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The wrestling world has seen its share of heartbreak and tragedy. Today, we look back at those brave athletes who gave their all inside the squared circle but paid the ultimate price. From sudden heart attacks to in-ring accidents, these moments shook fans and changed wrestling forever. Join us as we honor their legacy and remember the dangers behind the glory.
Transcript
00:06Welcome to Miz Mojo and today we'll be discussing 10 wrestlers who died in the ring.
00:19For this list, we'll be remembering those warriors of the squared circle who tragically
00:25died doing what they loved.
00:26Do you have any memories of these performers?
00:28Let us know in the comments below.
00:32Brian Ong The death of Brian Ong may not have been televised
00:37or even relegated to a non-canonical house show, but that doesn't make the circumstances
00:41involving this accident any less tragic.
00:45Ong was actually in a training session together with WWE's The Great Khali, aka Dalip Singh
00:51Rana, and was already suffering from a concussion.
00:54That alone should have stopped the training exercise within California or pro wrestling,
01:00as the very green Ong wasn't even fitted with proper gear for the work.
01:04Then, a flapjack attempt by Khali was botched when Ong forgot his safety protocol for the
01:10sequence.
01:11The wrestler landed badly on his head and tailbone, and these injuries, combined with APW's
01:17poor response time in seeking medical attention, directly resulted in Ong's death.
01:22Plum Mariko Japan, alongside countries like Mexico
01:31and the United States, possesses one of the richest professional wrestling heritages in
01:36the world.
01:37That said, the Japanese wrestling industry successfully avoided an in-ring death prior to 1997, when
01:44the promising career of Plum Mariko was tragically cut short.
01:54Mariko was talented, but she was also accident-prone, and her injuries directly led to the athlete
02:00developing an abscess in her brain.
02:03Mariko ignored physicians' warnings about her concussions, and she continued to wrestle.
02:08Then at a wrestling show in Hiroshima, Mariko took a liger bomb from her opponent, Mayumi Ozaki.
02:14She passed out as a result of the move, with officials claiming that the abscesses in her
02:19brain opened up, eventually leading to her death.
02:22Janette Wolfe Janette Boyer-Wolfe competed professionally
02:26under the alias of Janette Wolfe, during the formative age of women's professional wrestling.
02:32She came from industry royalty as the foster daughter of legend Mildred Burke, and worked
02:38matches alongside icon Mae Young.
02:40Unfortunately, we'll never know exactly how exalted Wolfe's career could have been, thanks
02:46to a horrible 1951 in-ring occurrence.
02:49It took place during the second of two matches Wolfe had that day, the first of which ended
02:55with a basic body slam.
02:57Wolfe was complaining of headaches after taking this move, but went on with her second match
03:02as scheduled.
03:03She collapsed on the ring apron during this match, and never woke up, suffering a fatal
03:08brain hemorrhage minutes into the contest.
03:11She was 18.
03:13Oro
03:14We mentioned Mexico earlier on our list, with its lucha libre style of professional
03:19wrestling serving as one of the country's cultural legacies.
03:23Oro performed as a luchador in this style, as a masked wrestler with an impressive arsenal
03:28of aerial maneuvers.
03:33As part of the Hernandez family, famed within the lucha libre community, we as fans can only
03:39wonder what might have been, if not for an unfortunate accident.
03:42The fall that Oro took on his head was pre-planned, together with his opponent.
03:47But this decision to add drama to the contest directly resulted in Oro's death.
03:53The fall reportedly triggered a brain aneurysm, and Oro never made it into a hospital ambulance.
03:59He was only 21 years old.
04:02Gary Albright
04:03He was the unsung hero of the legendary Anoai wrestling family, the bloodline that's produced
04:09such stars as Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
04:14Gary Albright
04:19Albright married into the family with his wife Monica, and he enjoyed a distinguished career
04:24as the rough-and-ready master of the suplex in promotions such as All Japan and Stampede
04:30Pro Wrestling.
04:31Albright was performing as usual for the company World Extreme Wrestling on January 7th, 2000,
04:37when a bulldog maneuvered by his opponent left Albright unconscious in the ring.
04:42Gary had suffered a heart attack in the ring, partially as a result of his diabetes and
04:48poor coronary history.
