The man who made us hold our collective breath with his high-flying leaps off the top turnbuckle has come crashing down. Former pro-wrestling superstar Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was charged today with the murder of his girlfriend. The death of 23-year-old Nancy Argentino occurred more than three decades ago in May of 1983. She was pronounced dead after authorities were called to a hotel room near Allentown, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors announced the results of a grand jury investigation, which found Snuka guilty of third-degree murder and involuntary man slaughter. He was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Snuka, who is now age 72, commented on Argentino’s death in his 2012 autobiography. In the book, Snuka claims that he is innocent and that the death of Argentino “ruined his life”. He denied any violence or threats towards her during their relationship.
The charges place yet another recent black mark on Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment empire. Several weeks ago, audio of Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea using the “N-word” in a racist rant surfaced online, causing the company to cut all ties with arguably its largest star. The recent deaths of wrestling stars “Dusty Rhodes” and “Rowdy Roddy Piper” also made headlines. Their passing added, unfortunately, to a long list of former WWE stars who died at a young age, presumably from the harsh effects that years of wrestling had on their bodies.
