKenzie** (July 21, 1930 – May 31, 2001) was an American professional wrestler. During his career, he appeared in the American Wrestling Association, IWA Australia, National Wrestling Federation and Maple Leaf Wrestling.

## Professional wrestling career

McKenzie wrestled in Texas during the early 50s as Goliath. In 1954, he went to Canada to wrestle for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. He formed a tag team with Ilio DiPaolo and won the NWA Calgary Tag Team Championship by defeating Al and Tiny Mills in early November. McKenzie also held the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship in June with Whipper Billy Watson.

McKenzie wrestled for the American Wrestling Association in 1958, competing there for many years. In 1961, he feuded with Bob Geigel and Bill Miller. On October 10, 1970, McKenzie defeated Tarzan Tyler for the AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship in Omaha, Nebraska, before dropping the title a month later to Ole Anderson and leaving the company.

In 1964, he went to Australia to wrestle for IWA Australia, feuding with Killer Kowalski. On June 6, 1967, McKenzie defeated Kowalski for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship. He dropped the title to Skull Murphy in August. A year later, he regained the title by defeating Toru Tanaka on November 13, 1968, before once again dropping the title to Murphy and leaving Australia in 1969.

From 1965 to 1967, he wrestled for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, forming a tag team with Nelson Royal in the late 60s. McKenzie would wrestle in Toronto for Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1970 to 1975. He teamed with various partners against the Love Brothers and the Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent). In 1974, he and Red Bastien held the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship. McKenzie also did commentary for the International Wrestling Association during this time before retiring from wrestling in 1977.

## Death

On May 31, 2001, McKenzie died at a hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, at the age of 70, from complications of an abdominal aortic aneurysm he suffered while on a boat.
Barbara Galento

**Barbara Anne Boyette** (June 29, 1940 - May 2, 1994) was an American female professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

The daughter of pro wrestler Mario Galento, it was not long until Barbara got into the business. She started wrestling in the early 60s, with April 25, 1960, being her first recorded match. This match took place for one of the NWA territories, Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling, where she and her father Mario defeated the team of Gloria Barattini and Lee Fields.

Barbara did not only team with her father, but with other wrestlers including Pedro Zapata and Tony Borne. In addition, Barbara worked as a singles competitor, battling the likes of Millie Zec, Cora Combs, and Ann Casey, often in succession. She was also rumored to have teamed with Rhonda Galento, but it is unknown if or how they were related to each other.

Barbara wrestled for the WWWF during a few shows, where she teamed with partners like Dorothy Patterson and Darling Dagmar to face the Fabulous Moolah and Diana Lynn, Diamond Lil, and Judy Grable.

## Death

Boyette died as a result of pancreatic cancer on May 2, 1994, at the age of 53.
Gladys Gillem

**Gladys Marie Wall** (January 6, 1920 - August 12, 2009), best known as **Gladys "Killem" Gillem**, was an American professional wrestler.

## Early life

She was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Fred and Clara Gillem. In high school, Gillem won the Alabama State softball championship with her team. However, she was expelled from her Catholic school for putting fishes in the holy water, as well as high school for making wine brewed from home. After her father died when she was 19, Gillem took care of her mother, who was an invalid.

## Professional wrestling career

Gillem was inspired to begin a career as a professional wrestling after seeing Mildred Burke wrestle. She was trained in Tennessee with Wilma Gordon, and she began wrestling in carnival shows.

Besides wrestling men and women, Gillem wrestled bears and alligators as part of her act. Gillem eventually found work touring with promoter Billy Wolfe's, the husband of Mildred Burke, troop of women wrestlers in 1942.

She was often an opponent of Burke's, wrestling her for the World Women's Championship. She acted in this capacity until her retirement in 1962. During her time with the promotion, she developed a sexual relationship with Wolfe.

During one professional wrestling match, one of Gillem's eyes was knocked out of the socket. Also, she developed a cauliflower like sore on the back of her head due to taking bumps in the ring.

Gillem, however, gained additional notability when she was one of the focal interviewees for *Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling*, a documentary about the early days of women's wrestling in North America.

After leaving wrestling, she rode horses and worked as a trapeze artist. Gillem then became a lion tamer and wrestled alligators; Gillem thought the key to wrestling them was to tickle their stomach.

She met her husband John Wall while working for the Bailey Brothers' circus. The couple had three children together: Kathleen Ann, John, and Claire Fredrica. Her husband was killed while working as a Broadway stagehand in New York when a 500-pound box fell on his head. After his death, Gillem ran her mother's boarding house. In 1973, she began running the Birmingham motel in Pensacola.

