4 WWE Superstars who tragically passed away in the middle of a storyline
WWE Superstars and Legends are always honored by the company upon their passing and are often made the subject of touching tribute videos.
The business has lost some of its biggest legends in recent years, but while many of these stars were retired at the time of their passing, others were still under contract with WWE.
Over the years, there have been just a handful of wrestlers who have tragically passed away whilst still in the middle of on-screen storylines.
#4. Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman was the first person to sign a guaranteed contract with WWE. https://t.co/ayew6KeMkB
Brian Pillman was only contracted to WWE for around two years before his passing in 1997. The former WCW Superstar signed for the company in 1996 before entering an infamous feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, where he introduced a firearm as part of an angle when Austin broke into his house.
Pillman later entered a storyline with Goldust and Marlena and was scheduled to face Dude Love at In Your House 18 in October 1997 when it was revealed that he had suffered a heart attack and sadly passed away at his hotel in Minnesota.
It was later revealed that Pillman died from atherosclerotic heart disease, which had gone undetected. WWE paid tribute to Pillman the next night on RAW and interviewed his widow Melanie on national TV.
#3. Chris Benoit
@wrestlingshoul2 Eddie Winning at No Way out and Chris Benoit winning at mania... https://t.co/R2H1gWae08
Chris Benoit was considered to be one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. The former world champion was on course to become one of the biggest names in the business and was a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
That was until June 2007, Benoit was scheduled to wrestle CM Punk for the ECW World Championship at Vengeance, but after missing house shows that weekend, Benoit no-showed the event and had sent several messages to Chavo Guerrero.
It was later discovered that Benoit had murdered his wife Nancy and his son Daniel over the course of the weekend before hanging himself on his gym equipment.
WWE paid tribute to Benoit on a three-hour episode of RAW before details of his passing came to light, and the company then opted to erase the show from history as well as the former World Champion's name.
#2. Owen Hart
Owen Hart! 💪 https://t.co/M8Sbotkrqu
Owen Hart was one of the most popular members of the Hart Family and wrestled under several guises in WWE. One of these was The Blue Blazer, a character that would dramatically enter the ring since he would be portrayed as a blundering superhero.
Blazer was able to pull off his entrance on several occasions until he opted to switch it up for the Over The Edge event in May 1999. Hart was scheduled to face The Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship.
For Blazer's entrance, the plan was for him to fly to the ring before becoming entangled and then to release himself and comedically falling. This added ending meant that a quick release mechanism was needed for the harness that lowered him to the ground.
Whilst being lowered to the ground, Hart fell 78 feet, landing chest first on the top rope before being thrown into the ring. The live cameras were not on the ring at the time, but Jim Ross revealed the severity of the situation before later announcing that the star had passed away.
#1. WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero winning his first WWE world championship!
In No Way Out 2004!
#Wwe #WweClassic #EddieGuerrero #BrockLesnar #NoWayOut https://t.co/glZbNhih9P
Eddie Guerrero was easily one of the most over WWE Superstars of his time, his "lying, cheating and stealing" became iconic with his character and made him one of the most entertaining stars on the roster.
Back in November 2005, Guerrero was able to defeat Mr. Kennedy to book his place in the annual Survivor Series match, just days before the event, the former WWE Champion tragically passed away at the age of 38.
Guerrero was found in his hotel room by his nephew Chavo, and it was later discovered that he had passed away as a result of heart failure due to underlying atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Guerrero's passing later led to WWE introducing their Wellness Policy, and the star was later added to the 2006 Hall of Fame just months after his passing.