65 Wrestlers have died in last 7 years from Roids

[Velcro]

Behind fun facade, professional wrestling sees 65 deaths in 7 years

by Jon Swartz | Mar 12 '04

Mike "Road Warrior Hawk" Hegstrand died from an enlarged heart caused by high blood pressure at 46.

Mike "Crash Holly" Lockwood died from what a medical examiner ruled a suicide at 32. A lethal combination of painkillers was found in his system.

Mike Lozanski died from what his family says was a lung infection at 35. His relatives are awaiting an autopsy report.

All died in the last five months. All were professional wrestlers with bulging muscles on sculpted bodies. The deaths received little notice beyond obituaries in small newspapers and on wrestling Web sites, typical of the fringe status of the $500 million industry.

Yet their deaths underscore the troubling fact that despite some attempts to clean up an industry sold on size, stamina and theatrics, wrestlers die young at a staggering rate. Since 1997, about 1,000 wrestlers 45 and younger have worked on pro wrestling circuits worldwide, wrestling officials estimate.

USA TODAY's examination of medical documents, autopsies and police reports, along with interviews with family members and news accounts, shows that at least 65 wrestlers died in that time, 25 from heart attacks or other coronary problems -- an extraordinarily ......

I can't get the entire article without paying for it.

Wrestling deaths and steroids

Mar 12 '04

Steroids played a role in the deaths of several pro wrestlers since 1997, according to medical examiners, family members and the wrestlers themselves, including:

* Curt Hennig, 44, died of acute cocaine intoxication in February 2003, medical records show. But his father said last year that a lethal combination of steroids and painkillers contributed to his death.

* "The British Bulldog," Davey Boy Smith, 39, died in 2002 in Canada of an enlarged heart with evidence of microscopic scar tissue, possibly from steroid abuse, a coroner said. "Davey paid the price with steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones," says Bruce Hart, a veteran trainer who worked with Smith and was his brother-in-law.

* Louie "Spicolli" Mucciolo , 27, died from coronary disease in his San Pedro, Calif., home in 1998

[TripleB]

Wasn't Vince charged with supplying them. .......... or something like that?

[Velcro]

I think you are right, but i don't think anything came of it.... at least not yet...

the whole industry puts so much emphasis on being buff to be a star...  even the women are dropping dead... remember Tampa's Macho Man, well his sidekick... Miss Elizabeth died from asphyxiation(sp?)... from pain killers and alcohol mixed.  The pressure from the "sport-used loosely", (not steroid related), was too much for her to handle.

[___ Eats It]

Miss Elizabeth died? When was this?

[Velcro]

I don't recall, not too long ago...

I don't have the date handy, saw it on a message board somewhere on steroids/pain killers.

I also read Bret Hart (USF AD applicant) had a stroke at some point in the last 5 years.

[TripleB]

Year ago maybe .............. possibly longer. She was the first wrestling "babe" wasn't she? I'm not counting the Fabulous Moolah because she wasn actual wrestler ....

[Velcro]

How did Elizabeth die?

Elizabeth died of acute intoxication. She had a blood alcohol level of 0.29 and a mix of painkillers, nausea medication and tranquilizers in her system.

A lot of people claim she was addicted to drugs and used them recklessly. Is this true?

Not quite. Some of the medication that Elizabeth eventually died from was prescribed for her for a recent back injury, however the vodka taken with them shows a sense of irresponsibility. Many people in the wrestling world have hinted that Elizabeth "went the way of so many others in the industry." Read into that what you will.

I read somewhere that Elizabeth fooled around with other wrestlers, whilst she was already married/in a relationship.

There is no evidence of this whatsoever! Elizabeth was married twice and had a relationship with the wrestler Lex Luger, none of which overlapped. Some sources claim that Elizabeth dated Lex whilst he was still married. However, Lex and his wife separated after Sting confessed of his and Lex's promiscuous past.

How many times did Elizabeth marry?

Twice. The most obvious one is to Macho Man Randy Savage and the other was to Cary Lubetsky. Their married went from December 1997 to April 1999.

