Former pro wrestling champion Brian “Crush” Adams died Monday after he was found unconscious in his home. He was 44.  

He is one of several wrestlers who have died recently in what is shaping out to be a horrible year for the WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment is still reeling after pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son before hanging himself on the cable of a weight machine in his home in Georgia. Prescription anabolic steroids were found in the family’s home, and then the whole controversy permeated through the news media.

Check out this list of wrestlers who have died since 1985  before the age of 50 (If you’ve followed wrestling over the years as I have, you might be familiar with some of these names):

Chris Von Erich - 21
Mike Von Erich - 23
Louie Spiccoli - 27
Art Barr - 28
Gino Hernandez - 29
Jay Youngblood - 30
Rick McGraw - 30
Joey Marella - 30
Ed Gatner - 31
Buzz Sawyer - 32
Crash Holly - 32
Kerry Von Erich - 33
D.J. Peterson - 33
Eddie Gilbert - 33
The Renegade - 33
Owen Hart - 33
Chris Candido - 33
Adrian Adonis - 34
Gary Albright - 34
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34
Yokozuna - 34
Big Dick Dudley - 34
Brian Pillman - 35
Marianna Komlos - 35
Pitbull #2 - 36
The Wall/Malice - 36
Leroy Brown - 38
Mark Curtis - 38
Eddie Guerrero - 38
John Kronus - 38
Davey Boy Smith - 39
Johnny Grunge - 39
Vivian Vachon - 40
Jeep Swenson - 40
Brady Boone - 40
Terry Gordy - 40
Bertha Faye - 40
Billy Joe Travis - 40
Chris Benoit - 40
Larry Cameron - 41
Rick Rude - 41
Randy Anderson - 41
Bruiser Brody - 42
Miss Elizabeth - 42
Big Boss Man - 42
Earthquake - 42
Mike Awesome - 42
Biff Wellington - 42
Brian Adams (Crush) - 43
Ray Candy - 43
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43
Dino Bravo - 44
Curt Hennig - 44
Bam Bam Bigelow - 45
Jerry Blackwell - 45
Junkyard Dog - 45
Hercules - 45
Andre the Giant - 46
Big John Studd - 46
Chris Adams - 46
Mike Davis - 46
Hawk - 46
Dick Murdoch - 49
Jumbo Tsuruta - 49
Rocco Rock - 49
Sherri Martel - 49
 

http://prowrestling.about.com/ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac, & Wrestling Information Archive

The following is from Foxnews.com Facts: Famous Wrestling Deaths. This is by no means an exhaustive list for the sake of space, but note some of the events surrounding their deaths after they spent years striving for success:     

The Von Erich Family: At one time, the Von Erichs were the biggest stars in wrestling, but things went bad for the family rather quickly. Of the five brothers that wrestled, only one lived to reach the age of 35. David died in 1984 due to an intestinal problem. Mike, Kerry and Chris all committed suicide. 

 Eddie Graham: Graham (Eddie Gossett) committed suicide on Jan. 21, 1985, at the age of 55. The former wrestler and promoter was despondent after falling victim to a con man’s scam involving a dirt-hauling business venture. 

“Gorgeous” Gino Hernandez: Hernandez (Charles Wolfe) died of a cocaine overdose on Jan. 30, 1986, at the age of 29. Hernandez was at the peak of his wrestling career when he became a drug abuser. 

“Flyin” Brian Pillman: Pillman, 35, was found in a Minnesota hotel room in October 1997 with empty vials of painkillers near his body. His widow, Melanie King, said an autopsy found that Pillman died from undiagnosed heart disease, although she also claimed his heavy use of prescription drugs may have played a role by enabling him to exceed normal physical limits 

Louie “Spicolli” Mucciolo: Mucciolo, 27, died from coronary disease in his San Pedro, Calif., home in 1998, according to his autopsy. Investigators found an empty vial of the male hormone testosterone, pain pills and an anxiety-reducing drug on the scene and the Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined the drugs might have contributed to his heart condition 

Richard “Ravishing Rick Rude” Rood: Rood, 40, died from an overdose of “mixed medications” in Alpharetta, Ga., in 1999, his autopsy shows. In 1994 he testified that he had used anabolic steroids to build muscle mass and relieve joint pain. 

“The British Bulldog”: “The British Bulldog” (Davey Boy Smith), 39, died in 2002 in Canada of an enlarged heart with evidence of microscopic scar tissue, possibly from steroid abuse, a coroner said. 

Miss Elizabeth: In 2003, wrestling beauty Elizabeth Anne Houlette passed away from an overdose of a combination of pain pills and alcohol.. 

Curt Henning: Henning, 44, died of acute cocaine intoxication in February 2003, medical records show. But his family has said that years of steroids and painkillers use contributed to his death 

Ed “The Bull” Gantner: Ed “The Bull” Gantner committed suicide on Dec. 31, 1990, at 31.

In addition, here is a portion of the interview Larry King had with WWE wrestlers in July, surrounding the death of former world champion Chris Benoit, and notice that even though it appeared nothing was wrong on the outside, on the inside–something snapped! 

KING: To your knowledge, was anything troubling him? 

JOHN CENA (WWE CHAMP): No, absolutely not. And I think, if you ask anybody who knew Chris — I strictly knew him professionally. But the guy was iron clad. He was real quiet. He kept to himself. He had ultimate respect for his workplace. He was a model employee. I have no idea where any of this came from. 

KING: And you’re in a violent sport, but I understand he was not a violent person. 

JOHN CENA: No. He was a great guy. He was a great guy to be around. And that’s — that’s the, ultimately, the strangest thing about this whole thing. No one saw this coming. 

KING: I spoke to his father and mother. I know they told you that they spoke to me. 

CHRIS JERICHO (FORMER WWE WRESTLER): Yes, they did. 

KING: And they can’t conceive of it. It’s — they said they don’t sleep because they — they can’t find A reason. 

CHRIS JERICHO: And nobody can, because that’s the thing, what John was just saying. Everybody who knows Chris or kind of knows him knows him as a very private, silent guy, but, also, as a very caring heart of gold type guy. A friend of mine once said he’s a man’s man. And he meant that he’s — what he said was what you got. And what you got was a real, like I said, just a caring, heart filled guy. So that’s why it’s such an opposite thing for him to do this.  If you — if you lined up a thousand guys and said which guy would do this, he would be the last guy that I would guess. 

 KING: Do you do you join with what Chris and John have said, that this is –

BRET HART (FORMER WWE CHAMP): Yes, totally. I saw it the same way. I — every time I saw Chris he was — I mean, I was around him a lot of times and he was always a cool guy. And he was calm and relaxed and he was easygoing. And like if you were at lineups, anybody in the room, he would be one of the last guys in the world you’d ever see something like this coming out of Chris Benoit. 

And the wrestlers kept saying the same thing throughout the whole program. This same caring heart-filled guy ends up murdering his family and killing himself. On the subject of outward success, we all have seen the news stories surrounding Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and others. They appear to be successful on the outside, but are they fufilled on the inside? It’s clear to me that there is more to life than just achievements. Wouldn’t you agree?