Steve Williams (wrestler)

Steve Williams
Williams in 1988
Birth name	Steven Franklin Williams
Born	(1960-05-14)May 14, 1960 Lakewood, Colorado, U.S.
Died	December 29, 2009(2009-12-29) (aged 49) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Cause of death	Throat cancer
Alma mater	University of Oklahoma
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Steve Williams[1]
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Billed weight	285 lb (129 kg)[1]
Billed from	Lakewood, Colorado Norman, Oklahoma[2] Nagoya, Japan Shreveport, Louisiana
Trained by	Bill Watts[3] Buddy Landel
Debut	1982
Retired	2009
Sports career
Medal record Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Oklahoma Sooners NCAA Division I Championships 1981 Princeton Heavyweight 1982 Ames Heavyweight

Steven Franklin Williams (May 14, 1960 – December 29, 2009), best known under the ring name "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, was an American collegiate and professional wrestler and collegiate football player. He was known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and is a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion, having won both the Herb Abrams and Bill Watts versions of the UWF World Heavyweight Championship and the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

In addition to his success as a singles professional wrestler, Williams achieved notoriety in Japan in tag team competition, winning the World Tag Team Championship eight times with notable gaijin tag team partners Terry Gordy, Gary Albright and Vader. His tag team success continued in North America, winning tag team titles in the Mid-South (UWF), WCW, and the NWA as well as winning the World's Strongest Tag Determination League twice with Gordy and Mike Rotunda.^[1][4]

In 2004, Williams was diagnosed with throat cancer, and underwent successful surgery the following year. He continued to wrestle on the independent circuit until his cancer returned in 2009, dying that year at the age of 49. Williams was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 as part of the Legacy Wing.