10 ECW Stars Who Died Too Young

1. Louis Spicolli

Perhaps the most tragic example of the 'ECW curse' on this list, as Spicoli died of drug-related causes before he got to see his thirtieth birthday. He had been a hard drug user for years but had slowed down after he and others became concerned for his health.

When his mother was diagnoses with terminal cancer, he began using again and on the 15th of February 1999 he overdosed on Soma (a muscle-relaxing drug popular with wrestlers in the 90s) and white wine, causing him to choke on his own vomit in his sleep. He was just 27 years-old.

Spicolli began his wrestling career a decade prior, working the indies and as a jobber for the WWF, before finding a gig in Mexico for AAA, where he would wrestle under the unique moniker of 'Madonna's Boyfriend'.

His match at the WCW/AAA co-promoted When World's Collide pay-per-view brought him to the attention of the big companies and he was signed to the WWF, this time for a more prominent role than the one he'd had previously.

Well, sort of. At least the grungey 'Rad Radford' was a gimmick and had a little storyline (trying to become a member of the Bodydonnas), but it wasn't anything substantial. He was released from his contract when he was found unconscious by a neighbour after overdosing on Soma.

He resurfaced in ECW but his time there would be troubled, too. He was well-liked backstage but his constant and open drug use was becoming a burden for the company. When you consider just how much drug use went on in the ECW locker room, that's saying something. He was gone after a year.

He showed up in WCW and was in the middle of a feud with commentator Larry Zybysko before his death. It would have been his highest-profile gig to date, but his demons got in the way.