Axl Rotten dead at age 44

Axl Rotten, whose real name was Brian Knighton, has sadly passed away.

We’d like to express our deepest condolences to Axl’s friends, family, and fans. While no specifics were made available, the report notes Rotten was found dead on Thursday in a Baltimore, Maryland motel room. He was forty-four. The cause and circumstances around his death are not yet known.

Brian Knighton, who wrestling fans loved to cheer and jeer when he entered the ring as “Axl Rotten”, died this week at 44. Knighton was only 44 years old.

In late 1992, Knighton helped break into the business John Benson Williams, who was billed as his brother Ian Rotten, and they formed a tag team called Bad Breed.

Their rivalry was named “Feud of the Year” by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1995.

After going back to Memphis for three months, Axl returned to ECW as a popular midcard babyface, and was a fixture in the promotion until the end of 1999. He had a stint with WCW to begin his career and latter-day runs with WWE and TNA-all short-lived-but was famous for being one of the original stars of ECW. Knighton would later return to ECW/WWE for one more time for the pay-per-view One Night Stand in 2005.