Bison Smith passes away

**DLVH84** · 11-23-2011, 01:14 AM

American pro wrestler Bison Smith passed away today from a heart attack, just before starting a tour in Puerto Rico. He was 38 years old.

Like Big Van Vader, Smith played football for the University of Colorado. He began his wrestling career in 1998 in California, wrestling for various promotions in the state including All Pro Wrestling, Ultimate Pro Wrestling (a former WWF developmental territory), and Pro Wrestling IRON.

Since 2001, Smith has been a regular foreign star in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he formed a successful tag team with Akitoshi Saito. In Puerto Rico, he has been a mainstay for IWA since 2005, although he had a handful of matches for WWC in 2006. He wrestled a brief tour of England in 2008. He also wrestled for Ring Of Honor in the United States between January 2009 and March 2010.

His last match was for Pro Wrestling NOAH on November 20 at the Convention Center in Saporro, where he teamed up with Shuhei Taniguchi in a losing effort against Jun Akiyama and Yoshihiro Takayama.

Rest in peace, Big Buffalo

11-23-2011, 01:14 AM	#1
DLVH84 Samurai Rocker Posts: 2,876	Bison Smith passes away American pro wrestler Bison Smith passed away today from a heart attack, just before starting a tour in Puerto Rico. He was 38 years old. Like Big Van Vader, Smith played football for the University of Colorado. He began his wrestling career in 1998 in California, wrestling for various promotions in the state including All Pro Wrestling, Ultimate Pro Wrestling (a former WWF developmental territory), and Pro Wrestling IRON. Since 2001, Smith has been a regular foreign star in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he formed a successful tag team with Akitoshi Saito. In Puerto Rico, he has been a mainstay for IWA since 2005, although he had a handful of matches for WWC in 2006. He wrestled a brief tour of England in 2008. He also wrestled for Ring Of Honor in the United States between January 2009 and March 2010. His last match was for Pro Wrestling NOAH on November 20 at the Convention Center in Saporro, where he teamed up with Shuhei Taniguchi in a losing effort against Jun Akiyama and Yoshihiro Takayama. Rest in peace, Big Buffalo Last edited by DLVH84; 11-23-2011 at 11:49 AM.