Professional Wrestlers You May Not Know Passed Away

The wrestling career of Chris "Kanyon" Klucsaritis was always marred with difficulties. His posthumous autobiography describes his life a closeted gay man in an ultra-macho profession. Kanyon was not ashamed of being homosexual, but he strongly suspected that coming out would not mesh well with his career, so he took extreme measures to protect his

The wrestling career of Chris "Kanyon" Klucsaritis was always marred with difficulties. His posthumous autobiography describes his life a closeted gay man in an ultra-macho profession. Kanyon was not ashamed of being homosexual, but he strongly suspected that coming out would not mesh well with his career, so he took extreme measures to protect his secret. He had sex with female groupies to keep up appearances, and once had to escape a gay bar when his coworkers wandered in for drinks after the other watering holes had closed.

When Kanyon finally came out in 2001, his worst fears seemed to come true. After an unfortunate series of injuries, he found out that his comeback was a humiliating, Boy George-themed joke segment that ended with extremely stiff chair shots from The Undertaker. Eventually, the only airtime he received was on Velocity, the least-appreciated WWE show at the time. In 2003, Kanyon's life took an even more tragic turn. He attempted suicide, ended up in the hospital, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, he realized that he was wrestling with his opponents, sexuality, and mental illness.

Though Kanyon ended up leaving the WWE, it looks like he never found true peace. CBS News reported Kanyon was found dead in 2010 with "scores of pills" found near his body. He was 40 years old.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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