10 WCW Stars Who Died Too Young

5. Bobby Duncum Jr. (1965 - 2000)

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There is almost nothing more tragic in life than a father outliving their son. Unfortunately, it is an all too frequent tale in the case of second generation wrestlers.

As with Larry 'the Ax' Hennig, Perro Aguayo, and Fritz Von Erich, former AWA star Bobby Duncum Sr. had the devastating misfortune of living to see his son die prematurely.

Following in his father's footsteps, Bobby Duncum Jr. adopted a heel cowboy gimmick, becoming one quarter of WCW's misguided West Texas Rednecks group. The faction were supposedly heels, but were nevertheless cheered by a primarily Southern audience because of their public disavowal of rap music.

With WCW aimlessly drifting towards oblivion, the company lacked the booking instincts to embrace the Rednecks' popularity, and Duncum ultimately amounted to nothing within the promotion. After being repeatedly jobbed in various combinations to arch-rivals the No Limit Soldiers, Duncum eventually took time off to recover from a damaged rotator cuff.

The end was a depressingly familiar one in wrestling: on 24 January 2000, Duncum was found dead after an accidental prescription painkiller overdose. 

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Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.