10 ECW Stars Who Died Too Young

3. John Kronus

George 'John Kronus' Caiazzo got into the wrestling business when he met Perry Saturn in the late 80s. He was working as a bouncer for a bar that Saturn managed when the mop-lover told him about Killer Kowalski's training school.

After training with Kowalski, Saturn suggested that they team up and the two started tagging for Jerry Lawler's USWA promotion as 'The Eliminators'. From there they began touring Japan for the Wrestle and Roman organisation (WAR - don't ask) before naturally finding their way to ECW in 1995.

They were initially brought in as something not far from enhancement talent, doing jobs for established teams like The Steiners, but once Paul Heyman saw their chemistry and how they were catching on with fans, he decided to give them a push as an unstoppable force.

The Eliminators held the ECW Tag Team Titles three times and had well-received feuds with The Dudley Boys and Rob Van Dam and Sabu before Saturn suffered a torn ACL and was put out of action for up to a year. He opted not to return to ECW, instead taking a big money deal with WCW.

This left Kronus to fend for himself and, although he was impressively athletically and had a good look, there were never any major plans for him and he decided to leave the company in early 1999 and joined rival XPW.

Barring two appearances for Shane Douglas's Hardcore Homecoming promotion in 2005, Kronus all but retired in 2002. He pretty much stayed away from the business, but his high-flying style meant that he still felt the ill-effects many years after he retired.

He died of heart failure on July 18, 2007 just a few days after undergoing extensive knee surgery, at the age of 38 years-old. He was a well-known steroid and drug user during his wrestling heyday, and his family also had a long history of heart issues which had taken some members at an early age.