Steve Williams, known around the world as “Dr. Death,” one of the most tenacious professional wrestlers of the ’80s and ’90s, passed away on Dec. 29, after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 49.

Even sadder than his death however is the fact that many Americans will never understand how dominant an athlete he was and how he paved the way for future stars, such as Test, Batista, Brock Lesnar and many others. With his wildly powerful array of powerbombs and suplexes, Williams, was a star in Japan for over a decade, helping to bridge the gap between the two countries and bring in more American wrestlers.

An accomplished tag team wrestler in the USA, with partners the likes of Ted DiBiase, the Garvins, Terry Gordy, Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotunda, Williams was never without a job, but was never tremendously sought after as a single competitor. He managed to win the UWF heavyweight Championship in 1987, but was still never a huge success in the states.

However, the 6’2, 280-pound former football All-American from Oklahoma becamea main eventer in All Japan Pro Wrestling, going unpinned from 1987-1997. As a matter of fact, Williams marveled crowds nightly and was beloved by fans, in spite of his vicious style, becoming arguably the greatest American wrestler in Japanese wrestling history. Because of that, many of Williams’ old stomping grounds came calling and Williams often found himself on tours around the country he called home, wrestling everywhere from ECW and WCW, while sill employed by APJ.

He later had stints in both WWF and WCW in ’98 and 99, but was never as succesful as he was in Japan. He wrestled in several independent promotions, the WWE and APJ up until 2004, but wasn’t as successful as he was a decade earlier. Nevertheless, he was looked at as a legend in Japan.

In 2004, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, but underwent surgery to remove it. The cancer eventually returned however and Williams was forced to retire in June 2009. However, he continued to make appearances until a few weeks before his death.

If you’ve never seen Steve Williams wrestle before, this is a must see:

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