## Death

Gillem underwent heart bypass surgery in 2003. In 2006 she said, "there are a lot of people who made a lot of money [from me], but they are dead now. I learned the hard way about life."

On August 12, 2009, Gladys "Killem" Gillem died of Alzheimer's disease at her home in Pensacola, Florida.
Kelly Tabor

**Kelly Suzanne Tabor** (April 26, 1974 – December 22, 2002) was an American female professional wrestler who worked for G.L.O.R.Y. Wrestling as **The Diva**.

## Professional wrestling career

Kelly Tabor was born in Castro Valley, California, with her and her younger brother being huge fans of wrestling mainly because their mother was. One day, Tabor found a local independent promotion that was running and checked it out. She then asked how to get involved, thus beginning her venture into wrestling.

After a month of training, Tabor had her first match with Macaela Mercedes (WWE's Jillian Hall) in 2001. Tabor specialized in being a heel known as "The Diva", wearing her own self-designed shirts that said "DIVA" along with black pants. She often broke the rules while in the ring, which also proved to be efficient for her role as a manager, dubbing herself "The Greatest Managerial Mind In The Midwest" and ridiculing the fans.

As a face, Tabor usually wrestled in a technical mat style and described the role as playing the "nice little Diva next door." Some of her entrance music were songs from the musician Pink. Among the championships she won included the vacated CIWI Ladies Championship by defeating Mercedes, and the EWF Ladies Championship.

Outside of the ring, Tabor was involved in charity work, specifically for children's hospitals, being a regular blood donor. She also worked a full-time job at a bank.

## Death

Kelly "The Diva" Tabor died on December 22, 2002, in Greenwood, Indiana, of what doctors initially believed to be a possible heart attack. However, her death certificate revealed that she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, indicating that she committed suicide. She was 28 years old.
Karl Von Stroheim

**Walter Leo Nurnberg Sr.** (October 15, 1928 – August 13, 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler who wrestled as **Karl Von Stroheim**.

## Early life

Walter Nurnberg was born in Perry Sound, Ontario, and grew up in Port Elgin. He was of German ancestry since his father was a German lumberjack. He also played hockey for the the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, a Boston Bruins farm team. However, Nurnberg's hockey aspirations ended when he suffered an ankle injury, but he recuperated in Hamilton.

## Professional wrestling career

Nurnberg started working at a steel mill, where he met a friend, and the two would go train at Al Hamilton's gym. He began his wrestling career by 1959, competing in small Ontario clubs and towns as Wally “The Skull” Nurnberg (later shortened to Wally Nurnberg), complete with a bald head.

While working for Bert Ruby in Detroit, he found fellow wrestler Kurt Rutkowsky, and they formed the Von Stroheims. The Von Stroheims were billed as brothers even though they were actually cousins. As common with German themed villainous wrestlers such as the Von Brauners and Kurt Von Hess, they shaved their heads, had mustaches and wore black. They wrestled in multiple territories including Hawaii, Central States Wrestling, NWA Mid-America, Jim Crockett Promotions, Championship Wrestling from Florida, amongst others.

The team won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship on May 13, 1963, lost the titles and won them back on January 16, 1964. The team won the NWA International Tag Team Championship in July 1964 and lost the titles within the same month. They won the WWA Tag Team Championship in February 1965. The team won the NWA Florida World Tag Team Championship on October 23, 1965, and won the titles again on September 5, 1967. The team then captured the IWA World Tag Team Championship in June 1967.

After the Von Stroheim's split up in 1967, Nurnberg soldiered on in NWA Tri-State, Arizona, NWA Mid-America as "Dr. Death #1" the WWWF as Joe Cox, Championship Wrestling from Florida and Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling as "The Untouchable #1". He teamed with Frank Martinez in 1971 in Tennessee under masks.

In the early 80s, he promoted shows in Tampa, Florida under the IWWA banner for about a year. The promotion put on four shows a week at times, running small towns and nightclubs. Nurnberg retired in the 1985 and later delivered mattresses.

## Death

On August 13, 2006, Nurnberg was found slumped over in his wheelchair by his five-year-old grandson at their home in Zephyrhills, Florida. His son Leo gave him CPR for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived. Nurnberg's cause of death was later determined to be a heart attack; he was 77 years old.
Dave Hebner

**David S. Hebner** (May 17, 1949 – June 17, 2022) was an American professional wrestling authority figure, promoter, road agent, and referee. He was the identical twin brother of Earl Hebner.

