Free Republic

No matter what your views of the professional wrestling industry may be, one point that cannot be argued is that if you are good enough at it, you will make quite the nice living for yourself. Now that doesn’t just mean inside the ring. No. With your growing popularity in the ring comes other opportunities outside of it, especially on the Hollywood scene. So, have you ever wondered who the wealthiest professional wrestlers of all time are? If you have, then lucky for you that TheRichest.com has compiled the list of the Top 10 wealthiest men that have ever stepped...

Zumhofe was known for lugging a boombox to the ring. He was a star in Minneapolis for the AWA and had a few cups of coffee with the WWF. Yesterday, former AWA star and WWF wrestler "Rock n' Roll" Buck Zumhofe was convicted of 12 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct. The charges stemmed from allegations he sexually abused his daughter 1,800 times between 1999 and 2011, when the woman, now age 29, finally left his Cyrus, Minnesota, home. THE BACKSTORY: Zumhofe allegedly sexually abused his daughter between 1999 and 2011 Zumhofe, 62, will be sentenced today. He'll likely spend...

Billy Robinson, one of the toughest men to ever lace up wrestling boots, has died. He was 74.

Nelson Frazier, a former WWE wrestler better known for his stage names Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V, passed away Tuesday at age 43 after suffering a massive heart attack. WWE.com's Staff confirmed Frazier's passing, stating: WWE is saddened by the news that Nelson Frazier Jr., aka Big Daddy V and Mabel, has passed away. A larger-than-life Superstar, Frazier was a former World Tag Team Champion, Hardcore Champion and the 1995 King of the Ring. As the dark, formidable Viscera, he was also a member of Undertaker's faction, The Ministry of Darkness. Frazier's colorful personality made him a memorable competitor...

George Scott, who died Monday night of lung cancer at age 84, was a key figure in the history of professional wrestling, a key booker in both the resurgence of the Mid-Atlantic territory in the 1970s and the expansionist WWF of the early 1980s. His own in-ring career was great too, particularly as a tag with with his brother, Sandy.

Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon, one of Quebec’s biggest wrestling icons, died in his sleep Thursday morning in Omaha, Nebraska. He was 84. Originally from Ville-Émard, Vachon’s professional wrestling career was built on his unorthodox style, his legendary beard and his bad temper. “He’s the best-known Quebec wrestler outside of Quebec. A legend,” says Pat Laprade, the author of a book on wrestling in the province. Vachon participated in the 1948 London Olympics, where he finished 7th. In the 1960s, his career as a heavyweight wrestler took off after being recruited to the American Wrestling Association. He was the AWA’s World...

Gene Petit, who was best known nationally in the WWF as Cousin Luke of Hillbilly Jim's clan of wrestling relatives from Mud Lick, Kentucky, passed away this morning... Petit worked regularly until 2000, when back issues forced him out of the ring. He was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which he had been battling for years, leading him to drop way down from his recognizable weight. He had also battled diabetes and in recent years, was in a long-term health care facility...

Angelo Savoldi, believed to be the world's oldest living pro wrestler, passed away today at the age of 99. Savoldi dated back to the 1930s and wrestled into the 60s.

Matt Osbourne, better known as "Maniac" Matt Borne, Big Josh and the original Doink the Clown in the WWF, has passed away. Details on his passing are still developing. PWInsider.com can confirm Osbourne was found this morning in Texas, where he had been staying of late, by his girlfriend. Osbourne would have turned 56 next month.

There would come a time in the match where Jackie Fargo would make his comeback, but before going into it fully, would look out into the audience with a knowing grin, and then begin to strut. And not just any strut, but the Fargo strut, shaking his hips, bent over forward, hands extended, all done slowly, suggestively -- and driving the crowd bananas. With Fargo's death today at the age of 82 -- he would have been 83 on June 26 -- there will be no more Fargo struts. And don't go saying that he stole the strut from "Nature...

Vilger Louis, 56, says that when his 5-year-old daughter, Viloude, was born, seven weeks premature, she was tiny. "She weighed 1.75 pounds," he said Tuesday as he cupped his hands together, recalling how he held her moments after her birth. She spent several tense days at Miami Children's Hospital before she was able to join her family at home. "Now, it's this," Louis said somberly as he sat a few feet from Viloude's mother, Alourdes Desvallons, 39, who lay on their living room couch so consumed with grief that she barely moved. Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office homicide investigators say Viloude...

The hype around WrestleMania 29 is enough to get casual and hardcore wrestling fans alike excited about the weekend in New York City, but the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and the class being inducted makes this event even more special. There is no doubt that this is the most decorated group of stars to enter the Hall of Fame at the same time, and this could easily go down as the greatest ceremony in the history of the WWE.Where: Madison Square Garden, New York CityWhen: Saturday, April 6, 8 p.m. ETWatch: The 2013 ceremony will not be aired...

... PWInsider.com is confirming the death of 24-year-old Reid Flair. He's the son of the legendary Ric Flair. Not many details are known about his death, including the exact cause ...

Wrestling legend Bob Backlund has been named as the next entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame... He joins Mick Foley in the Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

During his thirty years as a pro wrestler, Rip Hawk piled up enough championship belts, main event appearances, and road stories to last a lifetime... Hawk, who died December 22 at 82, after a series of heart-related ailments in recent years, was best known as the tag team partner of Swede Hanson in Jim Crockett Sr.'s Charlotte, N.C.-based promotion in the 1960s and 1970s...

Dale Hey, who wrestled as Buddy Smith, Dale Roberts, Dale Valentine and most notably as Buddy Roberts, has passed away at the age of 65. Hey, part of the Hall of Fame Fabulous Freebirds trio, had a previous long battle with throat cancer, which he attributed to heavy smoking. He was part of two of the greatests tag teams of the last 40 years, the Freebirds and the Hollywood Blonds.

WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of Brad Armstrong, 51, one of four sons of “Bullet” Bob Armstrong. Brad Armstrong last participated in the ring for the ECW brand in 2006. WWE understands that Brad saw his physician last week for a medical issue and was found unresponsive this morning. WWE extends its sincerest condolences to the entire Armstrong family.

Robert Jeaudoin, who died suddenly on Sunday, was one of those pro wrestlers that successfully transitioned out of the rasslin' business into real life, leaving his "Hangman" Bobby Jaggers persona in the past, if not his love of the Kansas Jayhawks.

Today, everyone knows that professional wrestling is a predetermined stage show -- Vince McMahon himself publicly admitted it 23 years ago. However, for most of the last century, wrestling fans believed every storyline and bit of pageantry as the God's honest truth, and if you made your living as a wrestler, it was your sworn duty to protect the illusion at all costs. Some went a little further than others, though. And some went a lot further ...

Former WWE Diva Tammy Sytch -- who wrestled under the name Sunny -- was arrested THREE times in THREE days ... each arrest for "crimes related to domestic violence" ... TMZ has learned.