Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Bennie Ramirez
Benjamin Ramirez began his wrestling career in 1959, competing in his native country of Colombia. He soon traveled to the United States, where he wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance. Ramirez mostly competed as a heel, wrestling in various territories across the country including Texas, St. Louis, the Carolinas and California.
Bennie Ramirez biggest success came, when wrestling in Houston, Texas…the promoter came up with a monster gimmick. Ramirez wrapped his entire body in bandages and called himself ‘The Mummy.’ The gimmick soon became popular with fans and Ramirez took the act across the country and into places like Puerto Rico and Japan.
The Mummy became a special attraction across the country and Ramirez portrayed the gimmick for several years. Towards the end of Ramirez’s career, he wrestled mostly as a “jobber’ in the Central States territory based in Kansas City. Ramirez eventually retired as an active wrestler in 1982.
On December 20, 1995…Ramirez and his family were leaving Florida to travel back to his native home in Colombia for the Christmas Holiday. Ramirez wasn’t supposed to be on that flight as he had to work and handle some errands before getting a later flight. Unfortunately for him, he was able to get off early and decided to join his wife and daughter on the same flight. The flight he was on was American Airlines flight 965. The plane crashed into the side of a mountain in Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Only five people survived the crash. Bennie and his family were all killed. He was 63 years old at the time of his death.