Former WCW Star Van Hammer Dies At Age 66
Former WCW star Van Hammer, whose real name was Mark Hildreth, died at age 66, according to his friend, Marc Mero, who announced the news on Sunday. Mero posted to X (formerly Twitter) about the passing of his friend, and wrote that Hammer's family and friends are still waiting for answers about his cause of death.
"Mark was a fighter in every sense of the word," Mero wrote. "Life threw its share of challenges his way, but he had a resilience about him... he always found a way to rise, to push forward, to keep going."
Mero shared memories of his friend, including when Hammer drove him eight hours to sign his first WCW contract. The pair went through wrestling school together and lived together, all before they were chosen to team up to promote WCW on the road. Mero said his heart went out to Hammer's fans, friends, and family.
It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of our dear friend, Mark Hildreth, known to so many as Van Hammer. At this time, we are still awaiting answers regarding the cause, pending an autopsy.
Mark was a fighter in every sense of the word. Life threw its share of... pic.twitter.com/Tb7d0zQtJr
— Marc Mero (@MarcMero) April 19, 2026
Hammer and Mero were signed to WCW by Dusty Rhodes in 1991, and Hammer debuted as a rock star known as "Heavy Metal" Van Hammer and worked for the company through February 1995. After a hiatus from wrestling, he returned as a member of Raven's Flock in November 1997. After winning a "loser leaves the Flock" match against Perry Saturn in May, he was kicked out of the stable anyway and went on to briefly adopt a hippie gimmick. Throughout his years in WCW, he would challenge for the United States Heavyweight Championship, but would never win gold in his career.
After his departure from WCW in July 2000, Hammer worked in Maryland Championship Wrestling. In 2001, he did a tour for Big Japan Pro Wrestling. His final match took place in MCW in April 2009, where he defeated Champ Champagne.