Wrestling Legend Rip Oliver Passes Away At 67
RIP to the Pacific Northwest icon.
Rip Oliver, a legend around the Pacific Northwest territory, has passed away at the age of 67 years old.
B Brain Blair was the first to make the sad news public last night:-
No wrestler held the Pacific Northwest's Heavyweight Championship more than Oliver. Born in 1952, he started working in and around Oregon in 1980 after coming up in Florida. Wrestling as Rip 'The Crippler' Oliver, he was considered the head of a top heel stable featuring Dynamite Kid and The Assassin, and, in the words of Dave Meltzer, "carried the territory as its top star through 1987," while also appearing on the Texan circuit and in Japan.
By the time he went to the ten-WWF in 1987, Oliver had 12 top singles title reigns to his name and 18 runs with the tag belts. He fared significantly worse in Vince McMahon's promotion, sadly, leaving after just a few months, and his jobber-like presentation on WWF television made it impossible for him to be booked like a top guy in the Pacific Northwest.
Oliver retired when his old home promotion closed in 1991. He was living in a hospice after suffering heart failure shortly before his passing.
WhatCulture would like to express our deepest condolences to Rip's family and friends at this difficult time. RIP.