12. Buzz Sawyer – Age 32
Buzz Sawyer, pictured far right, along with tag partner Matt Borne, and manager Percy Pringle III.
Bruce Woyan’s reported habit of screwing people over likely had some of his associates wondering how he made it to 32. Woyan worked as the insane heel “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer, rising to fame during bloody feud with “Wildfire” Tommy Rich in Georgia Championship Wrestling that in their steel cage bout known as “The Last Battle of Atlanta.” Sawyer had one of the best powerslams in the business, but never broke out as a national star, despite short runs in the WWF and WCW. Sawyer was a heat magnet in the ring for his work as a heel and a heat magnet outside the ring for his fraudulent activities. Sawyer scammed many aspiring wrestlers out of their money by offering to train them at his home, only to run off with the money. It’s believed Sawyer’s drug habit fueled his predatory behavior, but that proved no excuse when one of his former trainees, Mark Calloway (who would perform as The Undertaker) confronted him backstage at a WCW show. Calloway reportedly had to be restrained and talked out of beating up Sawyer. Calloway’s vengeance became a moot point as Sawyer passed away on February 7, 1992 from a heart attack caused by a drug overdose.
