14. Alberto Torres
Another tag team match led to lethality when Alberto Torres (a member of the beloved Torres Brothers team) allied with “Cowboy” Bob Ellis to take on heels Ox Baker and the Claw. The June 1971 bout took place in Omaha, Nebraska and saw Torres take a heart punch from Ox Baker. Torres collapsed in the ring and died three days later in the hospital. While promoters later blamed the death on Baker’s heart punch (although promoter Joe Dusek initially claimed the Claw had killed Torres) it’s believed Torres suffered from a ruptured pancreas.
