10 Things You Notice Rewatching Beyond The Mat

8. The Sad Number Of People No Longer With Us

Vince McMahon Beyond The Mat
WWE.com

As it so often sadly the case with revisiting anything pro wrestling-based from decades gone by, it forever strikes a chord to see how many people featured back then are tragically no longer with us.

Whether it's going back to watch old WrestleManias, opting to soak in those Attitude Era memories, or taking a look into another wrestling period of yesteryear, it's heartbreaking when you get the realisation of just how many of the those guys and gals have unfortunately passed away - and often at extremely far too young an age.

Sadly, Beyond the Mat is no different on that front. From some of the wrestlers with a featured role in the documentary, to those seen only in fleeting glimpses of stock footage, the talent of Beyond the Mat who left us way too soon include Hawk, Animal, Brian Christopher, Chyna, Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow, Earthquake, Howard Finkel, Paul Bearer, Luna Vachon, 'Mean' Gene Okerlund, Grizzly Smith, APW founder Roland Alexander, Dennis Stamp, and Terry Funk's dear wife Vickie.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.