10 Professional wrestling deaths in 2019

#1 Harley Race

11 April 1943 - 1 August 2019

Harley Race began his pro wrestling career in the 1960s. In AWA, he teamed up with Larry 'The Axe' Hennig to form a villainous tag team and in 1965, they captured the AWA World Tag Team Championships.

Race was the first-ever NWA United States Heavyweight Champion (now known as the WWE United States Championship) and he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship eight times.

He joined WWE in 1986 and was managed by one of, if not, the greatest manager in the industry and his longtime friend Bobby Heenan. He went on to win the 1986 King of the Ring tournament and became the first person to wear the royal attire and crown. After winning the tournament, he officially became known as 'King' Harley Race.

In 2004, Harley Race was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. On 1 August 2019, Race passed away from lung cancer at the age of 76.

---