16 Wrestlers Who Died In 2017

In January, Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka died of a terminal illness at the age of 73. His death came just weeks after he'd been ruled unfit to stand trial for the death of girlfriend Nancy Argentino.

In 1983, Nancy was rushed to hospital having spent the night with Snuka. She was found gasping for air by emergency services, and oozing liquid from her mouth. She died the next day.

Though Snuka was the only person of interest in the suspected homicide, charges against him were not pressed. The case remained open but untouched until 2015, when the Fijian was charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. What followed were months of legal wrangling as Snuka continually avoided trial on account of his deteriorating health. He had been suffering from stomach cancer, and was in 2016 ruled by Judge Kelly L. Banach as not mentally competent to face court proceedings.

The story followed Snuka to the grave, casting his glittering pro-wrestling career into complete irrelevance.

Born 1943 in Fiji as James Wiley Smith, Snuka competed in Hawaii during the '70s, sharing the ring with a young Jesse Ventura before later making a name for himself in Fritz Von Erich's WCCW territory. After lighting up Texas, the Islander made a move north to the WWF, first adopting a villainous persona before his eye-catching aerial style won the adulation of fans unused to such offence. The turning point for many fans came in 1982, when he wowed Madison Square Garden with a death-defying leap from the top of a steel cage in a contest against Bob Backlund. It's often forgotten that Backlund actually won the match seconds later.

Throughout the mid-'80s, Snuka's popularity continued to blossom, and he found himself the centre of a famous angle alongside the region's top heel Roddy Piper, the Scot memorably smashing a coconut over 'Superfly's head. The emergence of Hulk Hogan effectively ended Snuka's spell at the top of the WWF, and in 1986 he left for AWA for the remainder of the decade. He'd made sporadic appearances for Vince McMahon's group thereafter, notably serving as the first victim to The Undertaker's vaunted WrestleMania streak back in 1991.

One of the trailblazing stars of their expansion era, WWE have been uncharacteristically and steadfastly ignorant of Snuka's murder allegations, glorifying him in death when good taste would have dictated a subtler memorial. Snuka's daughter Sarona has worked for the company since 2010 as Tamina - though she did drop the 'Snuka' name when the Argentino case was brought back to light.