10 Times Wrestling And Animals Didn't Mix

9. Smokey The Bear Vs. Lynn Orser

This one is actually quite sad, so please skip this entry if you want to keep things light.

In the 1950s, Dave McKigney was a professional wrestler and trainer most famous for his menagerie of wrestling bears. Yes, that's real-life bears who wrestled in matches.

The most famous bear in McKigney's collection was "Terrible Ted", a 7ft, 600lb black bear who wrestled the likes Bobby Heenan, Rocky Johnson, and 'Superstar' Billy Graham. Ted also spent time living with a young Bret Hart when he wrestled for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.

McKigney found great fame and success as Ted's trainer, but sadly another one of his bears would lead to a much darker situation.

McKigney acquired a second bear by the name of Smokey. One day in 1978, McKigney left Smokey's cage door unlocked, allowing the bear to sneak into his house and maul his girlfriend, Lynn Orser, to death.

This sad piece of news led to both Smokey and Ted being taken into quarantine and inspected for rabies. What happened to the bears is still unknown to this day.

Lynn Orser's death is a sad reminder that wild animals are dangerous and should never be used for our entertainment.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.