40 Wrestlers Who Died Before Age 40

Eddie Fatu was both an example of how a gimmick change can led to stardom and also how an indifference to substance abuse can end one’s life far too soon. After a run alongside real-life cousin Matt Anoaʻi as Eric Bischoff’s henchmen Three-Minute Warning, Eddie Fatu’s career exploded when he was given the gimmick of Umaga, the Samoan Bulldozer. Umaga enjoyed a main event run and appeared at WrestleMania XXIII’s “Battle of the Billionaires,” representing Vince McMahon unsuccessfully against WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump’s wrestler, Bobby Lashley. Umaga gained unwanted attention in 2007, when a Sports Illustrated story broke revealing he was one of ten WWE Superstars connected to the notorious online Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida. Fatu’s problems worsened when he received another Wellness Policy violation and refused to attend drug rehab, leading to the WWE releasing him in June 2009. On December 4, 2009, he was found unresponsive with blood coming from his nose. His death was ruled a heart attack, caused by a lethal combination of prescription pills. Dan Morgan, who was the supervisory forensic investigator for Harris County in Houston determined that the cause was “acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone, carisoprodol, and diazepam.” Fatu had just returned from Hulk Hogan’s wrestling tour in Australia. He was 36.