Former WCW star Chris Kanyon dies of apparent suicide

Former WCW and WWE wrestler Chris Kanyon (Chris Klucsaritis) passed away this week of what everyone is speculating to be an apparent suicide.  The cause of death was an overdose of prescription medication.  From the number of pills found in Kanyon’s system and his past bouts with depression, investigators are leaning heavily towards suicide.

Kanyon will go down in wrestling history not for his in ring accomplishments, but for the fact that he was the first openly gay wrestler in the sport.  Some say the discrimination of being openly gay in such a macho business as pro wrestling attributed to his depression.  When he came out publicly, he did so by claiming the WWE fired him because he was gay.  No one is really sure if this accusation was more of a wrestling angle or there was more truth to it, but Kanyon later claimed his coming out was just an angle only to later claim it was truth.

In the harsh world of professional wrestling, there have been a crop of suicides over the years.  The story of Chris Kanyon, although a bit unquie due to his sexuality in the business of pro wrestling, is not a huge shock when it comes to former and current pro wrestlers.  Chris Kanyon was only 40 years-old.