16 Wrestlers Who Died In 2017
11. Ivan Koloff (18 February)
Former WWWF World Heavyweight Champion and Wrestling Observer Hall of Famer Ivan Koloff died in February after suffering from liver cancer. He was 74.
Born Oreal Perras in Montreal, Canada, Koloff became a major heel for Vince McMahon Sr., portraying a Soviet villain billed from the Ukraine. The evil foreigner gimmick was at the peak of its effectiveness in the '70s, and when the 'Russian Bear' finally ended hero Bruno Sammartino's colossal seven year plus world title reign in 1971, there were genuine fears of a riot. Fans in attendance broke down in tears at the fall of their idol, and Koloff became the most hated man in wrestling. It was gold for the WWWF.
Koloff dropped the strap to Pedro Morales less than a month later - besides drawing mammoth heat, his role was to transition the belt between the two babyfaces - but he enjoyed longer term success with titles in the tag team division. Alongside his 'nephew' Nikita, Koloff picked up the NWA tag titles twice, as well as going on a run with the NWA US tag straps with fellow Russian stablemate Krusher Khruschev.
Just as Koloff had been a top heel as a singles competitor, his band of Russians became one of the most hated groups in the NWA during the '80s, feuding with the most popular teams of the era, including The Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Road Warriors.
After leaving JCP in 1989, Koloff had the distinction of featuring on ECW precursor Eastern Championship Wrestling's first ever card in 1992, where he lost to future Broad Street Bully, Tony Stetson. He retired from the ring two years later, becoming a born-again Christian and devoting his time to his ministry in North Carolina.
Koloff was named as one of the many defendants in Konstatine Kyros' concussion lawsuit against WWE, and perhaps not coincidentally, has as yet failed to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. Hopefully his passing will mark a change of heart by the company.