## Professional wrestling career

Hebner debuted in the late 1970s in the Richmond, Virginia area. In 1986, he began working for the World Wrestling Federation, where he refereed many historic matches such as Randy Savage versus Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III and Randy Savage versus Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V.

Perhaps his most memorable appearance came on the February 5, 1988 episode of *WWF The Main Event*, when he was assigned to referee a match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant. André defeated Hogan after Hebner's twin brother, Earl, had switched places as Ted DiBiase had locked Dave in a closet.

Earl Hebner quickly counted to three as André pinned Hogan, despite Hogan clearly having his shoulder up. The match and the WWF Championship were awarded to André as a result. Both Hebners received a $2,500 bonus for the match.

Prior to WrestleMania IV, the WWF attempted to extend the "evil twin" referee storyline through a kayfabe "investigative report" published in the promotions' flagship publication, *WWF Magazine*. The article used a fictional backstory to build sympathy for Dave by claiming he was continually victimized by Earl's misdeeds committed in Dave's name since their childhoods.

In a 2001 interview with *WWF Raw Magazine*, Dave Hebner said the angle was soon dropped after he had suffered broken ribs when Earl kicked him (as part of the aftermath of the Hogan-Andre match during *The Main Event*). As a result, the storyline was shifted to have Earl come clean, and he was the referee when Randy Savage won the Tournament final at WrestleMania IV against Ted DiBiase for the WWF Championship.

After retiring as a referee following knee replacement surgery, Hebner became a road agent. He worked as a road agent until July 2005, when he was released from his contract.

After being released, Hebner debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the December 17, 2005 episode of *TNA Impact!*, appearing on the stage during a match between Team 3D and The Diamonds in the Rough. Hebner left TNA in 2012.

In July 2016, Hebner was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that performers incurred "long term neurological injuries" and that the company "routinely failed to care" for them and "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In September 2018, US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit.

## Death

On June 17, 2022, Dave Hebner died after suffering from an illness at his home in Mechanicsville, Virginia; he was 73 years old. He had also been suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Terry Majors

**Betty Jane Crane** (April 16, 1934 - January 26, 2000), best known as **Terry Majors** or **Tammy Jones**, was an American female professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

Crane started wrestling in the late 1940s as Terry Majors. During this time, she was involved in a series of matches with Betty Jo Hawkins, though the two would also partner during tag team matches.

In early 1953, Crane was a frequent challenger for the NWA World Women's Championship, which was held by Mildred Burke. The brown-haired Majors was described as one of the roughest female grappers of the 1950s. She also engaged in matchups with Penny Banner.

In the 1960s, Majors competed in a series of mixed tag team matches with her husband, the man who trained her, Jesse James. She would continue to wrestle until the mid 1970s, After retiring from wrestling, she worked as a homemaker.

## Death

Crane died at the Mercy Hospital on January 26, 2000, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the age of 65. Her cause of death was reportedly pneumonia.
Jean "Black Venus" Kirkland

**Black Venus** was an American professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

Powerlifter and Bodybuilder Jean Kirkland was trained with The Fabulous Moolah in South Carolina.

The rookie Venus wrestled in the then-WWF under the name Jean Kirkland. Her WWF highlights were when she teamed with ring legend, Leilani Kai against the Japanese team The Crush Girls and challenging, then champion The Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women's title. Jean Kirkland also toured All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and later Japan Women's Pro Wrestling.

Kirkland split with The Fabulous Moolah's management company in 1987 and began to wrestle independently throughout the Northeast for companies like International Wrestling Federation, New England Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Federation.

Venus and her partner Bad Girl wrestled in Ladies Professional Wrestling Association as Bad, Black & Beautiful with manager Boogaloo Brown where they reached the finals of the LPWA World Tag team tournament only to lose to Misty Blue and Heidi Lee Morgan.

Towards the end of their tenure with the company they became crown favorites and feuded with Glamour Girls and their manager Christopher Love.

Black Venus had a supporting role in the wrestling movie, American Angels that starred Magnificent Mimi.

## Death

On September 30, 1995, Jean "Black Venus" Kirkland died after suffering a heart attack. At the time of her death, she was reportedly in contract negotiations with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as she was selected to be the original manager of Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray).
Ray Gunkel

**Raymond Fred "Ray" Gunkel** (February 16, 1924 - August 1, 1972) was an American amateur and professional wrestler and promoter in the state of Georgia. Gunkel was a two-time AAU national champion and, as a professional, a three-time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. He died of heart trauma after a match in Savannah, Georgia, in which he defeated Ox Baker.

