Ten Years Gone

Rest easy, Chris
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Ten years ago today, Chris Candido passed away in a hospital due to complications from surgery to drain his lungs from pneumonia, which may have been another complication that happened from surgery to repair a broken ankle days before. Candido's death at age 33 was one of the most senseless and preventable deaths, which makes his all the sadder.

Candido was an innovative wrestler for his size, as much a part as kicking off the junior heavyweight revolution in America as anyone else in his early indie career. He ended up signing with WWE as a member of the Bodydonnas stable while other peers of his went to WCW. Even though he ended up getting eclipsed in notoriety by his girlfriend Tammy Lynn "Sunny" Sytch, he still left somewhat of a mark on the company. After his release, he would bounce around various promotions, working for ECW (where he got his first big break), WCW, NJPW, and finally TNA. He was a tremendous worker with a résumé over a decade long.

The preventable nature of Candido's death makes his passing all the more bitter, yet in even in the most advanced countries like the US, malpractice and bad hygiene are all too common. At 33, he not only had a long career ahead of him, he had a lot of life left. It's a goddamn tragedy. Rest in peace, Chris Candido.