Hi Scott,
Couldn't find it anywhere else but as far as I can tell the first Mania without any dead performers (not counting announcers/interviewers, just wrestlers, valets, managers, special referees etc) is 25. I thought it was 18 but Crash Holly killed that idea. Also, all stupid research need GRAPHS!
Wow, that sure is...uh...a graph.
Thanks,
Adam.
@adamninja
I understand the first 6 or 7 WrestleMania's having a high death rate considering they were over 20 years ago and wrestlers were a little older back then and had a wilder lifestyle. It's the high numbers post 15 that are really startling.
ReplyDeleteI always thought 9 had a higher body count than that but I guess it was just how spread out on the card they were. I think counting Paul Bearer raised the averages for that era.
ReplyDeleteAndre
ReplyDeleteQuake
Herc
Perfect
Bad News
Sapphire
Savage
Sherri
Bravo
Boss Man
Rude
Who's the 12th from WMVI? Elizabeth I guess. I just thought of her after I typed the list.
Also, how odd that Dusty is the last person standing from that whole angle?
Is it sad that this is more interesting than depressing at this point?
ReplyDeleteI guess the only positive is that there are no red bars post WM 25
ReplyDeleteWe do at least seem to be past the era of active / recently active performers dropping dead
If you want to get into truly depressing statistics, up until Backlash 2008, only 9 WWE US PPVs could be re-created today with their active performers. That's 195 of their first 204 cards with a deceased performer. Scary. +1 if you want to include 'No Holds Barred'.
ReplyDeleteUp to and including 2005 - 20 years - the number is only 3 and of those, 2 feature deceased wrestlers in the pre-show. The first death-free zone (and I'm only looking at in-ring performers) is Vengeance 2005.
2010 is the first year where every PPV is clear.
Sad.
Royal Rumble 2009 is the most recent where all the participants in the Rumble itself are still alive.
ReplyDeleteWhat Super Bowl or NFL playoffs could we recreate?
ReplyDeleteKudos to the graph usage. It actuallly does put things in perspective. Now someone put together a graph for the number of down votes everytime someone says "people are idiots for doing drugs".
ReplyDelete... I guess Taker doesn't count?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was 18 but Crash Holly killed that idea
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there.
Seems like those old NWA guys have a good track record.
ReplyDeleteDusty, all 4 Horsemen, Harley Race, Nikita, Magnum.
Yes, it is.
ReplyDeleteEven sadder.....I kinda wanna see the same graph for Summerslam.
*Yikes*
ReplyDeleteI'm currently going through each passing to check for stereotypical 'wrestler deaths". Probably a statistic more useful.
ReplyDeleteUmaga? Lance Cade? Test?
ReplyDeleteHell, check the rosters from the WWE video games from 10-12 years ago. I think there's like 8 dead guys on the No Mercy roster.
ReplyDeleteI wonder who the next wrestling death is. Everyone says Scott Hall or Jake Roberts but they seem to blow the curve every time. I'm betting Kamala's poor health catches up quick. And i'd bet if Earl Hebner ever tried to retire he'd be like Joe Paterno and drop dead in a week.
ReplyDeleteAlso, who does everyone have next in their Reservoir Dogs dead pool? Harvey Keitel is the obvious answer due to age but Michael Madsen cruises around on motorcycles a lot and we all know that runs a risk.
I'm thinking between Kamala Mr Fuji or Ric Flair
ReplyDeleteAndre
ReplyDeleteBearer
Benoit
Bulldog
Bossman
Crash
Moolah
Test
Vince (he got better)
so Morton Downey Jr and Gorilla were not included in your stats for V?
ReplyDeleteWho turned Vince into a newt?
ReplyDeleteTom Paris.
ReplyDeleteKamala, Ole Anderson, Fuji, Heenan, and George Steele are all solid picks.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot Eddie
ReplyDeleteMichael Madsen has like, six kids so he has a strong purpose to live.
ReplyDeleteHarvey will be fine for a while, if only because he meditates using these words: "Toby Wong. Toby Wong. Fucking Charlie Chan."
Lawrence Tierney, Eddie Bunker and Chris Penn are already dead. Umm... is that cop still alive? You know the one that said, "Citizen! I will shoot you in the FACE!!"
It's not a graph but I tabulated the total deaths from the past Summerslam cards:
ReplyDeleteSummerslam wrestler deaths
1988: 10
1989: 8
1990: 13
1991: 12
1992: 8
1993: 7
1994: 7
1995: 3
1996: 4
1997: 5
1998: 3
1999: 5
2000: 2
2001: 2
2002: 3
2003: 2
2004: 2
2005: 2
2006: 1
2007: 2
2008: 0
2009: 0
2010: 0
2011: 0
2012: 0
Hogans urvived some very scary wrestlemanias =)
ReplyDeleteI had to think about that for a moment - it was ROBERT Downey Jr. that was in "Iron Man".
ReplyDeleteUm, do you mean since 2009-present all Royal Rumble participants are still alive? Most recent death was Umaga from 2008.
ReplyDeleteIn cases like Hall & Roberts, I've stated it before- some addicts are basically kept alive JUST from their drugs of choice. I mean, they're dependent on them because their bodies NEED them just to operate. I actually fear for them more IF they get clean.
ReplyDeleteLuck or how your body's built can be very important, too. Some guys are just built to take abuse, while other guys are prone to ODing in their first couple years of using.
The big drop after 91 is.....encouraging.
ReplyDeleteAll died more than 3 years ago (6 in tests case I think)
ReplyDeleteSays a lot about how bad things were that I glibly considered that 3 year stretch as a positive
When Fuji dies... idk... what to say...
ReplyDeleteReid Flair and Trent Acid also, if you don't wanna count WWE people. Bison Smith too.
ReplyDeleteI pick Mae Young as the favorite.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why...Hmmmm
ReplyDeleteI noticed 1990 seems to be the deadliest year, as both SS 90 and WM VI have the highest numbers amongst their respective brands.
ReplyDeleteWashington vs. Duff Dry.
ReplyDelete