No Show: The Sad Reality of Some Wrestling Funerals

Posted on March 13, 2024 by bdamage1

Brian Damage

Professional wrestling has often been referred to as a “fraternity” or a small exclusive club. A place where only a very select few who dabble in the business know each other, respect each other (for the most part) and look out for one another. Only those within this club can truly understand the successes and pitfalls that come with making their living in this business. That all may be true, but their have been times that fellow brothers and sisters of the squared circle leave this world and nobody shows up to their funerals to pay their respects and get that one final sendoff.

Sure, in most cases when a wrestler or promoter passes, the outpouring from friends, family and colleagues is tremendous. There have been funerals of some dearly departed wrestling personalities that had standing room only at their final viewings. Wrestlers like Owen Hart, Scott Hall, Brian Lawler, The Von Erich family and others had to shut down streets and have local police direct traffic in and out of the funeral homes. Then there are others, that have nobody show up and that is the most puzzling part of this whole piece. Some well respected and loved personalities are shown no respect. Here are a few that surprisingly had more “no shows” from the wrestling community than actual mourners paying their final respects.

Gene Okerlund

This one actually shocked me, simply due to the fact that ‘Mean Gene’ was a wrestling staple for places like the AWA, WWF and WCW for nearly 50 years. Someone who interviewed all the greats from Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Heenan, Bret Hart, The Road Warriors and the list goes on and on. Yet, according to ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page who did show up to Okerlund’s funeral…nobody showed up. DDP said that he was expecting all of pro wrestling’s royalty to be present…but very few from the wrestling world were there in person. Only DDP, Greg Gagne and the Killer Bees were in attendance.

Pedro Morales

WWE Hall of Famer and the very first triple crown winner in that promotion Pedro Morales was a star for Vince McMahon Sr and Vince Jr for a number of years. He also competed all over the world and for various territories during his close to 30 year career. Morales had suffered numerous health issues in his final days. When he passed away in 2019, the only person who represented the wrestling world at his wake and funeral was former adversary and friend Bob Backlund.

Jack Tunney

Most longtime WWF fans remember Jack Tunney for the years he spent as the figurehead president of the WWF back in the 1980’s and early 90’s. Truth be told, Jack Tunney was a very powerful promoter from Canada whose family controlled most of pro wrestling north of the border for many years. Tunney had plenty of power and influence during his heyday and was involved in promoting professional wrestling since 1952. After being unceremoniously dropped as WWF President and dumped from the company altogether….Jack still tried to promote wrestling on his own. When he died in 2004, it was reported that nobody from the wrestling community showed face at his funeral.

Wahoo McDaniel

Wahoo McDaniel was a champion in both professional football and pro wrestling. While McDaniel did find some success on the gridiron, he is most known for his time in the squared circle. Wahoo wrestled all over the world and was a champion several times over. His career lasted for 35 years as both a wrestler and booker. Wahoo died in 2002 and according to the late great Terry Funk…only he and his wife showed up to represent the wrestling side at Wahoo’s funeral. The Funks drove over 200 miles to and from the funeral. Nobody else showed up.

Sherri Martel

Whether she worked as a wrestler or a manager in places like the AWA, WWF, ECW or WCW…’Sensational’ Sherri was one of the very best in the wrestling business. She worked with greats including Shawn Michaels, Ted Dibiase, Randy Savage, Luna Vachon and Harlem Heat. When Sherri unexpectedly died in 2007 at the young age of 49, not many of her contemporaries appeared at her funeral. Only Booker T and his wife Sharmell, Marty Jannetty and Jake Roberts were present.

Buddy Rogers

‘The Nature Boy’ Buddy Rogers was a true legend in professional wrestling, having won versions of the AWA, NWA and WWWF world championships. In fact, Rogers was the very first WWWF champion in that promotion’s history. He was one of the biggest box office heels in pro wrestling history. A career that spanned well over 40 years. When Rogers died in 1992, the only wrestling representation came from Billy Darnell, a wrestler from the same time period who was Rogers’ next door neighbor in South Florida, George Scott, the former wrestler and booker for both WWF and WCW, Bobby Davis (Rogers’ manager during his heyday) and Larry Sharpe, whose boyhood hero was Rogers, and who was Rogers business partner when they opened up the original Monster Factory in New Jersey.

Rick Rude

The Ravishing One aka Rick Rude was a big star in pro wrestling having competed in the biggest promotions around the world. While his active wrestling career only lasted twelve years, Rude remained in the spotlight as a manager announcer and a personality for several more years. After his tragic death in April of 1999…his best friend Curt Hennig was outspoken of the lack of wrestling representation at his funeral. In a backstage interview in WCW, Hennig was asked about the death of Rude and Hennig quickly turned the interview into a shoot….disparaging many of Rude’s so called friends and colleagues that didn’t show up to pay their respects.

All in all, the reasoning why some may not have shown up to this or any other funeral could be a variety of reasons. A scheduling conflict or perhaps many of their contemporaries were deceased or incapacitated themselves. I am definitely not trying to make excuses for anybody who didn’t show up to a fellow ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ in the wrestling industry.

Honestly, at least with the more old school wrestlers and managers, the business was much different. It was more underhanded and competitive than it is now. Many of these men and women who wrestled back in the day were carny con artists and simply looked out for themselves. I would like to think the wrestling business has evolved since those days and wrestlers are more close knit than before. Regardless, at the end of the day, these are just a few sad examples of how wrestling can be a very lonely business.