James Michael Guffey, a retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jimmy Rave, died on Sunday. He was 39. His death was announced by wrestling agent Bill Behrens, who wrote a statement with the help of Rave’s daughter, Kailah. The notice said Rave “had been struggling with drug addiction for many years” and that “his struggles resulted in the amputation of his arm and, later, both of his legs.”
Rave began his wrestling career in 1999 and was a two-time National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight champion, according to Behrens’ statement. He appeared in promotions like World Wrestling Entertainment and Impact Wrestling, and famously tangled with WWE star AJ Styles in the Ring of Honor. Last December, Rave announced his retirement after doctors found an MRSA infection in his left arm, prompting his first amputation. “I have a new reality,” he wrote on Instagram. In October this year, Rave said that he had had a double leg amputation due, again, to recurring MRSA infections. “Sorry I fell short of your expectations,” he wrote on Twitter, addressing the professional wrestling universe. “I tried… I really did.”
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