Many internet sites say that Elizabeth has breast implants. Is this true?

Yes. Her autopsy results show that Elizabeth had healed surgical scars under each breast

Were Macho Man and Elizabeth really married?

Yes. In December 1984 Elizabeth Anne Hulette and Randy Phoffo tied the knot. They were married until 1992. In the early months of that year Elizabeth filed for divorce. Their marriage at Summerslam 1991 was simple part of the storyline to increase PPV butyrate.

What did Elizabeth do when she left wrestling in 1992?

Most sources state that she worked for ESPN doing racing commentary and also helped out at her friend clothing shop Vertigo.

Why did Macho Man and Elizabeth stop working together after Wrestlemania 5?

There are several reasons why the two parted. Firstly, although they were married that didn't necessarily mean they had to work together. For the sake of storylines and plot's it was inevitable that the two should part at some time. Also, the fact that they were married was not publicly known. As rumours of their off screen relationship began to surface, Vince McMahon thought is best that the two split for a while.

What is the name of the song that is played over the video montage at Summerslam 1991 and who sings it?

The song is called Together but I don't know who sings it. You can download it from here

In the early years Macho Man treated Elizabeth really badly on screen. How much of this was part of the storyline and how much was real life?

As with many storylines in the WWF, the line between reality and fiction is somewhat blurred. There is no doubt that Vince McMahon and the other story writers at WWF wanted to have Randy treat Liz badly to fit in with his heel persona. However, in a recent interview Vince McMahon did say that Randy would get extremely jealous of other wrestles actions around Elizabeth. Other rumours are not supported and would be unfair to infer the inner workings of their relationship.

What was the shoot interview that Macho did in 1993 on WWF Radio?

After about a year after Elizabeth left the WWF with no trace or explanation, Randy Savage did an interview for WWF Radio. In it he spoke about his relationship with Elizabeth and also the role of Hulk Hogan and his wife in their subsequent divorce. Basically Randy made vague suggestions about her sleeping arrangements. (A FULL VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW CAN BE FOUND IN THE INTERVIEW SECTIONS)

[Velcro]

Miss Elizabeth, former valet and manager of both the WWF and WCW, has passed away at the age of 42 this morning in Cobb County, GA. She was rushed to the hospital after becoming extremely ill, and died immediately thereafter. Causes of the death aren't official, although some sort of overdose may be assumed. Elizabeth, although she wasn't a wrestler, is another name added to the list of those from professional wrestling, now outside of the spotlight, passing away at early ages and of not-so natural cause deaths.

Elizabeth Hulette, better known to wrestling fans as Miss Elizabeth, was easily the greatest wrestling valet EVER. She was easily one of the most beautiful ladies in professional wrestling, and her looks, even in her late 30's in WCW, still held up against the incoming flow of younger females entering the sport. She debuted on the arm of her boyfriend and real life husband, Macho Man Randy Savage in the 1980's. Macho Man was a heel when she debuted, and the way he generated heat was to show vicious signs of jealousy towards his opponents in consideration of Elizabeth. But who wouldn't show that? Elizabeth was very beautiful. It was also ironic that Randy Savage was also paranoid of people talking to Elizabeth backstage, with that possible tension leading to their divorce down the road.

After a few years doing the heel act, Macho Man turned face and went on to win the World Title at Wrestlemania 4, the big tournament, thanks to Hulk Hogan's help. Hogan and Macho Man would then team up to form the Mega Powers, and with Elizabeth behind them, it was an instant success. But the WWF knew a money feud when they saw it back then, and given Macho's past as an intense heel. The Mega Powers would face the "Mega Bucks", Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase at Summerslam 1988 and gave every young male their dream when Elizabeth jumped on the apron and stripped down to her panties to help distract the Mega Bucks for the win. I can remember my jaw dropping for that moment. It was quite the site back then and it had every young male highly interested in her from then on.

