10 Wrestlers Who Died In 2016
6. Axl Rotten
Axl Rotten made his wrestling debut in 1986, but he didn’t catch a major break until 1991. WCW picked him up for a brief feud with PN News, and it was there that Rotten met Paul Heyman, who’d become his boss at Extreme Championship Wrestling shortly after taking the company over in 1993.
Working alongside his storyline brother Ian Rotten as one half of Bad Breed, Axl competed throughout ECW’s tag division until November to Remember 1994, when they lost a “losers must split” match to The Pit Bulls. From there, he and Ian developed a heated rivalry that was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s feud of the year in 1995. The Rottens faced each other in a variety of hardcore matches, culminating in a bloody Taipei Death Match at Hardcore Heaven 1995, before eventually reconciling as a team.
1997 saw Axl team with Balls Mahoney as The Hardcore Chair Swingin’ Freaks, and he even made his way to WWE in 2005. He appeared primarily in the build for the company’s ECW revival pay-per-view, One Night Stand, and wrestled several dark matches throughout the summer.
Rotten suffered a nasty spine injury in his later years, and was eventually confined to a wheelchair. Living in a rehabilitation center at his time of death, Rotten struggled with vices throughout his career, and passed away following an overdose, aged just 44.