Why 'Iron' Mike Dibiase's Tragic In-Ring Death Was So Jarring

Professional wrestling has seen its fair share of tragedies over the course of its existence, none perhaps more harrowing than when a wrestler dies in the ring. While this has been a rare occurrence, it's happened enough that each tragedy has been burned into the consciousness of wrestling fans everywhere, from Owen Hart's death in 1999 due to a stunt gone wrong to Pedro Aguyo Jr.'s passing in 2015 after taking a move incorrectly. In most cases, at least there was an explanation for why it happened; a move gone wrong, a wrestler landing in a way they shouldn't. It's of little comfort, but it at least doesn't leave everyone wondering why.

Then there's the death of "Iron" Mike DiBiase. The 45 year old DiBiase, stepfather of future WWE Hall of Fame Ted DiBiase, was wrestling in Lubbock, Texas on July 2, 1969 facing off against Man Mountain Mike, when he suffered what's been described as a massive heart attack. Another future WWE Hall of Famer, Harley Race, was on the scene and did all he could to save DiBiase, including performing CPR on him before medical attention arrived on the scene. It was no use, and DiBiase was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital, with Race by his side. And in the wake of DiBiase's death, many fans and wrestlers couldn't help but be confused over the loss.

The reason for said confusion was due to how great of shape DiBiase was in. In fact, in wrestling circles, DiBiase was well known for keeping himself in peak physical condition, to the point that he once wrestled a Texas Death Match against Terry Funk that lasted four hours and ten minutes. That is not a typo; DiBiase and Funk legit wrestled four hours and ten minutes, and not just in any type of match, but an old school Texas Death match. While not as violent as some of the Texas Death matches seen in AEW today, the match up was still grueling, and under old school Texas Death rules, forced the wrestler to win a match by not only getting a pinfall, but keeping their opponent down for a ten count afterward.

While DiBiase was a few years removed from the match, and in his mid-40s, it still seemed hard to believe that a man who wrestled a four hour match once could succumb to a heart attack. The mystery was later solved years later by his stepson, when Ted gave an interview and revealed that DiBiase had a cholesterol build up in his heart. Because of this, DiBiase was predisposed to both heart disease and potential heart attacks, though it's unclear whether he was aware of this at the time of his death. Still, despite the new information, it does little to change that Iron Mike DiBiase's death in the ring was among the most jarring at the time, mainly because no wrestling fan thought it was possible that someone in as good of shape as DiBiase could die in the ring.