Former ECW wrestler Axl Rotten dead at 44 from a suspected drug overdose

[pwaldo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...cDonald-s.html

Professional wrestler Brian Knighton, better known to his fans by the moniker 'Axl Rotten,' passed away Thursday from a suspected drug overdose outside a Baltimore fast-food joint. He was 44 years old.

WWE released a statement confirming Knighton's untimely death.

'WWE is saddened to learn of reports that Brian Knighton, best known for competing in ECW as Axl Rotten from 1993 to 1999, has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Knighton’s family, friends and fans,' read the note posted on WWE.com.

Knighton was reportedly found unresponsive in his car parked outside of a McDonald's in Baltimore.

An autopsy was scheduled for Friday to determine the cause and manner of death, but the wrestler’s mother allegedly told the site Pro Wrestling Sheet that her son 'lost his battle with his demon,' purportedly implying that he died of a drug overdose.

Knighton was best known for performing in the Extreme Championship Wrestling as part of the Bad Breed tag team, with wrestler John Williams playing the role of his brother, Ian Rotten.

He gained notoriety on the pro-wrestling circuit by using barbed wire, broken glass and baseball bats in his ultra-violent and bloody matches.

After splitting up from his fictional sibling, Knight and Williams went on to engage in one of the most sensational and brutal rivalries in the history of ECW.

Knighton was the subject of a 2015 documentary in which he talked openly about the devastating physical toll wresting has taken on his body, leaving him wheelchair-bound, according to People Magazine.

[Zeppelin1985]

Saw him wrestle at The Elks Lodge in the early 00s (not for ECW but USA Pro Wrestling). Nice guy, he signed an ECW magazine for me that's somewheres, I'll try to locate and share a pic.

I do remember his brutal feud with his kayfabe brother, Ian Rotten. They fought each other in a match where they had glass shards stuck on their fists. I wonder if that's on the network, hmm.

Very sad he went out like that and still so very young.