WWE News: Former World Champion Dies After Battle With Liver Disease

It has been a hard couple of days for the fans of professional wrestling as past stars are being taken one after another. George “The Animal” Steele died on Friday at the age of 79, and then, there was the confusion over the death of Nicole Bass. Well, one more name can now be added to the list as former WWWF champion Ivan Koloff died sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday after battling liver cancer.

PW Insider did report the passing of Koloff on Saturday. The man known as “The Russian Bear” was 74-years-old.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Inquisitr reported that Koloff and his family were looking for help from the fans. Not only were they looking for prayers and good thoughts, but they had also set up a GoFundMe account to try and raise money for his medical bills and any other expenses.

ONE OF MY FIRST TEACHERS WHO HAD THE REAL HEEL HEAT. MY BROTHER IVAN KOLOFF REST IN PEACE pic.twitter.com/5xJ5cVRoR6

— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) February 18, 2017

Ivan Koloff was first diagnosed with liver disease 10 years ago, but there were recent lab results which showed a number of bad signs. The levels that measure the disease had been significantly increased and that had caused his symptoms to worsen in the past couple of months.

His wife, Renae Koloff, revealed that her husband had been pulling out of appearances left and right because he couldn’t even sign autographs. Ivan had developed extreme amounts of weakness in his knees which caused him to have a lot of trouble walking and the shortness of breath made most daily activities next to impossible.

Fans know that Koloff spent a lot of time in the wrestling ring, but after retiring from competition, he became a born-again Christian. His time after retirement was spent doing a lot of charity work for different churches and he was even an ordained minister and motivational speaker.

I’m Sad To Wake Up And Hear of the passing of my very close friend the Russian Bear Ivan Koloff. You will be missed My Friend. Rest In Peace pic.twitter.com/nziKZ2Zqy4

— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) February 18, 2017

This has not been an easy couple of days for the professional wrestling community. On Friday, everyone learned of the death of George “The Animal” Steele who was 79-years-old and his legacy and weird nature in the ring will never be forgotten.

Pro Wrestling Sheet also reported of the passing of 52-year-old Nicole Bass who had been put on life support for undisclosed reasons. There was some confusion as to whether she was actually dead or not, but confirmation did come on Friday afternoon that she had been removed from life support and passed away.

The confusion came about due to Bass’ girlfriend telling others that she had already died due to being declared brain dead. Heavy is reporting that the former WWE star did end up suffering a heart attack.

Just last weekend, Chavo Guerrero Sr. aka “Chavo Classic” also passed away and far too early in life.

Ivan Koloff’s death just adds to the hard weekend for wrestling fans even though those close to him knew it was likely coming soon. It hasn’t made things any easier, though, and a number of superstars have sent out tributes to honor “The Russian Bear.”

RIP Ivan Koloff,it’s been a tough week,Chavo,Nicole Bass,George Steel,Ivan and Marty Prince,I would feel helpless if not for my faith1loveHH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) February 18, 2017

Ivan Koloff was an absolute monster when he was in the ring and he was known as one of the most violent wrestlers to ever step foot in the ring. Speak to any of those that knew him outside of the ring, and they would say the exact opposite about him. The world lost a true legend in Koloff and the same can be said for George “The Animal” Steele as well, but looking at the loss of Nicole Bass along with those two superstars, and it has not been good for the wrestling community lately.

[Featured Image by WWE]