Lance McNaught, better known as Lance Cade, died this morning of what is believed to have been heart failure after two family members believed there was something wrong with him over the past week.
He was 29.
McNaught’s wife Tanya noticed over the past week that he didn’t look healthy and seemed to be having trouble breathing and called an ambulance to rush him to the hospital on Tuesday night. He passed out at one point but was revived in the hospital. Lance asked to be released on Wednesday, and after he got home, left and didn’t come back.
On Thursday, his father, Harley McNaught, said Lance showed up at his work and he was not looking good. Harley brought him to his father’s home in San Antonio and was discovered having passed away late last night. He was scheduled to leave today for a two-week tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling.
His wife believed he had not been drinking.
McNaught was a student of Shawn Michaels, who he idolized, and had several runs with WWE since signing with the company in 2000 shortly after finishing his training and working for a promotion run by Michaels in the San Antonio area.
When he first broke in, WWE officials believed with his size and agility that he reminded them of a young Barry Windham. He was up and down between the main roster and developmental and other than a tag team run with Trevor Murdoch, which was successful, never was really featured until 2008.
He was used in his highest profile run as the second of Chris Jericho, a spot geared to groom him for a top position. Just before being released, he even pinned Michaels in a tag team match on television. He was released in October 2008 after an incident on an airplane where he had a seizure, believed to have been due to use of either pain killers or muscle relaxers, and had to be taken off the plane. He was then released.
A storyline idea involving his return was proposed in September and he was signed again. While he was at home waiting to start on the main roster, a WWE official spoke with him in a phone call in January and was concerned about his lack of coherence in the coversation. At that time, he asked WWE officials to send him to rehab and completed a 30-day rehab program in February. After completing the program, the storyline idea ended up being nixed and he was released in April.
Cade had been working of late for All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was scheduled for a tag team championship match on the company’s 8/29 show at Tokyo Sumo Hall, teaming with another former WWE performer, Rene Dupree, against champions Akebono & Taiyo Kea.
While McNaught was initially upset about his 2008 release, saying others had done worse and not lost their jobs, he eventually came to grips with it in a Pro Wrestling Torch interview where he said he only had himself to blame.
McNaught had two daughters and a stepson.
