A lot of it can be attributed to fatal injuries, drug addiction, and other such factors. During his time in the WWF, Crash Holly both enraged and engaged fans. So one night, Holly chartered a plane to get to the next gig. He became the Hardcore Champion a total of 22 times. O'Grady wrestled Grimes in a try-out match for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on January 20, 1998,[13] and both were signed to contracts. Patsy Cline MuseumPatsy Cline died at 6:20 pm, as marked on this watch which broke at the exact moment her plane collided with the earth. Wikimedia CommonsA plane similar to the one in which Patsy Cline died. [28] After the match, DeMott turned on Holly and attacked him. [2], Crash made his pay-per-view debut at SummerSlam in August, where the Holly Cousins wrestled in a Tag Team Turmoil match, won by the Acolytes Protection Agency. The world of professional wrestling is replete with examples of wrestlers who died young. Dont worry about me, Hoss, Cline responded. A week later, Cline climbed into a tiny Piper PA-24 Comanche aircraft after a show in Kansas City, Kansas. He was found by his wife, and while his family has limited the information made public in regard to his death, it's believed his heart failure was caused by his regular use of enhancement drugs. They were supposed to make an easy hop home to Nashville, Tennessee. The reason for his murder? Michael Lockwood was best known in the WWE as the younger cousin, Crash Holly, to Hardcore Holly. By 1958, it was clear that Holly and The Crickets needed to part ways. His autopsy report lists his cause of death as "traumatic injuries due to massive blunt-force trauma" consistent with a high-speed impact. The second came in 2009 and, just a few short months later, he was found dead as a result of a lethal mix of painkillers, muscle relaxers, and anti-anxiety medication. Within a few months, however, he and The Crickets independently recorded Thatll Be the Day, which topped the Best Sellers in Stores chart by September. The tribute videos were an incredible homage to a wrestling legend which inspired some real emotion from Superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Stephanie McMahon, and a grief-stricken Vince McMahon standing alone in the ring in the middle of an empty arena. The best he got was a two-sentence press release on the WWE website. The Tragic Death of Buddy Holly and His Beloved Friends. "TNA Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that Michael Lockwood, also known as Mad Mikey and Crash Holly, passed away on Thursday. [2] [5] Holly chartered a plane from Dwyer Flying Service to take the group to their next show in Moorhead, Minnesota, via Fargo, North Dakota, so that they could rest and launder their clothes before the next gig. Their greatest success in the WWE was capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship in a tournament finals match against the Godwinns. While fighting a match in TNA Impact Wrestling against Sonny Siaki and Apolo, Candido fractured his fibula and tibia. Accompanying Cline and Hughes were two other country singers, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas. The moment Patsy Cline's plane crash killed her was recorded on her wristwatch which stopped at 6:20 PM, on March 5, 1963. Known since as "the day the music died," Buddy Holly's plane crash remains one of the most tragic moments in rock and roll history. Mildred KeithA Kansas City resident named Mildred Keith snapped what is believed to be one of the last photographs of the country music star. The number to call is (347) 884-8452. Holly was frequently attacked by other wrestlers in unlikely locations, including an airport, a funhouse, a circus, and his hotel room. On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (aka J.P. Richardson) and pilot Roger Peterson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake after. [31] On June 30, 2003, Lockwood was released from WWE.[2]. [21] His most common tactic was to sneak a pin, often after the champion had been beaten down by someone else, and quickly run backstage, away from possible challengers. [11] Erin O'Grady lost four untelevised matches in ECW, including a dark match at November to Remember. The tour began on January 23 in Milwaukee during one of the coldest winters on record. He was also quite an entertaining performer in the mid-card for WWE. A coroner's inquest found that Holly had been thrown out of the aircraft on impact and died almost instantly of a severe brain injury. Holly wrote all his own songs, many of which were released after his death and influenced such artists as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He was hugely talented but never realized his potential. One of the stars, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is billing the new dates on the Las Vegas Strip as a new show. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); No spam. [1] In 2002, he opened "Crash Holly's School of Professional Wrestling" in Salisbury, North Carolina, where Wheeler grew up.[2][34]. At the time, Cline was just 28 years old, but she seemed to have an eerie sense of what was to come. Lockwood debuted in 1989, as "Johnny Pearson" in Bay Area Wrestling, where he wrestled until 1994. Later that month, the Holly Cousins began a short feud with Too Cool and Rikishi Phatu. 36 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the, SPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Hook Bomberry, This page was last edited on 20 March 2023, at 01:27. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. His date of death was November 6, 2003. Lou Diamond Phillips played Ritchie Valens (originally Valenzuela) in the 1987 hit movie La Bamba. Gary Busey played Holly in the 1978 movie The Buddy Holly Story., Don McLean, who was inspired by Hollys music, memorialized that day as The Day the Music Died in his 1971 song American Pie.. The Rise Of A Country Music Legend By the time Patsy Cline died in 1963, she had made a name for herself as a country music staple. On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Kaleena Fraga has also had her work featured in The Washington Post and Gastro Obscura, and she published a book on the Seattle food scene for the Eat Like A Local series. [28] This led to a match on the next SmackDown!, which DeMott won. He was only 33. For other people, see, World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (19982003), NWA Total Nonstop Action; independent circuit (2003), Power Pro Wrestling Young Guns Championship, defend the championship twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "In Memory: Professional Wrestlers Who Died Under 40", "History of the European Championship Crash Holly", "History of the Light heavyweight Championship Crash Holly", "The 16 most decorated champions in WWE history", "A Crash course in believing yourself: Crash Holly may be small, but he has a gigantic drive to prove he can excel in the WWF Cover Story Interview", https://youtube.com/watch?v=0AXp7Oyx9jo?t=13m51s, Lockwood's ECW matches, from WrestlingData.com, "History of the World Tag Team Championship Crash & Hardcore Holly", Lockwood's 2003 NWA-TNA matches, from WrestlingData.com, "IWA Junior Heavyweight/World Cruiserweight Title History", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crash_Holly&oldid=1145607763, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from September 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, APW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time), Ranked No. He also had one ECW Tag Team Title reign with Lance Storm during his involvement with the stable (although Lance Storm was not an official member). Inside The Plane Crash That Killed A Country Music Icon. Be sure to Follow Crave Wrestling on Twitter and "Like" Crave Wrestling on Facebook. Perfect" Curt Hennig to become the Intercontinental Champion. He died shortly after the fall. Though Kanyon battled with depression and bipolar disorder throughout his life ending in a 2010 suicide, the WWE hasn't exactly been proactive in honoring his life. On May 23, 1999, while portraying the "Blue Blazer" character, his stunt to come down from the rafters was botched, and he fell nearly eighty feet onto the top rope of the ring near a turnbuckle. Eddie would later achieve success in the WCW, becoming both the Cruiserweight and US Champion. Many believe the pending divorce and his failing career drove him to the act. Instead, Hughes became disoriented in the clouds just thirteen minutes after takeoff. Holly's bassist, Waylon Jennings, would be haunted by that night for decades, as he had casually given up his seat for a flu-ridden Richardson moments earlier. The case was since picked up by Kyros Law, a firm representing numerous retired wrestlers in a head injury lawsuits against the WWE. It was determined that the Crash Holly death was caused by suicide with a deliberate overdose of more than one bottle of the muscle relaxant Carisoprodol and alcohol. Buddy Holly was 22 years old when he died. Originally married to Kevin Sullivan, Benoit first appeared on WCW TV as a fan of Rick Steiner who would always interact with him during his matches, but later turned on him to align with Sullivan and eventually Ric Flair and The Four Horseman. Crash Holly defeats Test for the Hardcore Championship on the February 24, 2000 episode of SmackDown. [19] They held the title until the November 4 SmackDown!, when they lost it to Mankind and his new partner, Al Snow.[20]. Copyright 2019 Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service. But her star power has only strengthened since her untimely death and the love for her music endures to this day. While skidding across an icy field for 558 feet, all passengers and the pilot were ejected. At Wrestlemania IX in Caesar's Palace, he defeated Bret Hart to become the WWE Champion for the first time. TwitterA newspaper headline shortly before the site of Patsy Clines plane crash was discovered. Kerry Von Erich was arguably the most popular wrestler that ever competed in WCCW. Crash Holly wrestled under the name Mad Mikey and made brief appearances in NWA Total Non-Stop Action (now known simply as TNA) and the Heartland Wrestling Association. In 1999, Crash Holly debuted as Hardcore Holly's onscreen "cousin." There, Cline closed the show with some of her hits including Shes Got You, Sweet Dreams, Crazy, and I Fall to Pieces.. Dion and the Belmonts were also on the tour, but Dion gave up his seat on the plane after hearing the $36 per-person price tag. It's not exactly a secret that wrestlers tend to die young, but given the lack of content and air time dedicated to some of WWE's deceased stars, one might think the company would like it to be that w. It's not exactly a secret that wrestlers tend to die young, but given the lack of content and air time dedicated to some of WWE's deceased stars, one might think the company would like it to be that way. The feud continued into February 2000. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. Michael John Lockwood (August 25, 1971 - November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. Like many of the wrestlers on this list, he was released after failing consecutive drug tests. The autopsy revealed that Lockwood ingested 90 pills of Carisoprodol. The still-unsolved murder is believed to be over a deal that angered the mafia, but whatever it was, it was incredibly personal given the 17 shots. The rock bands run at The MSG Sphere at The Venetian now covers 12 shows. He also captured a tag team title with Owen Hart as a member of Camp Cornette. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 1999 to 2003 under the ring names Crash Holly or simply Crash.[2][5]. Buddy Hollys death became known as the day the music died., the satanic legend of blues musician Robert Johnson. On February, 15, 2004 at the No Way Out pay-per-view, Guerrero finally achieved his dream of becoming WWE Champion by defeating Brock Lesnar. Although they were defeated by Shawn Michaels and Triple H in a street fight, the storyline became quite a hit with the fans. He didn't do much following his wrestling career, other than fighting briefly in the UFC, entering Finland's Parliament in 2007 and calling the country's president a lesbian. stature. Known since as the day the music died, Buddy Hollys plane crash remains one of the most tragic moments in rock and roll history. He underwent surgery for these injuries, but unfortunately, died from a blood clot, a complication from the surgery. Holly's Death Certificate The Day the Music Died February 3, 1959 Buddy Holly's Death Certificate From the Coroner's Report dated Feb. 4, 1959 The body of Charles H. Holley was clothed in an outer jacket of yellow leather-like material in which 4 seams in the back were split almost full length. The Houdini of Hardcore died due to an overdose of a prescription drug called 'carisoprodol.' Do check the Promotions tab if you cannot find it in the Primary Inbox. Country legend Waylon Jennings, then Hollys bass player, gave up his seat to a sick Richardson. Holly, who also wrestled under the aliases of Mad Mikey (NWA/TNA) and Erin O'Grady in the APW before . Patsy Cline rose to fame with songs like "Walkin' After Midnight" and "Crazy." After two near-death experiences, the country music star died in a plane crash at 30 years old with fellow country . Around 6:07 pm, Hughes, Cline, and the others took to the sky. In June, the newly formed WWE ended his contract. Two years later, he was shot 17 times while - of course - watching a hockey game. Patsy Cline died at 6:20 pm, as marked on this watch which broke at the exact moment her plane collided with the earth. [16][17] At Rebellion, the Holly Cousins competed against APA and Edge and Christian in a triangle match, which Edge and Christian won. Award-winning actor, singer and activist Harry Belafonte, who died Tuesday at age 96, showed his talents on the Las Vegas Strip through the years. Not so. As the youngest of four children, Holly relied on his brothers to teach him the guitar. Fellow wrestling personality Nora Greenwald donated a portion of the profits from her 2005 autobiography CD to a fund established to pay for Crash Hollys daughters education. On the October 3 SmackDown!, Noble defeated Holly to retain the title. Most wrestling observers and commentators feel he did not get a push from WWE hence did not live up to the expectations. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. His problems became worse in 2009 when he was arrested for choking his girlfriend; two years later he was arrested on battery charges. The marriage was reportedly loveless, however, and ended shortly after Cline found real fame. Mostly utilized for comic relief, Crash Holly played the small-in-stature but big-in-his-mindcousinof Hardcore Holly. Lockwood joined the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion in November 1997 after ECW wrestler Taz viewed a tape of a match between O'Grady and Michael Modest and referred him to ECW owner Paul Heyman. The Hart Foundation and Pillman also defeated the American team of Ken Shamrock, The Legion of Doom, Goldust, and Austin in a tag team match. After supposedly "patching things up," Owen became frustrated at the 1994 Royal Rumble, and officially turned on Bret, never to look back. Things kick off this week with the return of the citys longest-running music festival, the rockabilly gathering Viva Las Vegas. [25] In his first SmackDown! He was raised in Pacifica, California, where he graduated from Terra Nova High School. Buddy Holly was buried in the Lubbock Cemetery in Texas in February 1959. [35] He had recently received divorce papers from his wife. Only two months later, at the King of the Ring pay-per-view, Yokozuna defeated Hulk Hogan two start his second reign as champion. In the early hours on June 18, 2013, Hastings died in a single-vehicle automobile crash in his Mercedes C250 Coup. Buddy Hollys death on February 3, 1959, became the day the music died. Like us on Facebook. He was 34 years old. Before Patsy Clines death, she wondered how she could possibly top her successes of 1962, when she had been named Top Country Female Singer by the music vendors of America and Music Reporter dubbed her Star of the Year., Its wonderful, Cline wrote to a friend. His legend had been carried on by fellow Canadian wrestlers Bret Hart (in his autobiography) and close friend Rick Martel, but the WWE opted not to memorialize the Italian Strong Man.