Ed Gantner

Biography

Edward James Gantner Jr. was an American professional wrestler and American football player. Gantner made his debut for Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1985 as a heel, joining the House of Humperdink, led by Sir Oliver Humperdink. Within the group, he formed a tag team with Kareem Muhammed called the Shock Troops. They made their debut on TV jumping The Fabulous Ones, starting a program with them. He would also have a feud with Lex Luger that would go on for a good part of 1986. In February 1987, Gantner was awarded the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship, after his manager Sir Oliver Humperdink defeated Bad News Allen for the title. After losing the title to Mike Rotunda a month later, Gantner turned on Humperdink, turning him face. Gantner feuded with Humperdink's group with Barry Windham, Blackjack Mulligan, Bugsy McGraw and even Dusty Rhodes as his partner at different times. However, by July 1987, even with him in most of the major angles for Championship Wrestling from Florida, he abruptly retired from pro wrestling due to health issues. In 1988, Gantner's health began to decline after years of steroid use. His kidneys were the first to start failing, causing him to undergo kidney dialysis, and he had to be hooked up several hours a week to a machine to survive. By the fall of 1989, his heart and kidneys were failing, after refusing doctors' orders to lose weight and alter his exercise regimen. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1989, Gantner received a kidney transplant, as his sister donated her kidney. His family thought the worst was over. However, five days after the transplant, he demanded lifting weights to be brought into his room, as he went back to using steroids. Early in the fall of 1990, Gantner's mental health began to falter even further, as he started calling his parents late at night. He would get dressed for work, make it to his car, and sit there for a half-hour with the keys in the ignition, before going back in his house. When his mother finally decided to bring him home in Orlando, she found him in a dark room, sitting down, rocking on his bed. Back home with his parents in Orlando, Gantner would not eat, sleep, or work out. He would shower constantly and pace all night long. When his mother tried to take him for a haircut, he made her drive all over town, and at each stop, he refused to leave the car. By November 1990, Gantner was admitted to a psychiatric ward at a Florida hospital, where he stayed until after Christmas. During this time, he began casting about for solutions and new truths—meditation, vitamins, even faith healing with Rev. Benny Hinn. On December 31, 1990, Gantner was discovered lying motionless in the kitchen of his parents' home in Orlando, Florida. He was pronounced dead upon arrival when taken to the hospital, and his death was ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the heart. He was 31 years old.