FORMER WWE star Matt Cappotelli died on Friday after a battle with cancer, his wife announced. He was 38. Lindsay Cappotelli made the announcement on Facebook noting her husband died “exactly one year after his brain surgery.” “Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30am and went Home to be with Jesus exactly one year after his brain surgery,” she wrote. Camera Icon Matt Cappotelli was a star of the WWE. Credit: Supplied, Instagram “You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t. The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me. I miss him so much. I know where he is now is so much better, but it doesn’t change how much I miss him,” she continued. Lindsay Cappotelli wrote in a blog entry that her husband underwent the surgery to remove the tumour but doctors found he had Glioblastoma. Camera Icon His wife Lindsay Cappotelli wrestler shared the news. Credit: Supplied, Instagram “Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells.” The WWE also announced the death of the former co-winner of WWE Tough Enough III. “WWE is saddened to learn that Matt Cappotelli, a promising Superstar who was a co-winner of WWE Tough Enough III, passed away Friday at age 38,” the WWE tweeted. The WWE said Cappotelli, a former Western Michigan University football player, rose quickly in the WWE following his win in the reality competition. Camera Icon The star had beat the diseased in 2006, but it returned in 2017. Credit: Supplied, Instagram Cappotelli went on to train in the Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s then-developmental system, but it was cut short after he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2006. He survived the battle but the cancer returned in 2017. “Life is the most precious gift we’re given,” Cappotelli told the WWE in 2017 of his cancer diagnosis. “If I can inspire others to not give up on the life they’ve been blessed to have, that’s what I’m trying to spread — hope.” This article originally appeared on Fox News and has been republished with permission.<doc-sep>Former WWE Star Matt Cappotelli Dies After Battle with Cancer: He 'Went Home to Be with Jesus' Former WWE star Matt Cappotelli has died after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 38. Cappotelli was diagnosed with a brain tumor on June 27, 2017, according to a blog post written by his wife Lindsey Cappotelli. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Lindsey shared the news of her husband’s death on Friday in a Facebook group dedicated to him. “Hey Team Capp…I’ve been struggling with what to say and how to say this, and I’ll probably end up rambling, but here goes,” she wrote. Matt-Cappotelli2 Credit: WWE “Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus…exactly one year after his brain surgery,” she continued. “You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t. The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me.” “I miss him so much,” she added. “I know where he is now is so much better, but it doesn’t change how much I miss him.” Matt, who also starred on the third season of WWE’s Tough Enough reality show, previously had a brain tumor about 11 years ago and was regularly screened every year, Lindsey wrote in her blog. The former wrestler had undergone an MRI in February 2017, but in June of that year he began to suffer from headaches and “seizure activity,” she wrote. Matt-Cappotelli Matt Cappotelli | Credit: WWE When the two went into the doctor’s office together, they were heartbroken by Matt’s diagnosis. “Dr. Yao, the brain surgeon, came to our room to discuss things more with us and give us our options,” Lindsey wrote. “He explained that the tumor was of significant size and that he was shocked at how fast it had grown in the 4 months since Matt’s February MRI.” The couple was told that without surgery it would not be clear what type of tumor Matt had, although Glioblastoma was a possibility. “That was the first time I had ever heard that word. In his words, that was the “worst case” scenario,” Lindsey wrote. “If it was GBM, and Matt chose not to have surgery or chemotherapy, he would only have about a month to live. Then he said that even with surgery and treatment, it’s usually about 6 months.” Matt underwent the surgery on June 29, 2017, and while his surgeon was able to remove 90 percent of the tumor, results confirmed he had grade 4 Glioblastoma. “That was an extremely emotional day for us. As is to be expected when you hear something like this, we had our moment of crying with each other,” Lindsey wrote. “I remember standing in the kitchen, in his arms, me crying and him crying, and me saying that I couldn’t lose him, I couldn’t live without him.” He began oral chemotherapy, but his symptoms grew worse. After getting the flu in December, he was hospitalized and “really never walked again.” “Throughout all of this, Matt and I really never discussed death,” Lindsey wrote. “A part of me wishes that we had, but I just never wanted to make him think that I didn’t think he would make it. Because I still had hope, and I didn’t want him to give up hope.” “I just love this man so freaking much. He’s my “person”. He’s the one I wanted to be with forever,” she continued. “He’s the one I wanted to grow old with. I wanted him to be my whole life, not just a part of my life.” “So many times I’ve wished that it were me going through this. I would trade places with him in an instant,” she added. “I always told him that I wanted to die before him because I just didn’t think I could survive without him, but I knew that he’d be okay without me. If you would’ve asked what my worst nightmare was, it would be losing him. So many times I’ve asked myself, how can this be happening? I can’t believe this is really happening. But it is. And this is part of life. People get cancer and people die. We can’t do anything about that, but we can control how we respond to these circumstances and how we allow God to work in us and through us. I can already see the growth and change in me.”<doc-sep>
Former WWE star Matt Cappotelli died on Friday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 38. His wife Lindsey announced the news on a Facebook group dedicated to the former wrestler. "Hey Team Capp […] I've been struggling with what to say and how to say this, and I'll probably end up rambling, but here goes," she wrote. "Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus […] exactly one year after his brain surgery. You think you can be prepared for this when you know it's coming, but you just can't. The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can't give it to me." A former football player for Western Michigan University, the New York state native got his first major break in wrestling when he secured a WWE contract after winning Tough Enough III. Several appearances at WWE shows followed, including Monday Night Raw, Sunday Night Heat and WWE Velocity. On June 27 last year, a blog post written by Lindsey had first revealed her husband had been diagnosed with cancer. Cappotelli had suffered from brain tumor more than a decade ago and was regularly screened. He underwent an MRI screening in February last year but only four months later he began suffering from serious headaches, which the doctor confirmed were the sign the cancer had returned. While it was not clear what kind of tumor Cappotelli had, it was suggested Glioblastoma was a possibility, which was described as the "worst case scenario" by the doctors. "If it was Glioblastoma and Matt chose not to have surgery or chemotherapy, he would only have about a month to live," Cappotelli's wife added. Lindsey, who had married Matt in 2006, explained that even with surgery treatment Cappotelli would have around six months to live. He underwent surgery on June 29 last year to remove 90 percent of the tumor, but the procedure confirmed that he had grade 4 Glioblastoma. Last month, following consultations with his neuro-oncologist, Cappottelli decide to discontinue medical interventions for the tumor. "Throughout all of this, Matt and I really never discussed death," his wife added. "A part of me wishes that we had, but I just never wanted to make him think that I didn't think he would make it. Because I still had hope, and I didn't want him to give up hope."