The legendary Larry 'The Axe' Hennig, father of Curt Hennig and grandfather to Curtis Axel, has passed away aged 82.

This year has sadly been filled with the passing of many greats from professional wrestling's past. Earlier this year we lost Vader after his long battle with heart problems. Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart passed away unexpectedly over the summer. Plus, before that, three wrestlers died in the space of one weekend. Brickhouse Brown, Nikolai Volkoff, and Brian Christopher, better known as Grandmaster Sexay.

2018 is not yet over, and the bad news continues to pile on. Earlier this week, we lost another wrestling great in The Dynamite Kid. The British performer inspired countless wrestlers, mainly those of a smaller stature who didn't believe they could make it in the business until they saw Kid before. Sadly, just 24 hours later, we have even more bad news.

RELATED: BRET HART POSTS TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO THE DYNAMItE KID

The legendary Larry 'The Axe' Hennig has passed away at the age of 82. While the cause and time of his death have not yet been revealed, the news broke on social media on Thursday afternoon. Tributes have already been pouring in for The Axe who by all accounts was one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet in the wrestling industry.

As well as the numerous accomplishments achieved by Hennig in the AWA and NWA, he also began a wrestling legacy. The Axe is the father of former Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, who he held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles alongside. Plus, the grandfather of current WWE Superstar and one half of The B Team, Curtis Axel. Axel's tribute via social media has unsurprisingly been the most touching we have seen to The Axe so far.

Axel wrote on Twitter "no one has had a bigger impact on my wrestling career than my Papa Axe. Axel also describes Hennig as a second father after his own, The Axe's son Curt, who passed away in 2003. Axel also wrote "he's with my dad now so everything will be ok." Our thoughts are with Axel and the entire Hennig family during this difficult time. The wrestling industry has lost another of its biggest legends.

NEXT: WWE RUMORED TO BE PLANNING A QUEEN OF THE RING TOURNAMENT IN 2019