Wrestler Jimmy Rave Dies After 3 Amputations

Agent Bill Behrens said health issues were related to his drug addiction
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2021 7:23 AM CST
Wrestler Jimmy Rave Dies After 3 Amputations
Jimmy Rave in the wrestling ring on May 1, 2017.   (Wikimedia Commons/Mike Kalasnik)

Former professional wrestler Jimmy Rave has died at the young age of 39. Wrestling agent Bill Behrens announced the death in a Twitter statement, saying Rave had passed away after "struggling with drug addiction for many years." He added "his struggles resulted in the amputation of his arm and, later, both of his legs," per People. Rave—real name James Michael Guffey—tweeted that he was retiring from wrestling in November 2020 after doctors found an infection in his left arm, which had to be amputated above the elbow. "Please take your health much more seriously than I did," he wrote. Another blow came in June as Rave, who'd had difficulty walking, visited a surgeon. "He determined I had MRSA [Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] in both legs & they needed to be amputated immediately," Rave tweeted in October.

Rave's career, launched in 1999, stretched more than two decades. A two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, he had roles with Impact Wrestling and Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling. He also appeared in "numerous independent promotions including Rampage Pro Wrestling, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, and Combat Zone Wrestling" and "toured Japan with both Dragon Gate Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling," Behrens wrote in the statement, which he said was partially written by Rave's daughter. "James was one of my kids and his loss hurts me and many others, and we wish we could have saved him, but we could not," Behrens added, per People. World Wrestling Entertainment legend Mick Foley was among others saying they were hurt by the loss, per TMZ. A memorial is planned in Georgia, where Rave was born. (More obituary stories.)

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