Wrestlers Who Sadly Died In 2025 So Far

This year has already seen its share of shocking moments, high-profile business news, momentous debuts, and huge pay-per-view cards within the professional wrestling industry. It has also sadly seen tragic news in the form of deaths of wrestlers gone way too soon. From territory journeyman "Black Bart" Richard Harris — who trained WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield — to former AAA Champion "Australian Suicide" Broderick Shepherd, who was taken from the world too soon at just age 32, this year has already seen its share of tragedy. 

Those who've ldied within the wrestling world have spanned all promotions and across the independent scene, impacting many fans across the globe. We're remembering those who have died in 2025 so far, all while continuing to honor wrestlers who died in 2024.

Edward Wiskoski, best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA, died at the age of 80 on January 22. Wiskoski trained under Harley Race and Lord Littlebrook and worked in the Portland, Oregon, area in 1972 when he began his professional wrestling career. He worked in the AWA from 1985 until the organization stopped promoting in 1990. During his time in AWA, he feuded with the likes of "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter. Wiskoski held the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship once and the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times, twice with Buddy Rose and once with Roddy Piper.

He wrestled his final match in January 2005 at WrestleReunion in Tampa, Florida. He teamed with Rose and Bob Orton Jr. in a losing effort to Piper, Snuka, and Jimmy Valiant. He ran a wrestling school of his own in Portland from 2001 to 2006 before retiring to Arizona.

Ciclon Ramirez, a former CMLL World Welterweight Champion, died at the age of 64 on March 4, reportedly of a heart attack. The news of his passing was posted to his Facebook page alongside a remembrance graphic. He began his professional wrestling career in 1982 under the ring name Ovni. He won his first championship as the character Pegaso I, capturing the Mexican National Lightweight Championship in March 1985. He once held the Mexican National Welterweight Championship for 430 days before losing the gold in July 1990. He primarily competed in CMLL, but also worked matches in AAA and other promotions.

According to Fightful, his last match was in August 2024. Ramirez teamed with El Hijo del Fishman and Mascara Sagrada NG to face Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan, and Emperador Azteca. His son, Ciclon Ramirez Jr., wrestles on the Mexican independent scene and his nephew, Xelhua, wrestles in CMLL.

Richard Harris, better known by his ring name of Black Bart, died at age 76 on January 10 after a battle with cancer. His wife announced his death on social media. Harris revealed he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his liver in early 2023. In the week leading up to his death, an update on his social media revealed he was in hospice care after stopping chemotherapy.

Harris was a former NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion who had worked for WWE, WCW, and WCCW throughout his career, which lasted over three decades. He wrestled his final match in July 1999 in McKinney, Texas. Following his death, WWE Hall of Famer JBL posted a tribute to Harris on social media. He wrote that Harris was his mentor who took him under his wing while the pair were in Texas, a place where they even became tag champions together. JBL said that Harris taught him how to become a professional wrestler and Harris meant the world to him.

"The Jurassic Juggernaut" Vince Steele died at the age of just 39 on March 15 due to a medical emergency while working an event in New Jersey. Steele suffered the emergency at Brii Combination Wrestling's Madness at the Mecca event in Ridgefield Park. According in PWInsider, Steele was working a multi-person match when he went down in the corner and a referee began CPR on him as someone else called 911. Police on scene used a defibrillator on Steele and an ambulance arrived 23 minutes after the initial call. The show was stopped and fans left the arena as the performers waited in the locker room until word of Steele's death.

BCW confirmed that Steele suffered a heart attack during the event. The promotion said Steele was more than just a wrestler, he was a beloved member of their family and an inspiration to the entire locker room and beyond.

Japanese wrestling legend Hiroaki Hamada, better known by his ring name, Gran Hamada, died at the age of 74 on February 15. The news of his passing was reported by Realidad San Luis, a local outlet in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Hamada was one of the first trainees at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling dojo in Tokyo, Japan. He was part of NJPW's first set of events back in 1972, but was eventually sent to Mexico to train due to small size. He left for the country in 1975 and learned the art of lucha libre in Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association. He was an innovator of the cruiserweight style of wrestling and worked for other promotions like All Japan Pro Wrestling, though he was beloved in Mexico.

Hamada founded UWF Japan in 1990 and had a working relationship with WWE. Hamada and Perro Aguayo became the only WWE Intercontinental Tag Team Champions in the company's history. He also competed in ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, while representing Japan's Michinoku Pro, in April 1997. After his ECW appearance, Hamada would spend the rest of his career in Mexico and Japan until he retired from the ring in 2018. His final match was for Michinoku Pro in September of that year, where he helped score the victory in a six-man tag team match.

The lucha libre world was rocked on March 6 when it was reported that former AAA Champion Broderick Shepherd, also known as El Australiano, Hexagon Black, and, most notably, Australian Suicide, suddenly died at the age of just 32. Shepherd, a Melbourne, Australia, native, died while in Mexico and his cause of death had yet to be revealed as of this writing. In a since-deleted Facebook post, his wife, luchadora Vanilla Vargas, said it was Shepherd's wish to be buried with his family back in his home of Australia.

Shepherd starting wrestling as a teenager in 2008 and spent the beginnings of his career in Australia before leaving for Canada in 2013, where he was noticed by Konnan, who offered him the chance to work with AAA. He debuted in the promotion as Australian Suicide in September 2013. He held the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship for 211 days in 2018. He also wrestled two matches in "AEW Dark" and returned to Mexico following the pandemic in 2024. His last match was November 16 for Desastre Total Ultraviolento, a loss in a triple-threat bout.

On February 25, AAW Wrestling announced on social media that its former Heritage Champion Eric Priest, also known as "The Underwear Model" and "The Gold Standard," had died. According to Fightful, Priest, whose real name was Mike Boehne, died at age 50 after a motorcycle accident. The outlet noted that Priest had worked for other promotions, including working dark matches in Ring of Honor.

AAW said in its tribute to the wrestler that he was a staple in the Chicago wrestling scene for years, and he helped others along the way to shape what wrestling is in the city today. "WWE Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce also paid tribute to Priest on social media. Pearce said he was heartbroken, but glad the pair had kept in contact over the years after he got to know Priest and watch him grow into a professional wrestler. Fightful reported Priest was survived by a son.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling legend, and close friend of WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura, Osamu Nishimura died at the age of 53 on February 28. Nishimura died of stage-four esophageal cancer after his initial diagnosis in early 2024. He had previously battled a cancerous tumor in his stomach in 1998, which he worked hard to come back from with various lifestyle changes and continued on with his legendary career.

Nishimura began training at NJPW's dojo and debuted inside its ring in 1991. He competed primarily in NJPW throughout his career, but also spent time in various NWA territories in the United States. He trained under Dory Funk, Jr. to hone his skills at the Funking Conservatory in Florida in 2001 and would wrestle there often throughout 2019. His final match was a no-ropes, barbed wire and giant electric explosive bat death match, where he lost alongside Katsushi Takemura and Shinya Aoki at an event in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, on December 8. He also competed alongside Funk Jr. in August last year when Funk was 83 years old.

Nakamura posted a tribute on social media following his friend's passing and said he was as kind as an older brother. The pair had competed against and alongside each other in NJPW.