WRESTLING BABYLON: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal includes an appendix listing nearly 100 pro wrestlers who died under the age of 50 from 1985 through 2006 from causes related to the wrestling lifestyle. In a disclaimer, I note that this list is woefully incomplete.
Following my interview yesterday with Brian Thomas for his Internet radio show “The Daily Suplex,” Brian pointed out one death that was missed: Rocco Rock (real name Ted Petty), who died of a heart attack in Jersey City, New Jersey, at 49, on September 21, 2002.
Other readers who spot omissions or errors are invited to contact me at info@mchnick.net. We’ll update the appendix in future editions of WRESTLING BABYLON.
Irv Muchnick