5. Bruiser Brody (1946-1988)
Frank Donald Goodish wrestled under the name of Bruiser Brody and he was a pioneer of the rough and ready brawling style of wrestling. Brody packed in a lot of work for many small regional promotions. I remember more specifically his work for WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling) in Texas where he feuded against Skandor Akbar's army under the auspices of Gary Hart. He had a memorable tenure in NWA - principally a cage match with Lex Luger in which he just stopped working. Luger and the referee tried to talk to him but were met by silence. Luger was disqualified for punching Brody in the corner of the ring. Brody gave an excuse that the match was not working but insiders have often wondered if there was something more to it. Did he hate Lex Luger? Did he want to embarrass NWA? The answers to that conundrum were permanently silenced on July 16th 1988. Brody was in Puerto Rica for a match against Dan Spivey. A fellow wrestler called José Huertas Gonzales called him into the showers to talk to him. The other wrestlers in the locker room heard a scuffle and then two groans. Tony Atlas ran to the shower area and found Gonzales standing there with a knife while Brody was doubled over in agony. An ambulance was summoned and Brody's apparent last words to Atlas were to tell his son and wife that he loved them. The cover up of the case is scandalous. Gonzales, who always maintained his innocence, was originally charged with first degree murder - a charge that was later dropped to Involuntary Homicide. The truth was, the wrestlers in the locker room on the day Brody died had been too scared to testify. In particular, the most significant witness in the case - Tony Atlas refused to testify. In January 1989, Gonzales was acquitted and he pled self defence. In essence, Gonzales got away with Brody's murder. It is widely acknowledged in wrestling circles that Gonzales killed Brody and there was a massive coverup in the corrupt Puerto Rican judicial system. Brody never got the justice he deserved and his death leaves a very sour taste in the mouth of professional wrestling.