A Very Sad Day For Pro Wrestling (R.I.P. to Nikolai Volkoff, Brian Chrstopher & Brickhouse Brown)

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer put it succinctly on Twitter:

Just to confirm, Nikolai Volkoff, Brian Lawler and Brickhouse Brown have all passed away. Very sad day for pro wrestling.

Volkoff passed away at the age of 70 for reasons not yet released to the public. Although his public persona in the ring was that of a Soviet, he was actually from Croatia and would become a long time Maryland resident who ran for public office under a Republican banner.

Volkoff was best known for his run in the WWE (then known as the WWF) in a tag team with The Iron Sheik. The two would rile up the crowd with Volkoff singing the Soviet National Anthem with The Iron Sheik saying, "Russia number one!!! Iran number one!!!" and then spitting after he said the U.S.A. or Canada.

Brian Christopher Lawler died under far more tragic circumstances taking his own life while in jail. He was arrested earlier this month for DUI after taking police on a chase. The son of Memphis wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler, he would mostly wrestle under the name Brian Christopher to escape the long shadow of his famous father. He would achieve some measure of success in the WWE in the late 1990's, early 2000's in the tag team Too Cool where he was known as Grandmaster Sexay. Initially envisioned as cowardly heels, their alliance with Rikishi made them fan favorites. Alcohol and drug problems short circuited his success in WWE. He continued to wrestle on the independent circuit into the early 2010's, but had several brushes with the law in recent years. Lawler was 46.

Brickhouse Brown also died too young succumbing after a year long battle with cancer at the age of 57. While not as nationally well known as Volkoff or Christopher, Brown's career ring spanned 35 years. Originally trained by Terry Funk, Brown made his mark in Memphis in the 1980's and 1990's primarily as a heel first in the Continental Wrestling Association and later the United States Wrestling Association holding numerous regional singles and tag team titles. He reached the height of his career in 1987 when he defeated Jerry Lawler to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. Following his cancer diagnosis, several independent wrestling promotions organized charity shows to help Brown pay for his medical bills. 

It is said that things come in threes. Let's hope it stays that way. R.I.P.