Wrestling legend Dennis Condrey, a founding member of The Midnight Express, died on March 20 at age 74 after a fall at his home. And now his real-life friend and former colleague, Jim Cornette, has revealed on his podcast that neighbors found the retired wrestler in the hallway, conscious, but having suffered a broken neck and severely damaged his spinal cord. This had heartbreakingly left him paralyzed from the chest down, and while he was placed on a respirator, only end-of-life care could be offered.
“Dennis had fallen in their hallway … In the way he fell, he broke his neck and severely damaged his spinal cord. He was still on the floor when the neighbour found him and was able to turn him over. He was cognisant of what was happening, but by the time the ambulance got there, they got him to the hospital, a number of things happened. The point being he was paralysed at that point from the chest down, and with the injuries that he had sustained, and again with his neck…so they didn’t really have to make a decision. He was on a respirator, but that wasn’t going to last. So his wife, Theresa, was not put in that position, although she would have known what he would have wanted.” – Jim Cornette
Following Condrey’s tragic passing, AEW’s Dax Harwood launched a GoFundMe fundraiser campaign with permission from Condrey’s wife, Theresa. The aim was to cover the funeral expenses and her immediate living bills after losing her beloved husband. Initially, the target was set at the low amount of $3,500, but that was quickly smashed thanks to generous donations from Tony Khan, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, and many others.
