5 WWE Superstars who passed away too soon

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Brodie Lee
Brodie Lee

Former WWE Champion Yokozuna

Most fans who watch WWE programming will be familiar with Yokozuna. He was one of the most important names in the world of wrestling in the early 90s. Unfortunately, fans would never be able to see the wrestler reach his full potential.

As a member of the prestigious Anoa’i family, he found a lot of success in WWE. He took on the persona of a sumo wrestler and won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship twice. During his time in the company, he also won the 1993 Royal Rumble and two WWF Tag Team Championships.

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Some of his greatest feuds were against Bret Hart. Unfortunately, in 2000 at the young age of 34, Yokozuna passed away after a pulmonary edema.


Former Intercontinental Champion Umaga

Another member of the Anoa’i wrestling family, Umaga was one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE in the mid-2000s. When he came into WWE under this gimmick, he was seen as an invincible destructive monster, who could destroy almost everyone that he faced.

He had other gimmicks, and had been part of the 3-Minute Warning before he became Umaga. Umaga wrestled with top WWE stars, including Triple H and John Cena. The Samoan Spike saw everyone fall to him at one time or the other.

He won the Intercontinental Championship twice during his career in WWE. The company released him from his contract in 2009 due to a violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. It was his second failure, and although he would have had another chance, he refused to enter rehabilitation.

Umaga would continue to wrestle in the independent circuit in 2009, but unfortunately, six months after his release from WWE, he was found unresponsive by his wife in their home in Houston.

He was taken to the hospital where it was found he had suffered a heart attack. He suffered a second heart attack while in the hospital and was declared dead at 36 years of age. He had a heart and liver disease. He was one of the most prominent wrestlers in the mid-2000s in WWE, and had all the potential in the world, but fans never saw it fulfilled.

While Umaga was not a WWE Superstar at the time of his passing, his legacy as an indestructible heel still lives on.

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Edited by Greg Bush
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