John Kronus Death – Heart Failure
ECW alum, John Kronus, dead at 38 from heart failure. photo: wwe.com
1969-2007 (Age 38)
George Caiazzo went from bouncing unruly nightclub patrons to bouncing opponents in the ring as John Kronus, one-half of ECW’s famous tag team the Eliminators.
Kronus’ time in professional wrestling is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Xtreme Pro Wrestling.
Caiazzo retired in 2002 except for a return to the ECW reunion shows Hardcore Homecoming in 2005.
The Eliminators: John Kronus (right) with tag partner, Perry Saturn
Bouncing into the Business
George Caiazzo was born on January 13, 1969 in Everett, Massachusetts.
Caiazzo worked as a bouncer at a nightclub managed by Perry Saturn and happened to watch a video of Saturn wrestling. Intrigued, Caiazzo decided to become a wrestler, traveling to Memphis with Saturn in order to split living expenses.
Saturn researched Greek mythology and discovered Saturn’s Greek equivalent was Kronus, thus John Kronus was born.
The two began working in the United States Wrestling Association as the Eliminators (Saturn wanted them to wrestle as the Harvesters of Sorrow due to Saturn and Kronus being gods of harvest, but Jerry Lawler vetoed it as he felt few fans would make the connection).
The Eliminators were successful in USWA, holding the promotion’s tag team titles. They also traveled to Japan’s WAR promotion, touring there in 1994 and 1995.
The Eliminators going to work on New Jack. Kronus would eventually ally with New Jack and form ‘The Gangstanators’. photo: instagram
The Eliminators became best known in ECW where they became one of the promotion’s top teams. They held the ECW World Tag Team Championship three times (Kronus also held it with New Jack once) and battled some of the 90’s hottest teams including the Gangstas, the Dudley Boyz, the Pitbulls, the Steiner Brothers, and the team of Rob Van Dam and Sabu.
Eventually, the Eliminators broke up and Kronus paired with New Jack, forming the team “The Gangstanators.”
In 2000, Kronus appeared in the softcore bondage film Violence on Violence (which also starred the late Nicole Bass).
Although he retired from wrestling, he did appear at the 2005 Hardcore Homecoming shows.
Later, he discussed making a comeback to better support his young son Gage.
Shortly before his death, Caiazzo worked as a bouncer at the Weirs Beach Smokehouse in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.
ECW: John Kronus (right) with Axl Rotten. photo: instagram
John Kronus Death
Caiazzo passed away unexpectedly on July 18, 2007. He was 38. He is survived by his son Gage.
According to a report posted by a family member, George suffered from an enlarged heart and knew he could die at any time. Due to Caiazzo’s young age, an autopsy and toxicology report were ordered. The autopsy determined that Caiazzo had a significantly enlarged heart at the time of death.
Sadly, John Kronus joins a long list of other professional wrestlers who passed away before age 50.
George is buried at Saint Anthony’s Cemetery in Shirley, Massachusetts.
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