Metal icon, WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne passes away at 76

Ozzy Osbourne — the heavy metal icon who was honored by WWE as a Hall of Famer in 2021 — has passed away at 76 years old.

The Black Sabbath frontman died on July 22, his family confirmed in a statement to the BBC. Osbourne had just performed his farewell show a couple of weeks ago as he was battling Parkinson’s disease and would not be able to perform live anymore going forward.

“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” his family said. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”

Osbourne’s involvement with WWE dates back to the early days of WrestleMania, when he accompanied The British Bulldogs to the ring for their WWF Tag Team title match against Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania II in 1986. He later performed at a SmackDown episode in 2007 and, along with his wife Sharon, hosted an episode of Raw during WWE’s guest host era.

The Black Sabbath hit “War Pigs” has been used by WWE as the theme song for Survivor Series: WarGames, including Osbourne starring in the opening video for the 2022 event.

When he joined the WWE Hall of Fame as a celebrity inductee in 2021, Osbourne appeared via video and thanked the fans for all of the support they’ve given him.

“It’s all about the fans, really,” he said. “Our fans keep us alive, man. It’s all about them.”

Along with his decades of music superstardom, Osbourne was a reality TV pioneer with the show “The Osbournes” becoming a hit for MTV in the early 2000s.

WWE star Damian Priest — a huge heavy metal fan — posted a tribute to Osbourne today following his death.

“The tunes. The memories. The inspirations,” Priest tweeted. “Thank you. RIP Ozzy.”

Paul “Triple H” Levesque sent his condolences to Osbourne’s family and said the times he got to work with Osbourne were a dream come true.