Former WWE wrestler, Chris Klucsaritis, who was better known to the wrestling community as Chris Kanyon, was found dead in his Queens, NY apartment late this past Friday night. The cause of death is pointing to an apparent suicide, as Kanyon was found deceased, with a bottle of pills near his person. However, there has not been an official cause of death determined as of this time.
Before retiring, Kanyon wrestled with the WWE from 2001 to 2004, and is probably best known for being the first openly gay wrestler for the organization. Kanyon has been very outspoken about how he was treated by the WWE and has blamed the WWE organization and its owner, Vince McMahon, for forcing him out of his career as a wrestler.
Kanyon reportedly suffered from severe bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, with many friends and colleagues claiming that he took numerous medications for these issues. Whether or not these medications are a factor in Kanyon’s death are unclear until the toxicology report is released. Chances are the toxicology report will be telling if his death was an accident, or an actual suicide. Chris Kanyon was forty years old and has no children left behind.
Heard about Chris Kanyon over the weekend. Very sad to hear about another relatively young wrestler dying due to drug overdoses, suicides, other reasons. I will have to blame Vince McMahon for this one! Pushing Chris Kanyon out of the WWE in 2004 was the worst thing that he could have done to Chris! Hope Vince lives to regret that move for the rest of his life! My condolences go out to the WWE wrestlers that knew Chris, and to Chris’s family and friends.
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL