from www.wrestlinginc.com – I can now confirm that Steve “Dr. Death” Williams lost his battle with cancer last night, as he passed away at the age of 49. I know the cancer came back this year and his health had worsened in the last few months. No other details on the death are available at this time.

Williams was considered one of the top wrestlers in the world during the late 80s and early 90s. He formed two of the world’s best tag teams with the late Terry Gordy and with Ted DiBiase Sr., as well as a notable team with current WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis.

He was in particular a major star in the 90s for All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was recruited into pro wrestling by Bill Watts and was the 1982 Rookie of the Year. Watts discovered him at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a star lineman on the football team and a four-time All-American heavyweight wrestler. Many of his peers in wrestling over the years had believed if he had not played college football and concentrated on wrestling, that he would have been a strong candidate for an Olympic gold medal in 1984 or 1988.