Illinois-based wrestler, Mark Pobanz famed Markus Crane passed away on 27th December 2021 (Monday). Speculations are made that he died in his sleep. He dies at 33. His exact death cause has not been revealed yet. It is believed that his passing may have been caused due to his brain surgery.
Who is Independent Wrestler Star, Markus Crane?
Born in 1989, Markus Crane was a professional deathmatch wrestler from Rockland, Illinois who made his appearance regularly for Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). He debuted for GCW in 2016 when he competed in Zandig’s Tournament of Survival, and he established himself as a mainstay of the promotion’s deathmatches. He wrestled for various organizations in Illinois before joining IWA: Mid-South as a regular. His work spans Big Japan rings to FREEDOMS. He competed in their King of the Death Matches event, losing in a ‘Hardcore Aerial Assault’ battle to Devon Moore in 2011. He was a regular with AAW out of Illinois for a long time, notably as a Dan Lawrence’s Wet Bandits team. In October 2014, the two were crowned tag champions of the organization after defeating Athena (Ember Moon) and Heidi Lovelace (Ruby Soho). Further, he had won multiple titles as Hunter Crane including the NPU Championship and the ICW Alternative Championship. Similarly, he was also a two-time Unsanctioned Pro Hardcore Champion and a former AAW Tag Team Champion with Dan Lawrence. He was also known as Haunter Strange, his alter ego. Chris Hero, who has previously worked in WWE Development, was in charge of training the developing wrestler. His net worth was $1 Million at the time of his death. In August 2019, Crane was part of the GCW crew that traveled to Japan for a pair of shows at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. On the first night, he teamed with partner SHLAK and Eric Ryan losing to Jun Kasai, Takashi Sasaki & Toshiyuki Sakurda. In December 2019, he was forced to retire after his head injury was discovered an infection in his skull spilled into his brain. He did not wrestle in 2020 after undergoing brain surgery but later, he returned in April 2021. His last match was on 10th April 2021 in which he defeated Kit Osbourne at the GCW Planet Death’s ring. Altogether, he took part in 403 wrestling matches.
Source: @wegotthiscovered
What happened to Markus Crane?
It was on 8th December 2019, Markus Crane had to undergo a serious operation in Las Vegas for which emergency surgery was required. After being evaluated by the medical staff, it was determined that he needed emergency neurosurgery. It was discovered that that Crane had an infection eroding his skull and leaking into his brain. A portion of his skull was removed to allow the treatment to work. However, it’s unclear whether his brain illness played a role in his death.
What was Markus Crane’s cause of death?
Markus Crane’s cause of death is still to get disclosed yet. It is unknown whether the brain inflammation caused his death. His death news was firstly announced on social media by the Freelance Wrestling page. Back in December 2019, doctors found out that Crane was suffering from an infection that was destroying his skull and leaking through his skull. A small portion of the skull was removed in order to allow the treatment to be effective. For his recovery, a GoFundMe account was set up which raised around $22,350 for his treatment, with a request from WWE star, Mick Foley as well. It seemed Crane was unable to recover from the injury.
Source: @marca
“With sadness, GCW mourns the loss of Markus Crane. As a performer, Markus embodied the spirit of GCW. He was an underdog and an outlaw. He was fearless in the ring and determined to succeed against the odds. He played a major role in GCW’s early success and was part of the heart and soul of our roster from day one. Markus was passionate about GCW and Deathmatch Wrestling. We were proud to have him represent GCW at Korakuen Hall during our inaugural show in Japan” GCW said.
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