Death comes in three's...Bam Bam Bigelow...Mike Awesome...and now...

[KingofOldSchool]

Bad News Allen (Brown)

From Slam Wrestling:

Former Olympic judo bronze medalist Allen Coage -- better known to wrestling fans as Bad News Allen and Bad News Brown -- has died suddenly. He was 63.

Coage died early Tuesday morning in Calgary at Rockyview Hospital, having been rushed to the hospital, complaining of chest pains.

Three weeks ago, Coage underwent hip replacement surgery and had been making progress on his recovery. Monday night, he was home alone and called longtime friend Gerry Morrow, complaining of chest pains. Morrow got him to the hospital.

Coage broke into professional wrestling through the New Japan Pro Wrestling organization, training in Japan and spending the first few years after the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Japan. He was known as Buffalo Coage there.

In the Calgary Stampede promotion, he was a star as Bad News Allen, having bloody feuds with the likes of The Dynamite Kid, Archie 'The Stomper' Gouldie, Bret Hart and others.

"Bad News Allen was one of those four or five wrestlers who I considered to be the hardest men in wrestling," Tom 'Dynamite Kid' Billington wrote in his autobiography. "He was definitely bad news. Don't get me wrong, he was a good friend, but once he got you in the ring, it was as if he didn't know you. I've had a lot of hard matches in my career, most of them in Japan, because that's how they like their wrestling, but the matches I had with Bad News were something else."

In the WWF of the late 1980s, he was known as Bad News Brown, and feuded with Bret Hart, Jake Roberts, Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.

Coage often complained about his WWF run, which followed the closure of Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion. "I made a lot of money up here with Stu. He enjoyed me because I put asses in the seats," Coage recalled in July 2006, leading into a typical straightforward explanation on his WWF days. "They handcuffed me. They pretty much didn't let me do what I should have done.

"They really held me down ... you've got your head guys, and Randy [Savage] called all the shots, so he was the one. I figured the object is to make money, and if this guy can make some money for you, you let him go, let him do his thing. I guess there was a lot of jealousy there, or whatever. I don't know his reason or whatever, but he was the one because he called all the shots."

Jake Roberts recalled Bad News. "He was good, very good," said The Snake. Was Coage hard to work with "No, he was f***ing easy." Even the judo stuff? "I had no problem at all working with him. We had a great time."

He had been working the last number of years as a security guard at a mall; "Teenagers are a pain in the ass. You always have to run them off," he said in July 2006. Apparently they didn't know who they were messing with. "It don’t matter to them, they're tough."

Coage is survived by his wife Helen and their children.

[Xero]

Wow, didn't exactly see this one coming.

[Destor]

Now that's a shame right there. Sad news.

[Blitz]

RIP :(

[redoneja]

Everyone has wrestlers who wrestled the generation before theirs who they wish they could go back and watch extensively. Bad News Allen is close to the top of the list for me.

:(

[KingofOldSchool]

Bad News was the original Stone Cold.

[ddpBANG]

Man, that sucks. :(

RIP

[Dorkchop]

Boo

[NeanderCarl]

Now that's a shame right there. Sad news.

Sad News Brown.

Made me chuckle anyway.

Allen Coage, that is a shame. Bad News made for a menacing heel, and was a legit badass. R.I.P.

As for death coming in threes.... Thunder Stern also died a few days ago, according to Slam Wrestling, so this time it comes in fours.

[DS]

When I first opened this and quickly skimmed through for a name I saw the word Brown in the parentheses and thought it was D-Lo.

Either way, sorry to hear.

[KingofOldSchool]

Sad News Brown.

Made me chuckle anyway.

Allen Coage, that is a shame. Bad News made for a menacing heel, and was a legit badass. R.I.P.

As for death coming in threes.... Thunder Stern also died a few days ago, according to Slam Wrestling, so this time it comes in fours.

I don't think he was ever featured in one of the big three.

[NeanderCarl]

Nah. Gotta be honest, I've never heard of him before. But still, it's another (albeit more timely) death in the wrestling world. Also, Doug Gentry died more recently than Bigelow, so he should be counted. It's only March, this year is currently fixing to be the worst for deaths in wrestling since 2002 (or was it 2003? I can't remember now, but whichever it was it seemed as if somebody died nearly every week)

[NeanderCarl]

It's a pretty damn sad state of affairs. There's something about the business, the strain on the body, that is killing these guys before their time. I mean, drugs have got to shoulder some of the blame, but there have been plenty of non-drug related deaths in the business over the years too. It's creepy.