## Amateur wrestling career

Gunkel was born on February 16, 1924, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Kelvyn Park High School before attending Purdue University. He competed on the university's wrestling and football teams.

As an All-American wrestler, he was undefeated in his junior and senior years and helped his team win the Big Ten Conference twice. As an individual, he finished second in the NCAA final to Dick Hutton. He also won the Amateur Athletic Union national championship in both 1947 and 1948.

## Professional wrestling career

Gunkel originally wanted to become a teacher, but he entered professional wrestling immediately after leaving university. He made his debut in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1948. He then moved to Texas, where he competed for throughout the early 1950s.

On September 4, 1951, he defeated Duke Keomuka to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. After dropping the title belt to Miguel Guzmán, he later regained it by defeating Keomuka again. His third and final Texas Heavyweight Championship came in 1953, when he defeated Mr. Moto to win the vacant championship.

He was also successful as a tag team wrestler, as he won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship seven times with six different partners. While wrestling in Texas, Gunkel was managed by professional boxer Jack Dempsey.

After Gunkel and his last partner, Amazing Zuma, dropped the tag team title in Texas, Gunkel left the promotion. He moved to Georgia, where he competed for the remainder of his career and won two dozen championships.

His first title belt in Georgia came when he teamed with Don McIntyre to win the Georgia version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship.

## Death

On August 1, 1972, Gunkel wrestled Ox Baker in Savannah, Georgia. During the match, Baker punched Gunkel in the chest. Gunkel won the match, but he died later that day of heart problems. An autopsy showed that Gunkel suffered from undiagnosed arteriosclerosis, but that his death was a result of heart trauma. It was determined that Baker's punch created a hematoma, which led to a blood clot that caused his death when it reached his heart.

Following his death, Gunkel's wife Ann announced her intention to take his place in the ABC Booking wrestling organization. Gunkel's partners objected and closed the promotion. They immediately opened a new promotion that excluded Ann Gunkel. Ann Gunkel formed the All-South Wrestling Alliance, which operated until November 1974, when she was forced to sell the company because of declining business.

Ray Gunkel was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame in 2008. His daughter Pam accepted the award on his behalf.
Mike Von Erich

**Michael Brent Adkisson** (March 2, 1964 – April 12, 1987) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name **Mike Von Erich**. His four brothers, David, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, also wrestled. He was the son of longtime Texas wrestler and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich and a member of the famous Von Erich family.

## Professional wrestling career

Mike never wanted to be a wrestler. He was not a natural athlete like his older brothers, and wanted to work for his father's company, World Class Championship Wrestling, as a cameraman. He also wanted to be a musician away from the industry.

When his brother David died in 1984, Mike was forced into the ring. He was actually a very good wrestler even though he did not want to do it. He was teamed with his brothers Kerry and Kevin and put into a long feud with the Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts). He also had a feud with Gino Hernandez. His last match was in 1987 against Brian Adias, whom he defeated in five seconds.

   On August 22 1985, Mike's shoulder was operated on due to an injury suffered during a wrestling tour of Israel. He was released from the hospital in good condition, but his fever shot up to 107 degrees four days later. It was later found that Mike suffered from toxic shock syndrome, a rarity among men.

Mike had a difficult time returning to the ring, and was not able to perform as well as before.

## Death

On April 12, 1987, he left a suicide note for his family, then committed suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Placidyl. He was 23 years old.
Billy "Joe" Travis

**Gary Keith Mize** (April 29, 1961 – November 23, 2002), better known by his ring name **Billy Travis** or **Billy Joe Travis**, was an American professional wrestler.

## Early life

Mize, a native of Richmond, Kentucky, was born on April 29, 1961. He grew up watching wrestling and graduated from Madison Central High School in 1979.

His mother was Bonnie Todd, who worked for Eastern Kentucky University, and his stepfather was Walter Todd, part owner of a local funeral home in Richmond, Kentucky.

## Professional wrestling career

He was trained by MWA Championship Wrestling owner and promoter Dale Mann for his professional wrestling career and began working for MWA in 1981 as a face (wrestling term for those that portray the "good guys") known as Billy Travis. When wrestling under the Billy Travis moniker, he teamed up with Mike Mann, forming a tag team known collectively as the Southern Sensations, a team that won the MWA Tag Team Championship.

In 1984 he began working in the Memphis, Tennessee area for the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) and later on worked for the World Wrestling Federation, both places gaining experience while losing to established stars.

In 1985 he returned to the CWA, working as "Billy Joe Travis", adopting a conceited, egotistical heel ("bad guy") ring character.