04:50A tribute show would later be held in his honor.
05:00Moondog Spot
05:01For wrestling fans of a certain generation, a tag team known as the Moondogs will always
05:07be remembered for their wild and unpredictable antics.
05:10One of the members of that team, Moondog Spot, also worked as a solo star and Booker throughout
05:16the 1970s and 80s.
05:18Fast forward to 2003, however, and Spot, born Larry Booker, had long since left active
05:25regular competition.
05:26This didn't stop the Moondog from working a match for a special birthday celebration for
05:31Jerry the King Lawler, however, a decision that would ultimately lead to his death.
05:36Moondog Spot's fate was similar to that of Gary Albright, with the man suffering a fatal
05:42heart attack as a result of the physical exertion combined with his personal history of diabetes.
05:50The career of Emiko Karo was over almost as quickly as it began.
05:55The Japanese pro wrestler was a rookie performer at only 23 years old, working only 15 matches
06:01before the tragic events of March 31st, 1999.
06:06A blow to the head during a tag team contest knocked Karo unconscious, and it was later revealed
06:11that the injury had resulted in massive intracerebral bleeding.
06:15Although Karo would later die in a hospital on April 9th, it was the events in the ring that
06:21directly led to this outcome.
06:23Only the second time a Japanese professional wrestler would die as a result of her work in
06:27the ring.
06:35The life and legacy of Pero Aguayo Jr., born Pedro Ramirez, may not be as comparatively
06:41well-known outside of Mexican wrestling circles, but the circumstances surrounding his death
06:46made headline news back in 2015.
06:52This was due to the performers standing across the ring from Aguayo, the WWE's own Rey Mysterio
06:59Jr.
06:59The pair were performing in a tag team contest against each other, when Rey went for one
07:04of his trademark moves, the 619.
07:07It was the setup for this move that caused Aguayo's death, as Rey's dropkick reportedly
07:12fractured three vertebrae.
07:13The trauma from this impact resulted in Aguayo suffering a heart attack, and he died almost
07:19instantly.
07:20I have no words for this terrible news.
07:22Mitsuharu Misawa
07:24Mitsuharu Misawa is unequivocally one of professional wrestling's all-time best.
07:30He was also one half of what is often argued as the best professional wrestling match of
07:34all time, a bout against rival Toshiaki Kawada on June 3, 1994.
07:40Fast forward 25 years later, however, and it would be another June match that would serve
07:46as Misawa's fatal swan song.
07:48The 46-year-old was competing in a tag team when he failed to get up from the ring after
07:53receiving a back suplex.
07:56Although no official cause of death was released, it was thought that the impact from the move
08:00resulted in severe cervical damage.
08:03This was echoed in a statement by Hiroshima police in the aftermath of Misawa's tragic
08:09passing.
08:16Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's Audio, Songs from Iran, reimagining
08:22Persian melodies as modern rock, metal, and pop songs.
08:25Check out the full track and album below.
08:42Owen Hart
08:43Owen changes into his blue blazer costume, and the rigging crew readies him for his descent.
08:49The memory of the life and career of Owen Hart still burns brightly within the hearts of
08:54all his fans.
08:55This is despite the horrible events that led to his death on the evening of May 23, 1999.
09:02At the WBF's over-the-edge pay-per-view, Hart accidentally fell from the Kemper Arena
09:08rafters to the ring below after preparing an entrance that required a quick-release drop.
09:13The mechanisms holding Owen let go too soon, leaving the over-the-edge viewers at home
09:19and in the arena stunned.
09:30A wrongful death lawsuit from Owen's widow, Martha, followed, and the WBF slash WWE eventually
09:38settled the case for $18 million.
09:40But it was little comfort for the void Owen's loss left behind.
09:45I didn't care about the money.
09:47It wasn't about money for me.
09:48I wanted this case to go to trial.
09:50I wanted this case to go to trial.
09:51I wanted this case to go to trial.
09:54I knew it would have been the only way for me to take care of the money.
09:56It's all that I have done with.
09:56I wanted it to be a good friend.
09:56If not, I need to even more attention.
09:57A good friend.
09:58I don't want to be in a pleasure.
09:58I want to be here with this little man from the former state of the White House.
10:00I'll come out.
10:00You
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