38 Wrestlers Who Died In 2025
11. The Great Wojo (12 August)
Gregory M. Wojciechowski, an accomplished amateur wrestler who triumphed throughout the eighties as The Great Wojo once he turned pro, passed away from a heart attack on 12 August at 74 years old.
Born on 13 November, 1950 to Polish descendants living in Toledo, Ohio, Wojciechowski had aspirations of winning gold as an Olympic-level amateur wrestler, and even made the bill for the United States' Olympic wrestling team in 1980, sixteen years before Kurt Angle did. Unlike Angle, Wojciechowski's dreams were snatched from beneath, owing to US President Jimmy Carter's boycott of the Games that year, where they were to be hosted in the Soviet Union. His dreams shattered, he took up professional wrestling as an alternative career path and trained under the watchful eye of Dick The Bruiser.
Christened The Great Wojo, he made fleeting appearances for national and international leagues, including the AWA, the WWF, and Japan's W*ING, but it was in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association where Wojo's legacy was certified. He offered $10,000 to anyone who fancied themselves capable of defeating him in a shoot wrestling match, a series of encounters that he went unbeaten in.
After retiring in 1984, Wojciechowski took up a coaching post across various high schools within the Toledo area.