[Fignuts]

Holy shit, I had no idea, he learned the business in new japan. To be a forigner, starting in the new japan dojo with no previous experience, and to actually survive, he must have been incredibly tough.

RIP

[Shadow]

Damn.....RIP.

At least he died at 63 rather then 43.

[Rocky B]

Didn't see this coming either. Sad news. RIP.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>RIP</font> :(

[Crimson]

At least he lived a longer life than most wrestlers these days. I hated him back when i was a kid but now i know it was because he played his badass i dont give a fuck character so well. RIP

[SammyG]

:( RIP

[Loose Cannon]

Bad News :(

This one hits harder with me then the other two. I've talked about Bad News on here a bunch of times. I really enjoyed his work in the WWF and later when I got to see footage of him in his early Stampede days. The original Stone Cold is right. He was awesome. Been waiting for his classic superstar figure to come out in stores by me.

My favorite Bad news moment was when he walked out on his team both times at Survivor Series. I'll miss the psychotic loner.

RIP.

[Loose Cannon]

Ghetto Blaster
.
.
.
.

[Corkscrewed]

R.I.P.

Sounds like a heart attack.

[KingofOldSchool]

Bad News :(

This one hits harder with me then the other two. I've talked about Bad News on here a bunch of times. I really enjoyed his work in the WWF and later when I got to see footage of him in his early Stampede days. The original Stone Cold is right. He was awesome. Been waiting for his classic superstar figure to come out in stores by me.

My favorite Bad news moment was when he walked out on his team both times at Survivor Series. I'll miss the psychotic loner.

RIP.

My favorite Brown moment was whne he use to call out Macho Man demanding a WWF Title shot calling him "Macho Chump." Too bad he never got his big title feud.

We can have Hogan to thank for that.

[St. Jimmy]

C'monnn =/. Bad News Brown was the goods. The original Bad Ass.

[FourFifty]

I don't recall anything major about him. Maybe he was a little before my time. However, I have a great deal of respect for every wrestler from every era who has laced up a pair of boots.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace.

[Marc the Smark]

A sad loss, indeed... RIP Bad News Brown :(

I wonder if he'll be inducted this year.

[Rammsteinmad]

R.I.P.

[Vastardikai]

Holy shit, I had no idea, he learned the business in new japan. To be a forigner, starting in the new japan dojo with no previous experience, and to actually survive, he must have been incredibly tough.

RIP

Well, I heard two Bad News Stories that impressed me.

1. He got in a fight with the Guerreros (Mondo, Gory, and Chavo Sr.) at the same time... and WON.

2. He was ready to fight Andre the Giant over racist remarks Andre made. Andre, all 7'5" of him, backed down from him.

Seriously, he wasn't someone to be messed with. He was the original Stone Cold and could have been the leader of the Nation of Domination. The only guy recently who's comparable to him is Tazz.

R.I.P., Bad News.

[Dave Youell]

Interesting fact.

Bad News and Bret Hart wrestled in the first ever ladder match for Stampede wrestling in Canada.

Too be honest I know little else about the guy, but you have to respect anyone who lasted in the biz as long as he did and also the way in which he came into it.

RIP

[NeanderCarl]

Also, there were a lot of rumours back in 1998 that Bad News Brown was coming back to WWF as a bodyguard for Vince McMahon.

It didn't transpire, wheter negotiations stalled or Bad News just wasn't interested enough, but it would have been nice to see Bad News get some exposure amongst the younger/newer fans during the Attitude era. Shame it never happened, also surprised that WCW never brought him in during their period of stocking up on ex-WWF guys.... still, he'll always be in my memory, as the guy who "pearl harboured" Bret Hart at WrestleMania IV.

[Jaton]

Wait, Mike Awesome died? No more Awesome bombs!? :'(

[Theo Dious]

[QUOTE=KingofOldSchool]My favorite Brown moment was whne he use to call out Macho Man demanding a WWF Title shot calling him "Macho Chump."[QUOTE]

Didn't he also call Elizabeth a slut? (Not using that word, but making the claims?)

Very sorry for him, he's definitely an example of an Attitude Era star ten years too early. He got some of the most heel heat at Royal Rumble '89.

[NeanderCarl]

Let's be honest though, BNA was a terrible wrestler. Great, great character. Tough, tough guy. Awful wrestler.

Not meaning to speak ill of the dead or anything, because he contributed a lot to the business. And the Ghetto Blaster was a wicked move, one of my favourite finishers. I've always been surprised that nobody has ever used it since (although Jericho used a similar, enziguiri style move)

[RP]

I'd say i didnt see this coming, but i thought it had already come and gone along time ago.

