Former WWE Superstar and Actor Dead at 79: Friend Reveals Jack Armstrong’s Passing

Another performer from professional wrestling’s past has sadly passed away.

Jack Armstrong, a pro wrestler with multiple stints in WWE, died on Saturday. One of Armstrong’s longtime friends, bodybuilding legend Laura Creavalle, broke the news via Facebook.

In a Tuesday message, Creavalle noted that Armstrong’s health was “failing,” following kidney issues and a leg amputation. Sadly, the “Wildman” passed away over the weekend, with Creavalle remembering him as “a great wrestler and an even better friend.”

Armstrong, whose real name is Leonard Ornstein, was best known under his “Wildman” persona, appearing in numerous wrestling promotions from the 1960s through the 1990s. Back in the ’60s, he appeared in WWWF, the precursor to WWE. He returned to the company, then called the WWF, in the mid-’80s.

During that latter run, he locked up with Bret Hart, Jesse Ventura, Ricky Steamboat, Adrian Adonis and Tony Atlas, among others. Per Cagematch, Armstrong wound down his in-ring career in the ’90s with some matches in the independent promotion UWF.

One of those bouts saw him team with Cactus Jack, one of the alter egos of now-icon Mick Foley. The duo faced off against David Sammartino and Jay Strongbow Jr. in a winning effort. His last listed match was a UWF Junior Heavyweight Title win over Mando Guerrero of the famed Guerrero wrestling family on Sept. 23, 1994.

During his career, “Wildman” brought his talents to the silver screen and television. Often portraying a wrestler, He appeared in the movies Alligator II: The Mutation, Micki & Maude, Grunt! The Wrestling Movie, Body Slam and the 1974 movie The Wrestler (no relation to the Mickey Rourke flick). He also popped up on Matlock, Tales From the Darkside and G4TV‘s Human Wrecking Balls.