NJPW News: Former Black Tiger, Silver King, dead at 51, dies in ring while wrestling Juventud Guerrera

By Sean Radican, PWTorch Columnist

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PHOTO CREDIT: Tokyo Sports

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Cesar Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez Barron, known as Silver King, passed away this past Saturday while wrestling Juventud Guerrera in London, England. King was 51 years old. He was wrestling for Lucha Libre World’s “The Greatest Show of Lucha Libre” event. During the match, King connected with a clothesline and went for a cover. At that point, Guerrera kicked out, but it appeared that something was wrong with King. Guerrera kicked King and tried to roll him over while going for a cover, but King wasn’t responding at that point. Guerrera made the cover and the ref counted to three. The referee paused before making the final count to end the match. The show was canceled at that point. According to TMZ, the cause of death was a heart attack.

King began his wrestling careers in Mexico where he wrestled most notably for AAA and CMLL. He is best known in the U.S. for his time in WCW starting in 1997. King was released from WCW in 2000. He also was known in NJPW for playing the third version of Black Tiger.

Most people in North America likely known King for his role in the Jack Black comedy Nacho Libre starring Jack Black. King played a bad guy named Ramses in the movie.

The WWE issued a statement regarding King’s death: “WWE extends its deepest condolences to Silver King’s family, friends and fans.”

 

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