16 Wrestlers Who Died In 2017
1. Tom Zenk (9 December)
Tom Zenk, known as a star of WCW and for his brief sojourn with WWE, passed away on 9 December at the North Memorial Medical Center in his hometown of Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He was 59.
A successful bodybuilder in his youth, wrestling was always in Zenk's stars; he was one of a septuplet of future grapplers who attended the same high school in Robbinsdale, alongside Nikita Koloff, Barry Darswo, John Nord, Rick Rude, Brady Boone and Curt Hennig. The latter three shared Zenk's graduating class. All of them had passed away by 2003 - a fact which haunted Zenk.
Zenk was handed his break in the wrestling industry by Verne Gagne's AWA in 1984, quickly gaining plaudits and picking up the Wrestling Observer's 'Rookie of the Year' award. After a few years on the circuit, the Minnesotan caught the eye of WWF, who drafted him alongside partner Rick Martel as a continuation of their Can-Am Connection team. Just as the pair were about to hit the heights, Zenk quit the company after a dispute over pay.
Animosity between the two parties prevailed from that day forth, as Vince McMahon did his best to prevent Zenk from going on to compete for All Japan Pro Wrestling. The bid failed, and Zenk spent the last two years of the decade touring Japan.
After a brief return to the fading AWA, Zenk eventually alighted in Atlanta, making WCW his home as 'The Z Man'. It was during his five year spell in the company that he experienced his most prominent run, claiming tag team and TV gold on the way.
Things began to peter out for Zenk during the latter half of his tenure in Georgia, when a muscle tear coupled with perceived mismanagement of his talent led him to stop lifting weights. Without the look, WCW's book had no interesting in pushing Zenk. From Zenk's perspective, if the promotion were not going to use him as a star, he wasn't prepared to put the effort into looking like one.
After testifying against Vince McMahon during the steroid trial of 1994, Zenk largely vanished from the business. He fell out of touch with both the media and his colleagues. News of his death only became public when an obituary was posted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.