WCW Alumnus Charlie Norris Passes Away

Charlie Norris, who had a stint in WCW in the 1990s, has passed away. The Cauliflower Alley Club announced on Monday that Norris passed at the age of 57. No details were given regarding his passing.

Norris grew up in Red Lake, Minnesota within the Red Lake Reservation. He began his pro wrestling career in 1989 and trained with Ed Sharkey, who used him as a top babyface in his Pro Wrestling America promotion. Norris had five reigns as the PWA Heavyweight Champions and two reigns as the PWA Tag Team Champions, one with Sam Houston and one with Derrek Dukes. Norris was with PWA until early 1993 and had an appearance at the NWA/W*ING crossover event NWA Grandslam before signing with WCW.

Norris’ time in WCW lasted less than a year, during which he had a mid-tier babyface push. He exited the company in January of 1994 and sued the over breach of contract and racial discrimination. Norris alleged that Gagne would refer to him as “Big Chief” and asked him to perform racially-demeaning stereotypical actions such as doing an Indian dance and making chops in the air. He claimed that WCW refused to honor a deal that he signed under Ole Anderson after Eric Bischoff took over. The suit was settled out of court.

Following his time in WCW, he returned to PWA for a two-year run. He also had a brief run in the AWF and worked several independent shows. His final match was in 2001.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Norris.

We are once again hit was sad news with the passing of Charlie Norris at the age of 57. As always we send out our condolences to his family and friends during this most difficult time. Rest on peace Sir.. pic.twitter.com/f4gqIfi5op

— Cauliflower Alley Club (@CACReunion) February 6, 2023