Gone too soon. Wrestling fans have had to mourn many tragic and surprising deaths including athletes such as Sara Lee and Brodie Lee over the years.
In October 2022, Terri Lee took to social media to announce her daughter’s passing. “It is with heavy hearts we wanted to share that our Sara Weston has gone to be with Jesus,” she shared in a Facebook statement. “We are all in shock and arrangements are not complete. We ask that you respectfully let our family mourn. We all need prayers especially Cory [Weston] and her children.”
Following his wife’s sudden death, Cory Weston broke his silence in an emotional tribute.
“I loved you from the first moment I saw you. I would always say that you were an angel walking on this earth,” he wrote in an open letter shared via Instagram that same month. “Beautiful, compassionate, strong and so loving. An angel that blessed me with 3 of the most beautiful children I could imagine.”
He added: “But you were soo much more than just mom. You were a motivator, a best friend, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, the back bone of our family, and (my favorite), my wife. I really don’t know what to say in these uncertain times. I just know that death can’t take away the memories we made.”
Weston noted he will never “stop grieving” but is at peace knowing that Lee is “free.”
“I can’t thank you enough for giving me the best years of my life so far,” he concluded. The lengthy social media post did not specify the cause of Sara’s death.
Meanwhile, Brodie’s wife, Amanda Huber, shocked fans when she confirmed his death two years prior. (Brodie and Sara were not related to one another.)
“My best friend died today,” she wrote in December 2020. “I never wanted to write out those words. My heart is broken. The world saw him as the amazing @brodielee (fka Luke Harper) but he was my best friend, my husband, and the greatest father you would ever meet. No words can express the love I feel or how broken I am right now.”
Huber went on to detail the medical condition from which her husband died. “He passed surrounded by love ones after a hard fought battle with a non Covid related lung issue,” she continued. “The @mayoclinic is literally the best team of doctors and nurses in the world who surrounded me with constant love. On top of that, I can’t express my love and admiration for the way @allelitewrestling has treated not only my husband but myself and my kids. … The team at AEW have helped keep me standing and pick up all the broken pieces.”
She concluded: “I’ve been surrounded by so much love and incredible people I can’t tag them all but they know who they are and I don’t think they will ever know how thankful I am for them.”
Scroll through the gallery below for more heartbreaking WWE tragedies.
Gone too soon. Wrestling fans have had to mourn many tragic and surprising deaths including athletes such as Sara Lee and Brodie Lee over the years.
In October 2022, Terri Lee took to social media to announce her daughter’s passing. “It is with heavy hearts we wanted to share that our Sara Weston has gone to be with Jesus,” she shared in a Facebook statement. “We are all in shock and arrangements are not complete. We ask that you respectfully let our family mourn. We all need prayers especially Cory [Weston] and her children.”
Following his wife’s sudden death, Cory Weston broke his silence in an emotional tribute.
“I loved you from the first moment I saw you. I would always say that you were an angel walking on this earth,” he wrote in an open letter shared via Instagram that same month. “Beautiful, compassionate, strong and so loving. An angel that blessed me with 3 of the most beautiful children I could imagine.”
He added: “But you were soo much more than just mom. You were a motivator, a best friend, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, the back bone of our family, and (my favorite), my wife. I really don’t know what to say in these uncertain times. I just know that death can’t take away the memories we made.”
Weston noted he will never “stop grieving” but is at peace knowing that Lee is “free.”
“I can’t thank you enough for giving me the best years of my life so far,” he concluded. The lengthy social media post did not specify the cause of Sara’s death.
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Meanwhile, Brodie’s wife, Amanda Huber, shocked fans when she confirmed his death two years prior. (Brodie and Sara were not related to one another.)
“My best friend died today,” she wrote in December 2020. “I never wanted to write out those words. My heart is broken. The world saw him as the amazing @brodielee (fka Luke Harper) but he was my best friend, my husband, and the greatest father you would ever meet. No words can express the love I feel or how broken I am right now.”
Huber went on to detail the medical condition from which her husband died. “He passed surrounded by love ones after a hard fought battle with a non Covid related lung issue,” she continued. “The @mayoclinic is literally the best team of doctors and nurses in the world who surrounded me with constant love. On top of that, I can’t express my love and admiration for the way @allelitewrestling has treated not only my husband but myself and my kids. … The team at AEW have helped keep me standing and pick up all the broken pieces.”
She concluded: “I’ve been surrounded by so much love and incredible people I can’t tag them all but they know who they are and I don’t think they will ever know how thankful I am for them.”
Scroll through the gallery below for more heartbreaking WWE tragedies.
Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock
Randy Savage
The Ohio native, who had six world championship reigns, died at age 58 after suffering a heart attack while driving his car in May 2011.
Credit: Casey Rodgers/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
James Brian Hellwig
Hellwig, who was known as The Ultimate Warrior, passed away in April 2014 just days after he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He was 54.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Dusty Rhodes
Rhodes passed away in June 2015 at age 69 from kidney disease.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Roddy Piper
The Canada native, who worked with WWE from 1984 to 2000, died following a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by hypertension at age 61. Us confirmed the news in July 2015.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
George Steele
The former school teacher, whose real name was William James Myers, passed away due to kidney failure at the age of 79 in February 2017.
Credit: Joseph Marzullo/Wenn.com Newscom/MEGA
Johnny Valiant
Valiant, whose real name was Thomas Sullivan, died in April 2018 after being hit by a truck while crossing a busy street in Pennsylvania. He was 71. The incident was treated as an accident by the police.
Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock
Bruno Sammartino
The WWE legend, who had been battling health issues, died at the age of 82 in April 2018. The two-time world champion shared twin sons, Darryl and Dan, with wife Carol Sammartino.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Leon White
After a two-year battle with congestive heart failure, the professional football player died in June 2018. He was 63.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Gene Okerlund
The wrestling interviewer passed away in January 2019 just weeks after turning 76. According to Okerlund’s son, he received three kidney transplants and had suffered a fall ahead of his death.
Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock
Ashley Massaro
In May 2019, Massaro died at the age of 39 after being found unresponsive at her home. The case of her death was not made public.
Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Rocky Johnson
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s father passed away in January 2020 at age 75. The Canada native, who was the first Black champion in WWE history, died of a pulmonary embolism.
Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock
Howard Finkel
The professional wrestling ring announcer died at the age of 69 in April 2020. Finkel’s death came one year after he had a stroke.
Credit: Paul A Hebert/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Shad Gaspard
In May 2020, Gaspard was found dead at age 39 after getting caught in a strong rip current. Lifeguards from the Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed that the actor was found on the shore of Venice Beach.
Credit: Courtesy of Brodie Lee/Instagram
Brodie Lee
The wrestler, whose real name was Jon Huber, died in December 2020 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The dad of two was 41.
Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Scott Hall
Hall, who was also known as Razor Ramon during his tenure at WWE, was hospitalized in March 2022 after falling and breaking his hip. The athlete was ultimately taken off of life support that same month following blood clot complications. He was 63.
Credit: Courtesy of Sara Lee/Instagram
Sara Lee
Sara died at the age of 30 in October 2022. The Texas native, who shared three kids with her husband, publicly complained of a sinus infection before her passing but no cause of death was publicly released.