Travis teamed up with Ron Sexton to form a team known as "Hot Property", the young duo was paired up with veteran Buddy Wayne to act as their manager. Travis also briefly teamed with Norvell Austin during the summer of 1985 as he worked a storyline feud with The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). In 1986 he started working as a singles wrestler for Texas USA All-Star Wrestling, working storylines opposite Al Madril, Lord Jonathon Boyd and Big Bubba.

In 1987 Travis returned to Memphis, this time with Frank Morell as his mentor. During his stint in the CWA he teamed with another young wrestler, Jeff Jarrett forming a very popular team that won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship three times.

He would also win the International Championship from Austin Idol and worked an extended storyline against Phil Hickerson.

Travis and a rookie Scott Steiner won the CWA Tag Team Championship twice. Travis would suffer from drug abuse around this time, which ruined his professional reputation, but he continued to work in several smaller promotions.

He gained notoriety in 1997 while working for the USWA, where he was arrested when his ex wife was reportedly seeking overdue child support payments and had tipped off Memphis police that Travis would be on location for saturday tapings at the WMC TV studios in Memphis. Police took this tip seriously and were actually on the scene when Travis arrived. This arrest was enough for Jerry Lawler, the booker, to turn this arrest into a storyline. Travis continued wrestling after this incident, but never experienced break-out success.

## Death

Mize died of an apparent heart attack on November 23, 2002, shortly after arriving at his mother's home in Kentucky; attempts by paramedics to revive him were unsuccessful.
Mickie Henson

**Mickie Jay Henson** (May 1, 1961 – February 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestling referee. He was best known for his time with World Championship Wrestling in 1992–2001 and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2005–2009.

## Professional wrestling career

Henson wrestled for independent promotions in Florida and broke into the business with the help of Steve Keirn, Mike Graham, and Gordon Solie. In 1987 he refereed his first match for Championship Wrestling from Florida.

In 1992, Henson was a jobber in the WWF appearing on Superstars and Wrestling Challenge. He faced the likes of The Undertaker, Rick Martel, Sid Vicious Skinner and The Nasty Boys.

Jim Crockett Promotions eventually took over the area and Henson began refereeing in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992. Henson refereed the main event at Starrcade in 1998 between WCW Champion Goldberg and Kevin Nash, which Nash won. He also refereed the Bret Hart-Chris Benoit match in honor of the late Owen Hart.

On February 15, 2000, Henson wrestled against Mark Johnson on WCW Thunder in which Johnson won. When Vince McMahon bought WCW in March 2001, Henson was out of a job.

   After he was signed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2005 he was placed on the *Raw* brand officiating matches, such as the John Cena versus Kurt Angle WWE Championship match at Survivor Series in 2005 and the Hardcore match between Edge and Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22.

He continued to officiate matches on *Raw* for nine months until 2006 when he was moved over to the newly established ECW brand. He made his debut for the brand on July 18 edition, officiating a match between Mike Knox and The Sandman, as well as the main event ECW World Championship match between The Big Show and The Undertaker. He was named the ECW brand head official shortly after. Despite moving to SmackDown! in February 2007, he was featured as the only ECW brand referee in *WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008*.

In February 2007, Henson was moved to the SmackDown! brand and later became its head official. In late 2008, WWE made the decision to have universal referees, in which referees were to appear on every brand, which included Henson. He was then pulled off the road in 2008 due to health issues. On January 14, 2009, Henson was released from his contract with WWE.

## Death

In 2008 he was diagnosed with Mantle cell lymphoma and given months to live. However, he was able to beat the cancer but died from COVID-19 on February 14, 2022, at the age of 59.
Don Ross

**Don Zell Ross** (October 6, 1946 – June 2, 1995) was an American bodybuilder, professional wrestler and weight training coach.

## Bodybuilding

Don Ross started lifting weights aged 14 to get in shape for sports. Then his interests turned to competitive lifting, but he did not get serious until he was about 16. He began reading the national magazines and hearing names like Bill Pearl, Harold Poole, Larry Scott and Freddy Ortez.

Ross won numerous bodybuilding titles throughout the United States, including Pro. Mr. America; America’s Most Muscular Man 1975, 76 and 77; IFBB Pro Universe 1975 for his class.

## Professional wrestling

*Cagematch* notes that Ross started his in-ring career in 1977. Ross was introduced that year via a videotape from Detroit alongside manager George Cannon. Ross was then brought to the area and helped turn Lanny Poffo into a fan favorite. He likely received a push after this due to his physique.

