Independent Wrestler Dies Of Heart Attack In The Ring

Eric Denis, a Quebec independent wrestler, died of a heart attack in the ring after participating in a marathon wrestling match to benefit a Crohn’s disease charity.

Here is the translated story from French via a Reddit user.

A wrestler from the ICW Fighting Federation died after suffering a heart attack during a benefit fight on Sunday night in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood of Montreal.
Éric Denis, who had been involved in the fighting world for more than twenty years, collapsed in the ring during the event held in the basement of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer to collect fund for the benefit of the ICW Crohn’s disease Foundation.
“We had wrestlers among us who were nurses,” said Danny Kidman, coordinator of the ICW wrestling organization, in an interview with TVNouvelles.ca. The message is passed extremely quickly. As soon as Eric fell, everyone came to the stage. ”
The locals carried out maneuvers of resuscitation on the man of about forty years until the arrival of the first respondents. The death of the wrestler, who was also the father of six children, was later found in the hospital.
“Despite the alarming and tragic situation, the whole situation was under control,” Kidman said. People were evacuated from the room, a matter of respect. We were extremely fortunate to have qualified staff for a situation like that. “

This is just another reminder that wrestling is real. These men and women put their bodies on the line for our enjoyment. It is a real violent competition with real violent consequences.

Other Wrestlers To Die In The Ring

Denis is not the first professional wrestler to pass away in the ring. Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa died in the ring after snapping his neck during a fall. Perro Aguayo Jr suffered a similar fate after fractured vertebrae led him to have a heart attack in the ring.

The death of independent wrestler Daniel Quirk, known as Spider, was the first major death to occur during an independent wrestling event as a result of in-ring action. Quirk died of blunt force trauma after catching a wrestler and falling head-first onto the hard ground.

Perhaps the most famous is the death of WWF legend Owen Hart. Hart, under his Blue Blazer gimmick, fell into the ring while attempting to repel from the rafters. Hart would die in the ring and the PPV, Over The Edge, would controversially continue.

Wrestling is violent and it is dangerous. Don’t try this at home. Even trained professionals can injure themselves severely.

Our thoughts are with Denis’ family and his children.

Share your thoughts on this story in the comments below.