Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Big Dick Dudley
Alex Rizzo was trained under the tutelage of ‘The Unpredictable’ Johnny Rodz and made his professional debut in 1986. Wrestling as Alexander The Great, Rizzo competed in several northeast independent promotions, as well as a stint in Puerto Rico. His career really didn’t take off until he began wrestling for Eastern Championship Wrestling and later Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994.
It was there where Rizzo, Taz and Tommy Dreamer came up with the idea of ‘Big’ Dick Dudley. Slowly, but surely new Dudley brothers were added and the group really became popular. Big Dick was the powerhouse of the group standing 6 ft 6 in tall and weighing over 300 pounds. Big Dick eventually quit ECW after having a professional falling out with Paul Heyman in 1999.
Big Dick would help form XPW with Rob Black and become the XPW heavyweight champion. He would also compete for independent promotions and do another tour of Puerto Rico for Carlos Colon’s World Wrestling Council. He married ECW valet Elektra and together had a daughter named Alexandria. The couple would later divorce and he would go on to have a son named Alex Jr. with his girlfriend.
On May 16, 2002, Rizzo started complaining of stomach pains. The pain became so severe that Rizzo called his sister to ask for advice on how to handle it. His sister suggested drinking cranberry juice thinking he had a urinary tract infection. He sent his girlfriend out to the store to purchase juice, while she was out…Rizzo ran to the bathroom to urinate, but instead collapsed and died. An autopsy confirmed that Rizzo died of kidney failure. Alex ‘Big Dick Dudley’ Rizzo was just 34 years old at the time of his death.
To read other Grappling With Tragedy articles click here
Ring the Damn Bell 
Why are so many people hesitant to visit a doctor or the Hospital/ER in Case of being in severe pain?
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My guess is he didn’t have the finances to pay for an ER visit. Just a guess though.
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As I’m living in a country with statutory health insurance I’ll never get used to the thought that a visit of a hospital/ER can cause some serious financial trouble to a patient in need of help.
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For me, it’s because I come from a family with long medical traditions and I know more about how most doctors approach patients than the average person. Hint: it’s not like you see on TV. They want to treat you, they don’t want to cure you. There’s just no money in a healthy society.
I also know that most doctors aren’t anywhere near the quality the diplomas on their walls claim they are.
In short, I’m hesitant because I’m more scared of the treatment than the illness.
Also, pharmaceuticals don’t make you healthy (no such thing as one without side effects) and most contemporary doctors don’t have a clue how to treat people without them.
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Here in the socialist hellhole that is Europe, we don’t have that problem.
‘Murica!
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I am in Europe, try again, genius… Incompetence in medicine is a worldwide problem. With so many options to pick on America for you choose this one??
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Don’t you think there are more colors than just black und white? I can’t handle this amount of conspiracy.
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doing the math on the tombstone, he was 36 or 37 when he died.
I didn’t think kidney failure was painful, a ruptured kidney or other trauma to the kidney is, or so I’ve been told.
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I wish WWE had at some point tried to reunite the entire Dudley family, instead of just sticking with D-Von, Bubba and Spike.
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I watch a lot of ECW in 1998–1999. One thing that always confused me was how little Big Dick Dudley was used as a wrestler. Mostly, he was just a ringside bodyguard who would occasionally join Bubba & D’Von for 6-man tags. Does anyone know why. Big Dick had the look and demeanor of a main eventer. Did an health issue limit his time in the ring?
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