Darren Drozdov dead aged 54: WWE hero passes away years after horror career-ending injury

WWE hero Darren Drozdov, who wrestled as Droz, has died at the age of 54.

The wrestling giants confirmed the sad news before SmackDown aired with a short but touching tribute at The O2 Arena in London.

WWE / INSTAGRAMDarren Drozdov has died at the age of 54 years after suffering a horror injury[/caption]

The American grappler joined Vince McMahon‘s promotion in 1998 and worked primarily in the mid-card.

The famous Beyond the Mat documentary, which lifted the lid on how wrestling worked backstage during the kayfabe years, showed the New Jersey native meeting McMahon at WWE headquarters.

The Chairman was planning to promote him as Puke, as he proved he could regurgitate on command during an unforgettable segment.

But instead, Droz teamed up with WWE Hall of Famer Animal to form the New Legion of Doom as he was supposed to be the long-term replacement of Hawk, who was dealing with personal issues.

However, that initiative didn’t work out and he went on to team up with Matt Bloom, who also wrestled as Albert, A-Train and Tensai.

Droz then returned to Singles competition but disaster struck in 1999 during a SmackDown taping.

Drozdov faced D’Lo Brown in a match that is still remembered even though it never aired on TV.

Brown hit a Running Powerbomb that paralysed Droz, who needed to be stretchered off the ring.

The ex-Intercontinental Champion has repeatedly expressed guilt for that move.

But Droz repeatedly said he didn’t blame Brown for the unfortunate incident.

Drozdov spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair with WWE maintaining him on their payroll.

Tributes poured for the wrestling hero with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson opening up about their close relationship.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson paid tribute to Darren Drozdov on social media

Johnson tweeted: “Man I’m so sorry to hear one of our ring brothers has passed away. Darren Drozdov aka Droz.

“We wrestled on a lot of cards together. Such an awesome dude. Great personality and great wrestling talent.

“We always talked about football and fishing. Sending love, strength, mana and light to his family. RIP brother.”

Mikey Whipwreck posted: “Sad to hear about Darren Drozdov’s passing. We mostly lost touch after he left ECW but we had a lot of laughs and good times. Rest in Peace Darren.”

Ariel Helwani wrote: “Damn. Rest in peace, Droz.”