Every Major Wrestling Death Of 2020

Every Major Wrestling Death Of 2020

Well, this should be a cheery time. As 2020 nears its end, it is, unfortunately, time to take a look back at the lives lost in wrestling this year. While an article such as this could easily be a bit of a downer, we would rather look back and celebrate their lives rather than highlight their deaths.


Pampero Firpo – January 9, 2020 (89 Years Old)

Pampero Firpo, real name Juan Kachmanian, debuted as a pro wrestler in 1953. He used various names before he settled on Pampero Firpo as a nod to famous boxer Luis Angel Firpo. Pampero Firpo became on one the pioneers of hardcore wrestling, often wrestling as a heel in territories like Michigan, Texas, and Hawaii.

Firpo also competed briefly for WWE in the 70s where he challenged Pedro Morales for the World Championship twice. While his body of work is admirable, Firpo is perhaps best known for being the inspiration behind the “Macho Man” Randy Savage presentation as Savage drew from Firpo’s promos to create his own character.


La Parka II – January 11, 2020 (54 Years Old)

This entry is perhaps the most complicated. This was not the La Parka most fans know from WCW as the gimmick was involved in a legal situation in 2003 comparable to the Fake Diesel/Fake Razor story from 1996.

This La Parka, Jesus Escoboza, began wrestling in 1987 as Bello Sexy working for lucha libre promotion AAA. After a series of name changes, Escoboza gained prominence as Karis la Momia (Karis The Mummy). When the original La Parka began working for WCW, Escoboza was given the name La Parka Jr. The original La Parka left AAA in 2003 resulting in legal action as the promotion owned the La Parka name.

Escoboza was given the La Parka gimmick and worked as one of the most popular stars in the promotion for years. In 2010, the original La Parka returned to AAA as L.A. Park to feud with Escoboza in a passing of the torch moment. 


Rocky Johnson – January 15, 2020 (75 Years Old)

One of the biggest and most influential names to leave us this year was Rocky Johnson. Beginning his wrestling career in 1964, Johnson competed for the National Wrestling Alliance for almost two decades. He wrestled at an incredibly high level, having world championship matches with the likes of Terry Funk and Harley Race.

In 1982, Johnson joined the WWF where he and Tony Atlas became the first African-American WWF Tag Team Champions. He retired from active competition in 1991 but would make sporadic appearances going forward, especially after the debut of his son. Some guy named Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, you’ve probably never heard of him. Rocky Johnson would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 by his son.


Black Demon – April 13, 2020 (39 Years Old)

While not known by as many people as others on this list, Black Demon was a star of the Lucha Libre scene in Mexico. An 11-year veteran, Black Demon, real name Roberto Carrillo, made his debut in 2009 in the Sonaro region of Mexico. He had won the Pendragon Rojo Cup at a local indie promotion in February 2020 in what was considered his career highlight.


Howard Finkel – April 16, 2020 (69 Years Old)

The longest tenured WWE employee and the greatest ring announcer of all time, bar none. Howard Finkel created a legacy for himself through his decades long career, becoming the voice of several generations in the process.

Debuting as a Madison Square Garden ring announcer in 1977, The Fink soon found himself as the lead ring announcer of the WWWF. From being the man behind the name ‘WrestleMania’ to his now legendary “AND NEWWWWW” call, Finkel’s impact on WWE on and off camera cannot be overstated.

As time went on, Finkel’s workload began to decrease. With the introduction of Lillian Garcia and Tony Chimel, The Fink began announcing at only pay per views but soon even that would be a rarity. Eventually, Finkel was used only to introduce the Hall of Fame class each year at WrestleMania.

In 2009 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and he continued to ring announce sporadically until his final appearance in 2018.

3 years ago by Tempest

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