Professional wrestlers tend to be athletically gifted individuals, and if they are good at their craft, they will get the attention of larger promotions like the WWE, who can give them time on live TV, as well as a pretty good living. Wrestlers who make it to the WWE level are usually transformed into celebrities by the fans, and for some reason, we always assume that celebrities are different just because of their careers and lavish lifestyles, but deep down, they are ordinary people just like the rest of us.

Everyone dies, it is just a part of life, and every now and then, the wrestling world reminds us about it whenever a former superstar, manager, or figurehead passes away. Many of these individuals have long and fulfilling lives, but some are less fortunate, and they all pass for a variety of reasons. We have lost quite a few names this past decade, and the purpose of this article is to remind you of some of the wrestlers that you might have forgotten are no longer with us.

17 Luna Vachon

The WWE inducted Luna Vachon into its Hall of Fame last year, and rightfully so, because her 22-year career also included runs with WCW and ECW. Vachon dealt with addiction for years, and she relapsed shortly after successfully completing a rehabilitation program in 2009, and on August 27, 2010, the 48-year-old overdose victim was found in her home by her mother.

16 Giant Gonzalez

When he was in the ring, Giant Gonzalez stood 8 feet tall, but that size did not really amount to anything in both WWE and WCW, except for the fact that he was part of The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Gonzalez dealt with several health issues due to his size, and on September 22, 2010, he passed due to a combination of diabetes and heart issues.

15 Chris Kanyon

In his prime, Kris Kanyon was a decent wrestler, which is why he was a former United States Champion and a multi-time Tag-Team Champion. Kanyon dealt with bipolar disorder, which means he suffered from manic depression, and when he got released, things got worse, as he believed he was fired for his sexuality and this depression is believed to be the reason why he took his life in 2010.

14 Frenchy Martin

Frenchy Martin made a name for himself in Canada and Puerto Rico before joining the WWE in 1986, where he started off as an in-ring competitor before being turned into a flag-waving manager. Martin passed when he was 66 years old on October 21, 2016, after battling both bone and bladder cancer for almost a year.

13 Chavo Guerrero Sr.

When it comes to pro wrestling, the Guerrero family is a dynasty, as several of its members have appeared in the WWE, including Chavo Guerrero Sr. who performed all over the world, winning numerous titles along the way, and the WWE acknowledged his passing in 2017 after the 68-year-old lost his battle with liver cancer.

12 Rick Bogner

When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left the WWE for WCW, the entire wrestling landscape changed, and the company was in no mood to move on, as they hired new superstars to take up Hall and Nash's old gimmicks. Rick Bogner became known as the Fake Scott Hall, and this past September, he passed away suddenly at the age of 49 due to undisclosed causes.

11 Brad Armstrong

The majority of Brad Armstrong's career was spent with NWA and WCW, where he won several tag team and singles titles, and he eventually became a producer and part-time announcer for the WWE. On November 1, 2012, Armstrong was found unresponsive in his Georgia home, and according to his former tag team partner, Tim Horner, it was a heart attack brought about by an undisclosed medical issue.

10 Big Daddy V

Nelson Frazier Jr. had several ring names during his career, but he was best known as Big Daddy V, Mabel, and Viscera, and while with the WWE, he became a Tag Team and Hardcore Champion, while also winning the 1995 King of the Ring. On February 18, 2014, just four days after his 43rd birthday, Frazier Jr. passed after suffering a heart attack.

9 Brian Christopher Lawler

Jerry "The King" Lawler deserves his spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, and at one point, his son was also a WWE superstar. Brian was better known as Grandmaster Sexay, and he became Tag Team Champion with Scotty 2 Hotty, but he made too many mistakes in his personal life, which is why the company released him, and his downward spiral continued until he ended it all in 2018.

8 Axl Rotten

There will always be fans who love the hardcore side of professional wrestling, and it is thanks to these fans that ECW came into existence. Axl Rotten made a name for himself with the promotion, becoming one-half of the Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks, and in 2016, he was found unresponsive in a McDonald's bathroom, the victim of an accidental overdose.

7 Balls Mahoney

Balls Mahoney was a three-time ECW Tag Team Champion, and he was actually the other half of the aforementioned Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks. Mahoney passed on April 12, 2016, just two months after Rotten, and although CTE was discovered in his brain, it was actually a heart attack that claimed the 44-year-old.

6 Blackjack Mulligan

Blackjack Mulligan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, but his legacy continues, as he is the grandfather of Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt. In the years leading up to his passing, Mulligan dealt with several health issues, including a heart attack in 2015 which kept him in hospital for several months until he passed on April 7, 2016.

5 Matt Osborne

The WWE has produced several silly gimmicks over the years, and Doink the Clown is one of them, and it is Matt Osborne who is synonymous with the role. Osborne had real talent, but the WWE kept him in the clown outfit, and the result was him making sporadic appearances as a semi-retired wrestler for over a decade until he accidentally overdosed on June 28, 2013.

4 Rosey

The Anoa'i family and the WWE have been intertwined for decades, and most members of the Anoa'i family have found success with the company. Roman Reigns is an example of this, and so was his older brother Matt, who went by Rosey, and who is a former Tag Team Champion, and on April 17, 2017, the 47-year-old passed as a result of heart failure.

3 Sean O'Haire

Sean O'Haire competed in the WWE, WCW, and New Japan before deciding to retire in 2006, and he then unsuccessfully tried his hand at MMA. The former three-time WCW World Tag Team Champion dealt with a lot of personal demons, and on September 9, 2014, those demons took over, as his father discovered that he had taken his own life.

2 Mr. Fuji

Mr. Fuji is a legend, as he was a good wrestler who went on to become a superb manager who was known for throwing salt into the faces of fan-favorite superstars. The WWE inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2007, and the company made it a point to honor him in 2016 when he passed away at 82 due to natural causes.

1 Lance Cade

Lance Cade was trained by Shawn Michaels, and he was a three-time Tag Team Champion, so his future looked pretty bright, but fate had other plans, and he passed away when he was just 29 years old. Cade passed on August 13, 2010, as a result of heart failure that was seemingly induced by an overdose.

Sources: wwe.com, wrestlerdeaths.com, al.com