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| Photo Credit: Moses Robinson/ Getty Images Entertainment/ Getty Images |
The WWE is no stranger to scandal. Since its inception over five decades ago, the company has had a number of highs and lows, and seen its fair share of tragedy. And while some wrestlers, like John Cena, have made headlines for their charitable works, others have ended up in the public spotlight for more grisly reasons. The following are the five most famous professional wrestlers who have been been involved in the death of another person.
Jimmy Snuka
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| Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka in 2013. Photo Credit: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images |
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was a huge wrestling star in the '80s. Known for his innovative high-flying style, Jimmy was a part of the main event of the first WrestleMania as he looked for revenge on Roddy Piper for smashing his head with a coconut a year earlier.
In 2015, Jimmy was arrested and charged with third-degree murder for the death of his girlfriend Nancy Argentino back in 1983. In his autobiography that was released in 2012, he claimed that she hit her head when she went to relieve herself on the side of the road.
The following day he found her lying in bed hardly able to breathe. This version of events is reportedly different than what he told authorities and led them to reopen the cold case. In 1985, her family won a $500,000 default judgment against him that he has yet to pay.
Scott Hall
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| Scott Hall at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Photo Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images |
Scott Hall became famous wrestling under both his real name and under the moniker of Razor Ramon. As Razor Ramon he was a fixture in the Intercontinental Championship scene and when he jumped ship to World Championship Wrestling in 1985 he became a founding member of the new World order, a faction that helped kick start the wrestling boom of the '90s.
In 2011, Scott Hall discussed with ESPN 360 an incident where he shot and killed a man.
In 1983, he was charged with second degree murder but the charges were dropped as he claimed self-defense. Scott Hall claimed that the gun belonged to the victim and that he wrestled it away from him.
Chris Benoit
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| Chris Benoit celebrates at WrestleMania XX. Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images |
In 2004, Chris Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX in a Triple Threat Match against Shawn Michaels and Triple H. A little over three years later, Chris killed himself after murdering his wife Nancy Benoit (aka Woman) and their son, Daniel.
Great Khali
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| The Great Khali (l) battles Kane (r) in 2008. Photo Credit: Gaye Gerard/Getty Images |
While wrestling may appear to be fun and games, it is actually a very dangerous sport where one wrong move can kill your opponent. While training to become a professional wrestler, The Great Khali was involved in a fatal accident at wrestling school. His training partner, Brian Ong, died after receiving a move from the 7'4" giant. Brian had suffered a concussion in his prior training session and the second one he received from Great Khali ultimately proved fatal.
The family sued the wrestling school and was awarded over $1 million.
Verne Gagne
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| Verne Gagne. Photo Credit: Public Domain |
It would be impossible to overstate just how important Verne Gagne was to the wrestling business as either a wrestler, promoter, or trainer. The former NCAA wrestling champion was the founder of the American Wrestling Association and went onto become that company's biggest star for decades. As a trainer, he is responsible for training some of wrestling's biggest stars including Ric Flair. Despite never wrestling full-time for WWE, he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2006.
By 2009, Verne was living in a facility to help his deal with Alzheimer's disease. While there, he got into a physical altercation with a 97-year old resident of the place. The man died a few days later. While the death was ruled a homicide, Verne was not charged with a crime because of his deteriorating mental state. In 2015, Verne passed away at the age of 89.