Don Ross used his real name and the alias "Mr. America", as well as having a character called The Invader in one point of time. However, he was best known as "The Bronx Barbarian" Ripper Savage.

When he wasn't wrestling, Savage worked as a color commentator and manager. He wrestled in the California area, as well as the CWA in Memphis during the 70s.

Ross's career was highlighted by his tenure with California Championship Wrestling. Savage once bit the head off a Hulk Hogan action figure during a promo for the aforenoted CCW promotion, and was even a part of a storyline where he introduced his “sister”, Eva Savage. He most notably made an appearance on the Wally George show in the 1980s, that was infamous amongst tape traders at the time.

## Death

On June 2, 1995, Ross died of a "surprise" heart attack at the age of 48. According to an autopsy report, the main arteries around his heart were between 70% and 100% blocked.
Iron Mike Steele

**John Michael Meek** (July 18, 1955 – August 29, 2007) better known by his ring name **Iron Mike Steele**, was an American professional wrestler. He was known as **"Uncle Ugly"** by his friends.

## Professional wrestling career

Meek was a Florida native, reportedly getting into trouble at a young age which caused him to leave for ten years, but he eventually returned there in Gibsonton.

Meek trained for a professional wrestling career with Boris Malenko and Tor Kamata. Under the name Iron Mike Steele, he took part in several matchups with notable names in the 90s including Marc Mero and Dean Malenko.

A motorcycle crash would effectively end his wrestling career in 1994. At 2 a.m., he rode on Gibsonton Drive. A driver hit Meek, causing severe leg injuries, but he kept going.

In 2003, he broke up a fight between two men in a bar. Later the same night, one of the men, Joshua Singletary, killed adversary Charles "Chuck" Rock by setting him on fire.

## Death

Meek was killed in a traffic homicide on August 29, 2007 at the age of 52. Steele refused to fight Harry Brian Taylor, a belligerent, drunk man at a bar. Steele walked out of the bar and left on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. The man followed behind him in his work van and rammed Steele's Harley Davidson. The killer was charged with murder and sentenced to life without parole.

The Iron Mike Foundation was started in his name to raise money for children's charity. At the Alafia River Beer Shed and Mobile Home Park, the bar Steele frequently visited, a memorial stone was placed where he used to park his motorcycle. A portrait of him hanged inside the bar, his worn glove was tacked to the wall, and a bright green street sign bearing his last name rested above it.
Dr. Bill Miller

**William Merritt Miller** (June 5, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American professional wrestler. He was a one time American Wrestling Association world champion and also wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance, the World Wrestling Association and the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

## Early life

Born on June 5, 1927, Miller was raised on the Twin Pines Farm in Fremont. He was a nine-letterman at Ohio State University in wrestling, football and track; he was also a member of the 1950 Rose Bowl. He was an all-american heavyweight wrestler, a two-time Big Ten heavyweight champion, and Conference MVP in his senior year. Miller was also an All-American shot-put and discus track star. He was voted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 for both wrestling and track.

## Professional wrestling career

After a stint in the U.S. Navy, Miller began professional wrestling in Columbus under promoter Al Haft. He became a veterinarian while starting his wrestling career, hence, the "Dr." in his name.

On May 1, 1952, Miller defeated Don Eagle to win the Ohio version of the AWA title, until losing it on September 2 to Don Arnold. He wrestled as "Mr. M" in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and held the AWA title for over seven months while engaging in a feud with Verne Gagne.

On August 21, 1962, Mr. M was unmasked by Gagne. Under his own name, he wrestled in the Detroit area with "The Sheik" (Eddie Farhat) through the 60s. Miller also donned a mask as the Crimson Knight, until November 20, 1970, when he lost to Dory Funk Jr. and was subsequently unmasked by him.

Near the end of his career, he worked for the WWA with Dick the Bruiser in the Indianapolis area. He was also a frequent challenger to Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Championship in the mid-1960s, facing him in a one-hour bout and a 48 second squash loss.

In the early 1960s, Bill teamed with storyline brother Big Ed Miller, and real life brother Danny Miller. From August 1965 to February 1966, Bill and Danny held the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship, winning it from Gorilla Monsoon & Cowboy Bill Watts, but losing them to Johnny Valentine & Antonio Pugliese in Madison Square Garden.

He was also a part of a brutal feud against Ray Stevens for the San Francisco version of the United States title, leading to a death match between the two on June 21, 1969, at the Cow Palace, where guest referee Rocky Marciano knocked out Miller, disappointed in his rule breaking tactics.

After retiring from the ring in 1976, he returned to his first love of veterinarian medicine and opened a practice in Ohio, performing autopsies on animals.

## Death

On March 24, 1997, Miller died of a heart attack at the age of 69 at 4:37 PM, after working out at a gym while leaving the building. He was survived by a wife and six kids.
Terry Gordy

**Terry ' Bam Bam' Gordy** (April 23 1961 - July 16 2001) was an American professional wrestler who was most famous for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.

## Professional wrestling career

**Terry Gordy** started wrestling in 1978 at the age of 16 as **Terry Mecca**. In early 1979, he changed his ring name to his real name of **Terry Gordy** and he formed the Fabulous Freebirds with Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts was later added to the group. They were great heels and won titles everywhere they went.

In 1984, the Freebirds went to World Class Championship Wrestling and had a legendary feud with the Von Erichs (David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike). They spent some time in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where they split to feud briefly but then reunited.

They also spent a very brief time in the WWF but left when management tried to split them up. In 1986, when the Freebirds were in the Universal Wrestling Federation, Gordy won their title and held it for 6 months. In 1989, Gordy helped Hayes reform the Freebirds with Jimmy Garvin in Jim Crockett Promotions.

He soon left and started teaming with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams as the "Miracle Violence Combination" in All Japan Pro Wrestling. During his time there, he held the AJPW Triple Crown Championship on two occasions.

In 1993 Gordy, while travelling to Japan for a tour, overdosed on pain medication . He received brain damage during the coma following the overdose. He returned to action later that year, but never received a shot at the Triple Crown again.

Gordy and Williams came to WCW in 1992 and won the World Tag Team Titles and had a feud with Rick and Scott Steiner. In Japan, this was played as a feud between the best foreign teams of their respective promotions (the Steiners were competing for rival New Japan Pro Wrestling at the time). Despite advances by New Japan, Gordy and Williams, out of loyalty to Baba, refused to compete for the promotion.

In 1994, Gordy had a small reunion with Hayes and Garvin as the Freebirds in the Global Wrestling Federation where he won the Tag Team Titles with Garvin.

In 1996, Gordy showed up in Extreme Championship Wrestling to challenge Raven for the ECW World Heavyweight Title, as the "Internationally recognized #1 Contender." He had been working for the IWA promotion in Japan, wrestling deathmatches. He lost, but went on to team with Tommy Dreamer and would later reunite with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle against The Eliminators.

He had a brief run in the WWF as **The Executioner** in 1996. He teamed with Mankind under a mask for manager Paul Bearer and feuded with The Undertaker. He appeared in the "Buried Alive" and "It's Time" PPV as "The Executioner".

He would come to the ring under a mask and would carry a plastic ax. Even with the mask on, many wrestling fans knew it was Gordy under the mask. He faced The Undertaker at "It's Time," which was basically a squash match with The Undertaker getting an easy victory. He disappeared weeks after.

## Death

Gordy died of a heart attack on July 16, 2001 due to a blood clot. He was 40 years old. His son Ray wrestled in WWE as Jesse and Slam Master J.
Helen Hild

**Helen Gladys Nevins** (February 26, 1926 – March 4, 1984), better known by her ring name **Helen Hild**, was an American female professional wrestler and model.

## Professional wrestling career

Hild wrestled through the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. One of the top female wrestling stars in the U.S. during the 1940s and 50s, she wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotions.

Among the companies she worked for include All-Star Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Central States Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, NWA Mid-America and the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

Hild challenged Mildred Burke for the NWA World Women's Championship several times between 1948 and 1951. Hild was often a rival to The Fabulous Moolah. Their encounter in Seattle, Washington on August 9, 1957, was the first woman's wrestling match to be held in the city in 12 years.

Nevins gave birth to a son named Theodore Marvin, later known as wrestler Ted DiBiase, in 1954, fathered by Ted Wills, an entertainer and singer. She later married fellow wrestler "Iron" Mike DiBiase, who adopted Theodore. After Mike's death during a 1969 wrestling match, she became depressed and began to abuse alcohol.

## Death

Helen "Hild" Nevins died on March 4, 1984, at the age of 58.
Cobarde

**Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes** (August 28, 1947 – February 7, 1983) was a Mexican *Luchador*, or professional wrestler that wrestled under the ring name *El Cobarde* (Spanish for "The Coward").

## Professional wrestling career

Miguel Ángel Delgado was a second-generation wrestler, son of the original Dr. X and the brother of wrestlers "Impostor" (later known as El Cobarde II) and "Legendario" He was the uncle of wrestlers Hijo del Cobarde, El Cobarde, Jr. and Impostor, Jr. He adopted the name El Cobarde and debuted in the mid-60s.