Macho Man and Hogan would then break up as a team over Elizabeth, which brewed from a Saturday Night's Main Event match where Elizabeth was knocked down and Hulk Hogan rushed her to the back to give her some medical attention. Macho would then get pounded in the tag match and confront and then attack Hulk Hogan over this. Wrestlemania 5 was instantly set. It was billed on the fact of "which corner will Elizabeth be in?". Hogan won the match and Macho Man would move on to Sensational Sherri Martel, that is, until Wrestlemania 7, 2 years later, when Sherri was upset at Macho losing to the Ultimate Warrior in a Retirement Match, leading to Elizabeth and Macho Man reuniting in a great moment for wrestling fans everywhere. Macho would become a color commentator for a while and actually get married to Elizabeth at Summerslam 1991, only to be attacked later on by Jake the Snake and the Undertaker, setting up a rather intense Macho Man vs. Jake Roberts feud that year.

The WWF sort of ventured into their future Attitude ways in late 1991, if you remember Jake the Snake actually slapping or punching Miss Elizabeth on television. Very rare for back then. Add to that, Jake the Snake sent a king cobra to knaw off Macho's arm, as well, and Macho Man was reinstated to go after Jake the Snake, and those matches were fabulous! But just when you thought that feud was intense, another was just on the horizon. Macho Man won the #1 contendership role when Hogan stepped down after wanting a feud with Sid Justice, thereby putting Randy Savage against Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 8 in a fabulous match. But the kicker was Ric Flair getting under Macho Man's skin regarding Elizabeth by doctoring photos to make it appear as though Ric Flair was a former boyfriend of Miss Elizabeth's. Ric would always insist that "she was mine before she was yours", and that heated feud went through a lot of the Spring of 1992. After this feud, Macho's role would die down, as the WWF felt his time was up, and Macho would become a commentator again until his contract ran out and WCW gave him a second chance.

During that time or before they both were in WCW, they ended their real life relationship. There were rumors of a real life affair with Hulk Hogan or of Macho Man's continued paranoid attitude, but the split seemed to be mutual as they both ended up working well together in WCW. WCW actually played up Macho and Elizabeth's married life by having Elizabeth actually joining Ric Flair this time and frequently spending Macho's money earned through the divorce. It set up a very heated feud between the two which totally got Macho Man over in WCW and showed everyone that he had something left in the tank. Elizabeth was great in the role and she'd continue to help Flair and the Horsemen for a while.

But then the New World Order arrived and Hulk Hogan was the badguy this time around. He went after Elizabeth to add more heat to the feud with Macho Man. Hogan would get the better of Macho and Macho would then join the NWO and have Elizabeth as his valet once again! Elizabeth was kind of in the background of the NWO after a while, and her only big contribution was of the Georgia Dome Nitro in early 1999 where she told cops, in the storyline, that Bill Goldberg sexually harassed her, leading to Bill Goldberg getting arrested, only to comeback later and see the New World Order reuniting. Through all of this, she became close with Lex Luger, and she began to be his valet on a regular basis. Lex Luger was coming off a divorce of his own after his wife found out about several dirty things he's did while on the road as a wrestler. They were both incorporated with each other on WCW television until the very end. My personal favorite were the corny backstage segments they did together when Luger became the "Total Package" (just using that name instead of Lex Luger), where they'd have funny arguments over what Luger wanted to do. I believe WCW let her go just before the end, in a cost cutting move.

Miss Elizabeth was in many ways the Queen of professional wrestling, at least in terms of valets. She had the beauty, the charm, and the grace to make what she did look great and her presence helped whomever she was managing at the time. She was fuel to the fire of a great Wrestlemania 5, as who knows how big Macho vs. Hogan would have been without her. She has died at the age of 42, way too young for anyone to leave this world. May she rest in peace, and may every wrestling fan who used to watch her remember the extra smiles she gave you whenever you saw her performing as the best valet wrestling has ever seen.

Goodbye Elizabeth.

[KnightsRule]

Miss Elizabeth died? When was this?

She died last summer in Georgia and her boyfriend was charged with drug possesion. Her boyfriend was lex luger and he had been arrested not long before that for beating her up.  

[Velcro]

I'm surprised Luger hasn't died yet... that guy is huge!, as is hogan, machoman, tripleH, and a bunch more.