Steve Williams (wrestler)
American professional and amateur wrestler, football player and author / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Steve Williams (May 14, 1960 – December 29, 2009), better known by his ring name, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, was an American professional wrestler, collegiate football player, and amateur wrestler. He was best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Steve Williams | ||||||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Steven Franklin Williams | |||||||||||||||||
Born | (1960-05-14)May 14, 1960 Lakewood, Colorado, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
Died | December 29, 2009(2009-12-29) (aged 49) Denver, Colorado, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
Cause of death | Throat cancer | |||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | University of Oklahoma | |||||||||||||||||
Professional wrestling career | ||||||||||||||||||
Ring name(s) | Steve Williams[1] | |||||||||||||||||
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
Billed weight | 285 lb (129 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
Billed from | Lakewood, Colorado Norman, Oklahoma[2] Nagoya, Japan Shreveport, Louisiana | |||||||||||||||||
Trained by | Bill Watts[3] Buddy Landel | |||||||||||||||||
Debut | 1982 | |||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
Sports career | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Williams was a two-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion, having won the Herb Abraham's UWF World Heavyweight Championship on and in 1994, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship once. He also won Bill Watts' UWF Heavyweight Championship in 1987. In addition to his singles success, Williams achieved notoriety in Japan in tag team competition, winning the World Tag Team Championship eight times with notable tag team partners Terry Gordy, Gary Albright and Vader. His tag team success continued in North America, winning tag team titles in the Mid-South (UWF), World Championship Wrestling, and NWA United States Tag Team Championship as well as winning the World's Strongest Tag Determination League twice with Gordy and Mike Rotunda.[1][4]
In 2004, Williams was diagnosed with throat cancer, and underwent successful surgery the following year. He continued to wrestle on the independent circuit until his cancer returned in 2009, dying that year at the age of 49. Williams was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 as part of the Legacy Wing.