El Cobarde was one of the first *luchadors* to travel and perform in Japan where he would compete in a number of matches, including unsuccessfully challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He lost his mask in a *Luchas de Apuestas* ("Bet match") against his lifelong friend Fishman who he had originally trained at the start of Fishman's career.

After the loss of his mask he remained with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), turning from *rudo* (people who portray the bad guy characters in wrestling) to a *tecnico* ("Good guy") and receiving standing ovations from crowds across Mexico, but especially in Ciudad Juarez, having become a "national idol".

## Death

He died on February 7, 1983, from leukemia in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

After his death his brother Francisco (who had wrestled as El Impostor up until this point) took over the *El Cobarde* ring persona and mask, becoming "El Cobarde II". The Cobarde II character spawned two different wrestlers working under the ring name "El Cobarde, Jr.", one the brother of El Cobarde (I and II) while the other was the son of El Cobarde II, another son wrestled under the names Hijo del Cobarde ("Son of El Cobarde").
Jeremy Sumpter

**Jeremy Bradburn Sumpter** (1975 - October 26, 1997), known as **Big E. Sleaze** was an American professional wrestler who worked on the independent circuit around in Maryland.

## Professional wrestling career

Sumpter was trained by wrestler Neil Superior. While on the indies, Sumpter worked primarily for the House Of Pain Wrestling Federation (HoPWF).

He enjoyed a reign as the HoPWF Heavyweight Champion (which lasted about three months) and defended his title against wrestlers like Blackhawk, Doug Deeds, Kurt Keizer, and Prof. Egon Ecton.

He wrestled his final match before his death on October 14, 1997, defeating Slickyboy.

## Death

On October 26, 1997, Sumpter committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with no reason provided to why he ended his life. He was 22 years old at the time of his passing.
John Ayers

**John Ayers** (April 14, 1953 – October 2, 1995) was a National Football League (NFL) offensive lineman from 1977 through 1987. During that span, he appeared in two Super Bowls: Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XIX for the San Francisco 49ers. Ayers was a key contributor on the final 89-yard drive that led to the play that has been immortalized as "The Catch" in the 1982 NFC Playoffs versus the Dallas Cowboys.

John Ayers played college football at West Texas A&M University. He was also a member of the 1987 Denver Broncos team that lost Super Bowl XXII, but did not appear in that game.

## Professional wrestling

At Clash of the Champions III: Fall Brawl on September 7, 1988, during the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship main event pitting the champion Sting against Barry Windham, Windham hit Sting with a chairshot. The referee did not see the shot, until Ayers came to ringside and informed him.

Ayers served for a brief period as the figurehead President of Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation.

## Death

On October 2, 1995, Ayers died at his Canyon, Texas home after a two year battle with liver cancer.
Ryan Sakoda

**Ryan Keiji Sakoda** (December 31, 1972 – September 2, 2021) was a Japanese-American professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

Before coming to WWE, Sakoda had a successful stint in the NWA Zero-One promotion in Japan, stemming from his appearances for Ultimate Pro Wrestling. During this time Sakoda often filled in as an instructor at UPW's Ultimate University, while wrestling as part of the faction Team Emblem with Japanese superstars Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani. Ryan formed a tag team with Samoa Joe in Zero-One, capturing the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship.

On January 6 2003, Sakoda made his first onscreen appearance for WWE on Raw as a judge for World Heavyweight Champion Triple H and Scott Steiner's posse down under the name Charlie Chan.

   In September 2003, Sakoda was signed to a developmental contract, it wouldn't be long before Sakoda was brought up to SmackDown!'s main roster. He along with Akio made their WWE debuts on October 19, 2003, at No Mercy. Sakoda aligned himself with Akio, forming the heel tag team Kyo Dai, the Yakuza-style henchmen of Tajiri.

In August 2004, Sakoda was released from his WWE contract. Sakoda filed a class action lawsuit against WWE, alleging that wrestlers suffered traumatic brain injuries while wrestling for them and that the company tried to conceal that information.

The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In March 2016, the suit was dismissed as frivolous by Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant.

Sakoda returned to UPW in March 2005 as a part-time trainer and part-time auto sales executive at Worthington Ford. He made his return to full-time in-ring competition in 2007 with MTV's Wrestling Society X. Wrestling as an independent in the local mall circuit until his death, Sakoda had been working as a server for Disney at one of their Grand California Hotel restaurants.

## Death

Sakoda died on September 2, 2021, at the age of 48. His death was not announced until September 27.