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WWE & AEW Pay Tribute After Sweet Daddy Siki’s Death

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 2nd January 2025
Sweet Daddy Siki

The wrestling world has come together to pay tribute to Sweet Daddy Siki who passed away on December 31 2024 at the age of 91.

Sweet Daddy Siki began his wrestling career in the 1950s and for 30 years he was a constant presence in the business, reaching his peak as part of Maple Leaf Wrestling in his adopted home city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Throughout his decades in the business, Siki shared the ring with other legends including Buddy Rogers – the first-ever WWE Champion – Giant Baba, Antonino Rocca, and Bruno Sammartino.

WWE paid tribute to Siki following his passing, noting his influence on other generations of wrestling stars:

WWE is saddened to learn that Elkin James, known to wrestling fans as Sweet Daddy Siki, passed away on December 31, 2024, at age 91.

Siki wrestled worldwide for promotions such as Maple Leaf Wrestling, Grand Prix Wrestling, and Stampede Wrestling through the ’60s and ’70s and became a fixture in the Toronto community. He trained many future wrestlers out of Sully’s Gym in Toronto, Canada, including iconic WWE Superstars Edge and Christian.

WWE extends its condolences to Siki’s family, friends and fans.

AEW Share Tribute To Sweet Daddy Siki

AEW also paid tribute to Sweet Daddy Siki and featured a graphic during Dynamite Fight For The Fallen in addition to their message on social media which read:

AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of Sweet Daddy Siki. After his in ring career came to a close, he became a trainer to many pro wrestling hopefuls including Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans.