27 Wrestlers Who Have Died In 2021

In memoriam of those wrestling names who have sadly left us this year.

New Jack
WWE

While there's still fourth months of the year left as of this writing, 2021 has been a rough, rough year for the professional wrestling industry.

For the promotions dotted throughout the business, some of them have found it hard to keep their head above water due to restrictions in place because of the ongoing global pandemic. And even for those promotions that have been able to run shows, the atmosphere has often been a soulless one due to a distinct lack of - or extremely low number of - fans in attendance. On that front, things have edged closer and closer to a little more normalcy in recent weeks, but who knows what lies ahead.

Away from those issues, 2021 is a year that has also sadly seen so many wrestling stars and personalities pass away. Some were huge stars, some maybe weren't the biggest of names, yet all had an impact on the wrestling business in one way or another.

With that in mind, then, here are details of the 27 wrestling names who have tragically left us in 2021 so far.

27. El Hijo De Aníbal

New Jack
SuperLuchas.com

El Hijo de Aníbal passed away on 23 January at the age of 50.

A 28-year veteran of the industry and three-time AIWA World Heavyweight Championship, Aníbal Jr. is one of the millions who have tragically been taken by COVID-19 across this past 18 months or so.

In this post: 
New Jack
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.