WRESTLING NEWS
Wrestling Stars We've Lost In 2022
By JACK GOODWILLIE
Katsuya Kitamura
As the three-time winner of the All-Japan Championship in the Greco-Roman 96-kg class, 36-year-old Katsuya Kitamura's cause of death hasn't been revealed. Tokyo Sport reported that Kitamura, "felt an abnormality in his physical condition on the same day and called an ambulance himself to the hospital."
Raziel
49-year-old Raziel was a long-time member of the CMLL roster before his untimely death due to a car accident in April 2022. Days after his passing, CMLL held a moment of applause for Raziel in both Arena Mexico and Arena Coliseo Guadalajara.
Antonio Inoki
As the founder of NJPW in 1972, Inoki is perhaps the most influential Japanese wrestling figure in the history of wrestling. The 79-year-old legend had been relegated to a wheelchair in his later years as a result of the rare organ disease amyloidosis, which later claimed his life.
Starman
Starman was a tecnico wrestler and lower-card fixture for CMLL for more than 20 years, and he worked his final match for the promotion in August 2021. He passed away on September 22, 2022, at the age of 47, although no cause of death has been given at this time.
Candy Devine
Candy Devine passed away on February 9, 2022, in hospice care. The four-time AWA World Women’s Championship winner's health problems began in April 2021, when she suffered from a seizure and collapsed lung, but she returned to the hospital in early February with residual liver and brain damage from seizures.