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EastEnders’ Jake Wood watched in horror in the front row as ex-WCW wrestler Silver King died in the ring
EASTENDERS actor Jake Wood watched in horror as former WCW wrestler Silver King died in front of him in the ring on Saturday night.
Wood, 46, was seated in the front row with his family when the wrestler suffered a heart attack at the Roundhouse in North London overnight.
Jake was among the packed audience at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London when the tragedy came to light.
In an emotional Instagram post, he said his “thoughts and prayers” were with Silver’s family and friends.
He wrote: “Shockingly my family and I were front row at @roundhouseldn last night when legend of the wrestling world Silver King aka César Barrón lost his life in the ring.
“Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends, so sad.”
The wrestler, real name Cesar Barron, had been battling Juventud Guerrera, or Youth Warrior, last night when the tragedy unfolded.
In the final minutes of the fight, Silver King can be seen clotheslined twice but manages to get up – slamming his opponent to the canvas.
He then holds Guerrera to the ground, with the wrestler managing to get up as the ref starts a countdown.
But as the crowd cheers, Silver King can be seen still on the ground as his opponent circles back to him.
Guerrera then grabs Silver King and kicks him.
The ref then starts a countdown – declaring Youth Warrior the champion as he celebrates in front of the crowd.
It isn’t until a few minutes later that it becomes apparent that Silver King isn’t moving – with paramedics rushing into the ring as the audience is ushered out of the room.
The Sun Online has chosen not to show medics performing CPR on the wrestler as they battled to save his life.
They were wrestling and then something just seemed to go wrong
Witness
A witness told The Sun: “They were wrestling and then something just seemed to go wrong.
“As they were wrestling it stopped and they seemed like they weren’t in sync at all, and the other wrestler started performing CPR.
“Other wrestlers jumped into the ring to help, and they got a defibrillator out.
“It was scary, they evacuated everyone but there didn’t seem to be an ambulance arrive for at least 20 minutes.”
Another witness said a lot of children were at the event last night, adding: “It took a people a couple of minutes to realise it was no longer a performance, that it was quite a serious thing.”
World Wrestling Entertainment last night posted a tribute to the entertainer, saying: “WWE is saddened to learn that Lucha Libre legend and former WCW star Silver King has passed away at age 51.”
The Silver King had grown up with Mexican wrestling, with his dad a popular fighter known as Dr Wagner. His brother is also a wrestler, known as Dr Wagner Jr.
The wrestler paid tribute to his brother online, changing his Twitter profile to an image of a black ribbon.
Barron had found success in the ring himself, performing in World Championship Wrestling between 1997 and 2000.
He also starred as the villain opposite Jack Black in the 2006 hit Nacho Libre.
Last night’s event, Lucha Libre, features masked fighters face each other in the ring.
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The second-generation fighter had starred in Nacho Libre, a comedy about Mexican wrestling as Jack Black’s arch enemy Ramses.
The Hollywood comedian paid tribute to his former co-star, writing on Instagram: “César González … go with God, brother”.
Others in the wrestling world also flooded social media with tributes.
Pro-wrestler Ligero wrote: “Absolutely awful news emerging about the confirmation of Silver King passing away this evening. Such a horrible situation, my heart goes out to all involved as well as to his loved ones. Tragic.”
WWE Hall of Famer Sean Waltman added: “It was an honor to have been friends & shared the ring with the great Silver King. He & Tejano were an amazing team. He truly was one of the greats & I’m heartbroken to learn of his passing”
Kassius Ohno tweeted: “Terrible news. Please keep Silver King’s friends & families in your thoughts. RIP.”
RoundHouse London told The Sun Online: “Last night Silver King sadly lost his life during an event at the Roundhouse.
“At this stage the details are still being investigated so we don’t have more information we can share. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and all of the Lucha Libre team.”
A London Ambulance spokesperson confirmed they were called to the scene about 10.20 last night.
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They said: “We sent a number of resources to the scene including two ambulances, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer, with the first of our medics arriving in five minutes.
“Sadly a person died at the scene.”
Met Police said the death was being treated as “non-suspicious”.