Daniel Quirk

Who was Daniel Quirk?

Daniel Michael Quirk was an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Spider, who competed in several Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions including Assault Championship Wrestling, Chikara, the Millennium Wrestling Federation, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Wrestling Alliance and World Xtreme Wrestling.

One of the youngest-ever NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Champions, he faced some of the top light heavyweights in the Northeast including longtime friend and trainer John Brooks, Jason Rumble, Eddie Edwards, Mikey Whipwreck, and Gran Akuma. In 2004, he and Akuma met in the opening rounds of Chikara's Young Lions Cup tournament.

Quirk's ring death in 2005 was the first major death to occur on the independent circuit as the result of an in-ring accident and concern was voiced by many in the professional wrestling industry including Al Snow, Percy Pringle and Dan Mirade over negligence and regulation of independent wrestling in the United States.