EXTREME PURORESU

My views on Pro Wrestling from the East and West

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Dr. Death retires

Former All Japan Triple Crown champion and a near legend in Japanese wrestling, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams has had to hang up his wrestling boots quietly on 8/30/2004 as his battle with throat cancer took a turn for the worse.
The announcement was made by his good friend and wrestling promoter, Bill Watts. Williams was set to work the IWA-Japan 8/31 show (possibilly his retirement show), but that had to be cancelled. Williams is now scheduled to get throat surgery to have his voice box removed, meaning from now on he'll have to speak with a synthesizer (like Kane used to when he first started). And his weight has dropped dramatically down to 214lbs!
I remember watching Dr.Death in some of the first NWA shows on TV when I was a kid, and then several years back I downloaded a clip of him dropping Kenta Kobashi on his head in All Japan Pro Wrestling with probably the most devastating Homicide Backdrop Driver EVER, I was immediately interested to check him out again.
He may have slowed down in his later years, But Dr. Death's mark in the Japanese wrestling scene was made and he remained one of the top drawing gaijing in Japan.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Death and his family, and I hope he makes a complete recovery in his battle with his greatest opponent ever.

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