The Greatest Pro Wrestlers Who Lost Everything

The WWE is full of prewritten tales of greatness, rivalry and downfall. But sometimes the reality of wrestling is even more torrid than its scripted storylines. So read on for the stories of 10 pro wrestlers who lost everything in real life.

Chris Kanyon

Chris Kanyon made his way up the wrestling ranks in the mid-‘90s, performing against the likes of Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Tatanka, Bob Holly, and — most famously — Diamond Dallas Page.

At one point in his career, he wrestled as part of a construction duo whose claim to fame was that they wore jeans in the ring and that Kanyon would get them into trouble by taking out his measuring tape at inopportune moments.

Which we can only assume is a metaphor for something.

Chris Kanyon

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Although he never quite became a star wrestler, Kanyon was good enough to be entertaining in the ring and worked professionally for 15 years.

Unfortunately, struggles with bi-polar disorder and his own homosexuality led Kanyon to commit suicide in 2010. A book detailing his struggles as a closeted gay man was released the following year.

The British Bulldogs

Widely regarded as one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history, the British Bulldogs — cousins Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith — actually began their career in an epic feud.

Dynamite insulted Smith by calling him “a test-tube baby,” which apparently was such an insult in the ‘80s that it wasn’t dropped for years.

After they joined the WWF, Vince MacMahon put them on the same side, but that didn’t stop them from having beef with just about every other tag team in the sport.

The British Bulldogs

In-ring feuding led to real life drama in 1989, and the two split ways in Stampede. Smith returned to the WWF under the trademarked “The British Bulldog,” and sent people back overseas to threaten Dynamite any time he attempted to use the term.

He died of a heart attack at 39 in 2002 (probably on account of the shitload of steroids he did), while Dynamite has been confined to a wheelchair, having lost the use of his left leg.