[RP]

I always get Junkyard dog and Bad News Brown mixed up for some reason...

[NeanderCarl]

Notice WWE haven't acknowledged his death yet. Maybe there's a bit of bad blood there? Bad News did rip into them quite a lot recently.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Let's be honest though, BNA was a terrible wrestler. Great, great character. Tough, tough guy. Awful wrestler.

You have no idea what you're talking about

[NeanderCarl]

I beg your pardon? I have eyes, pal.

He was immobile, slow and clumsy quite often in the ring.

Like many have said, his character was way ahead of it's time, almost a precusor to Steve Austin. He was a noted tough guy and I believe an Olympic-level judo player. But he never tore up a ring, in my opinion.

Even Roddy Piper (who admits himself that he was never the best wrestler in the business) called Bad News a crap worker on his Born To Controversy DVD.

[M-A-G]

Holy you-know-what. R.I.P.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

He was a noted tough guy and I believe an Olympic-level judo player

Nice to see you actually read the article

Even Roddy Piper (who admits himself that he was never the best wrestler in the business) called Bad News a crap worker on his Born To Controversy DVD.

And yet Jake Roberts, who was a good wrestler called him a good worker. Hmm what to do, whose opinion should be taken as fact?

[Johnny Vegas]

i didn't even know those other two died...

[Loose Cannon]

remember when he punked Jack Tunney on the Brother Love show? punking presidents before Attitude. :yes:

[NeanderCarl]

Nice to see you actually read the article.
And yet Jake Roberts, who was a good wrestler called him a good worker. Hmm what to do, whose opinion should be taken as fact?

Actually I didn't read the article, I just read the "Breaking News" headline on some newsboard-type site before posting. I have read it now, however.

Let's not get into the whole "which wrestlers think he was great", "which wrestlers think he was bad" thing, let's not drag it out. For the record, I don't consider Jake Roberts a GOOD wrestler anyway, he had the intangibles that made him a star... in the ring he was mediocre on a good day. But I do have the ability to make my own mind up about things, using the criteria that I, as a fan, judge a wrestler's ability to entertain by, and I don't consider Bad News a particulary good in-ring wrestler. Yet, he was a good entertainer in other areas.

It's not an issue if you don't make it one. If you disagree, that's your right as an opinionated viewer. If his matches were great in your opinion, then that's good for you, isn't it?

[Crimson]

On a side note, my fantasy baseball team is called the Ghetto Blasters which I named last week before his death. :|

[Skippord]

RIP

[Mr. Monday Morning]

It's not an issue if you don't make it one. If you disagree, that's your right as an opinionated viewer. If his matches were great in your opinion, then that's good for you, isn't it?

It is. Especially since you presented your opinion as fact. But never mind.

[NeanderCarl]

Well, you know I wouldn't be the first or last person on here to post an opinion WITHOUT typing "in my opinion" at the end of every sentence.

As far as I'm concerned, in wrestling - just like music, movies and any other entertainment genre - quality is all in the eye of the beholder. There is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" song, it all dependson the tastes of the listener. There are fans out there who find The Great Khali an acceptable worker and enjoy his matches, as strange as that idea is to me. If I say *insert name here* is a bad wrestler, it should be implied that this is my opinion without me having to reiterate it every other post.

I'm not the first person to fall into the easy trap of stating an opinion in words which imply I consider it a fact, but it is common sense to realise that I am not so arrogant to consider myself an 'oracle' on the wrestling business, nor do I speak for ANYONE other than myself.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Fine, fine. But tell me this, have you seen his early work in Stampede? Not flaming, just curious.

[Reggie05]

Damn. :( RIP.

[NeanderCarl]

Fine, fine. But tell me this, have you seen his early work in Stampede? Not flaming, just curious.

Some of it, including a ladder match (which may have been the first ever ladder match) with Bret Hart. He admittedly got worse as he got older and his knees got shot, which wasn't his fault I suppose.

[Loose Cannon]

Bad News was not a very good wrestler. Great psycholoy, but average wrestler. He was really stiff according to many guys. I know Bret never liked working with him.

But yea, his Stampede run was prob his best stuff, wrestling wise.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

That's because his Stampede run was his peak. Pretty much everything after that was on the downhill run of his career. And he mostly worked Bret when Bret was like what, 19? He bitched about everything back then.

Bad News vs Dynamite is one of the great underappreciated feuds. You could argue that it was all Dynamite but it takes two to tango, etc etc.