The body of former WWE star Shad Gaspard was found washed up on Venice Beach on Wednesday morning after he was caught in a riptide on Sunday, according to Global News. Authorities confirmed the body found on the beach matches the description of Gaspard and that he is confirmed dead. He was 39 years old.
Gaspard and his 10-year old son were swimming at Venice Beach when they got caught in a riptide with a group of swimmers. Lifeguards went out to rescue the swimmers, but when they went for Gaspard, he reportedly told him to save his son first. Gaspard’s son, Aryeh, and the other swimmers made it out of the water safely, but officials continued to look for the former pro wrestler. “When last seen by the lifeguard, a wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea,” the Los Angeles Police department said in a statement.
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Most WWE fans knew Gaspard from the tag team Cryme Tyme with former WWE star JTG. Gaspard started his pro wrestling career in 2002, joining Ohio Valley Wrestling. Gaspard worked at OVW for four years before getting called up to WWE in 2006 with JTG. Cryme Tyme was able to make a big impact in their debut, defeating the Spirit Squad, who were the World Tag Team Champions at the time. However, Gaspard and JTG were released from their contract in 2007, which led to Gaspard competing in the independent circuit.
In 2008, Gaspard and JTG returned and started working with John Cena. Later in the year, Cryme Tyme took on Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase for the tag team titles at Unforgiven. Cryme Tyme lost the match but was given another opportunity to win the titles at SummerSlam in 2009. They fell short again, losing to Chris Jericho and the Big Show. In 2010, Cryme Tyme broke up when Gaspard attacked JTG. WWE had plans to push Gaspard as one of the top heels in the company. However, Gaspard was released from his contract in November 2010 and returned to the independent circuit. After Gaspard’s wrestling came to an end, he started getting into acting. Most recently, Gaspard was in the film Birds of Prey performing stunts. He was also featured in TV shows such as The Game and Key & Peele.
