Today is a sad day for those of us whom are professional wrestling fans, as it was discovered that legendary wrestling superstar, Macho Man Randy Savage died today in a car accident that was triggered by a heart attack while he was behind the wheel. He was 58 years old.
Typically the deaths of wrestlers come as no surprise to me, as throughout the years, I’ve shrugged off the deaths of numerous sub-40 year old wrestlers whom I certainly do remember, but were mostly indifferent about their passings. Renegade, Test, Rocco Rock, and Crash Holly come to mind as wrestlers who died early, mostly because of their own stupidity and/or drug problems. There was a stretch between 2004-2008 where there was pretty much another wrestler dying on a monthly basis. And every time, it was the same stories – heart failure. Drug overdose. Or both.
If they were big enough wrestlers, then the media would get a hold of the stories, and then point their fingers at steroids, and just how stupid professional wrestling is. Otherwise, they would die in relative obscurity, except to those of us who remember them as enthusiasts.
But the death of Macho Man is different. The death of Macho Man legitimately makes me feel a little bit sad. Macho Man’s death isn’t just the death of one man, but it’s also the death of a small slice of childhood.