Tuesday, December 14, 2021
After three amputations
Tragic wrestling hero dies at 39
James Michael Guffey is considered a promising wrestling talent at the beginning of the millennium, and from a young age he fights as Jimmy Rave at major events. But it turns out differently and it ends tragically far too soon.
James Michael Guffey is dead and the wrestling world mourns a tragic hero who was once considered an upcoming star but never made it to the very top in the end. As Jimmy Rave, Guffey fought professionally from 1999, in 2003 he fought in the Ring Of Honor promotion against later superstars such as CM Punk and AJ Styles. In 2005 he got into the ring with the WWE, the most important organization in the sport. But instead of joining the ranks of the stars, things went downhill for Guffey: A move to WWE rival TNA brought his career anything but progress, and later he was thrown out because of addiction problems at the organization where he had his best times.
After several comeback attempts, all of which only worked for a short time and then rather tolerably, Guffey finally had to end his career in 2020. “I have been very blessed with the past 21 years in professional wrestling and the opportunity to live my dream,” he wrote. “Today this dream is over for me and I have a new reality,” he shared on Instagram.
And the new reality was tragic: the athlete had to have his left arm amputated below the elbow after an infection with MRSA, the staphylococci dreaded as a “hospital germ”. His world “collapsed” days earlier when doctors discovered the infection in his arm.
In October 2021, Guffey announced that both legs below the knees had already been removed from him in the summer. “Last June, I had trouble walking and went to my surgeon. He found that I had MRSA in both legs and they needed to be amputated immediately,” he said. As reported by his daughter Kailah and his manager, the amputations resulted from “the drug addiction that James struggled with for many years”. Away from the ring, according to his daughter and agent Bill Behrens, Guffey recently worked for several years for a charity to support addicts and people with mental health problems.
“It’s absolutely sickening”
In October, “Jimmy Rave” posted a bedside picture of him after the amputation. Apparently also to counter rumors that he wanted to get money with fraudulent intent. “It sucks that the tribe I died for would say untrue things about me. I haven’t shown my legs the whole time because I’m embarrassed.”
In addition to the health problems, financial ones had long since come: Guffey presented a hospital bill for more than $ 100,000 and asked his followers and friends for donations. Around 50,000 dollars were raised in this way, and stars like Mick Foley and Chris Jericho also supported the former colleague’s campaign. “WOW! The amount of support I have from @RealMickFoley @HighspotsWN & the fans who have donated is so overwhelming it’s hard to express the love I feel for you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you guys so much, “he tweeted in late November.
In a last social media post, Guffey asked for support after a “particularly difficult year” on December 8th, a few hours before his birthday. On Sunday, four days after his last posting, Guffey died at the age of 39. He leaves behind a son and a daughter. The cause of death is unknown. His daughter Kailah is now collecting donations for the funeral of “Jimmy Rave”. Almost $ 2,000 has been raised so far.