16 Wrestlers Who Died In 2017

In February of this year, Nicole Bass was hospitalised following a stroke. She was subsequently declared medically brain dead, and removed from life support. Bass died a day later at the age of 52.

Before raising the eyebrows of wrestling promoters with her freakish physique, Bass had been a regular on the pro-bodybuilding circuits, claiming the National Physique Committee's highest accolade in 1997. It was that triumph which alerted her to ECW's Paul Heyman, who drafted the massive New Yorker in as muscle for Justin Credible and his crew.

Vince McMahon saw in Nicole Bass what he'd saw in Chyna - a woman of unusual Amazonian proportions who would stand out as a sideshow attraction in his world of swimsuit model female wrestlers. Bass made her WWE debut in the most high-profile manner possible, emerging as Sable's bodyguard at WrestleMania XV, before going on to a series of dreadful matches opposite Debra McMichael. Bass had the look, but she did not take to the ring. Ultimately, her presence only served to undermine that of Chyna - and several of the male roster who she towered over.

Bass left the company in acrimony, later filing a sexual harassment claim against erstwhile company man Steve Lombardi. The case was dismissed in 2003.