Former ECW Star Axl Rotten Dead At Age 44

On Thursday the WWE confirmed the death of Brian Knighton, better known as “Axl Rotten,” at age 44.

Knighton erupted onto the wrestling scene in the 1990s as a half of The Bad Breed with fictional brother Ian Rotten, (Jason Williams, who he would later form an intense rivalry with throughout 1995.

In their statement the WWE said, “WWE is saddened to learn of reports that Brian Knighton, best known for competing in ECW as Axl Rotten from 1993 to 1999, has passed away, WWE extends its condolences to Knighton’s family, friends and fans.”

Rotten only competed in the WWE for a short time towards the end of his career, but he will be remembered for being one of the original ECW stars.  Rotten was the subject of a documentary in 2015 where he went into detail describing the challenges of from injuries over his career which included matched with barbed wire, flaming tables, and broken glass resulting in him being confined  to a wheelchair and he revealed that his back his so damaged it would require him to undergo surgery just to walk

Axl left ECW in 1999 after six plus years, he moved over to Xtreme Pro Wrestling and Extreme Reunion events, where he would be reunited with his fellow ECW superstars.