In Memoriam: Wrestlers who passed away in 2018
2018 saw some big names pass away.
Some were huge in the industry (Bruno Sammartino) while others were huge physically (Vader).
Three wrestlers - Nikolai Volkoff, Brian Christopher and Brickhouse Brown - all died on the same day, Jul 29, 2018.
Usually, actors, not pro wrestlers, die in threes. And there aren't usually three deaths on the same day.
2018 saw wrestlers both old and young pass away and even one's passing was used in current WWE storylines.
Although drug use and addiction to painkillers have been the main issue behind a lot of wrestler deaths, few of the deaths in 2018 were related to drug use or overdoses.
Here are some of the pro wrestlers that passed away in 2018.
NIKOLAI VOLKOFF
DIED JULY 29, 2018, AGE 70
CAUSE OF DEATH: HEART PROBLEMS AND OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES
Volkoff portrayed the 'evil Russian heel' throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The United States and the USSR were immersed in the Cold War but things finally ended between the two sides in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR.
During his run in the 1980s, he was often paired with the Iron Sheik, another famously anti-American heel of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
The pair won the WWF Tag Team titles at the first Wrestlemania after defeating the US Express, comprised of Mike Rotunda (IRS) and Barry Windham.
He also was a part of the tag team 'the Bolsheviks' with fellow Anti-American heel Boris Zhukov.
He did have a face turn in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 by Jim Ross.
On July 29, 2018, Volkoff passed away after complication from heart problems as well as dehydration and other medical issues.