29 Wrestlers Who Died In 2019

23. Salvatore Bellomo (9 February)

Ashley Massaro
WWE

On 9 February, the cousin of Salvatore Bellomo shared the news that the Belgian wrestler had died following a battle with cancer. He was 67.

At the start of his career, Bellomo was handed a number of gimmicks leaning on his Italian heritage. His work eventually caught the eye of WWE, where he performed enhancement duties throughout the '80s. Perhaps his most notable jobbing duty came beneath the boots of Bob Backlund, for whom he did the honours in the ex-champion's final match with the company for nearly a decade.

Less propitiously, Bellomo took a clean loss to manager Bobby Heenan at an MSG show in 1984, and he eventually left the company in 1987. His fortunes picked up as one part of the roster of the nascent ECW; he even competed in the company's first ever championship match against Jimmy Snuka.

For the latter part of his career, Bellomo toured the European independent scene, before training the next generation of Belgian wrestling talent in his home country.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.