Kirk died of a heart attack on 23 August 1987 after collapsing in the ring during a tag team match at the Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

[10] Kirk's work rose to its prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to the popularity of televised wrestling in the United Kingdom and he was recognised as a consistent heel.

[9] In 1979 he featured in an Italian film, Io sto con gli ippopotami with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

[19] He told his wife when he left his house the day he was due to wrestle the match: "I don't want to go; I hate this job".

[4][20] During this time and subsequent media interviews later, Big Daddy maintained kayfabe, and spoke of the match in terms of being a legitimate contest.

[20][29] The British Medical Association recommended a maximum age limit for professional wrestlers as Kirk was approaching 52 at the time[30] and criticised Joint Promotions for not having a doctor at ringside.

[31] Later, Canadian wrestler Bret Hart, who wrestled Kirk for Joint Promotions, wrote in his book that few men could take Big Daddy's weight when he performed his other finishing move – the "double elbow" backdrop – and said "all it took was for Max to wave a few extra quid in a wrestler's face and he'd put his life on the line.

"[13] Several sources, including his own obituaries,[22][33] incorrectly claimed that Big Daddy was so distraught by Kirk's death that he retired from professional wrestling.

[5] The death of Kirk is cited as having contributed to the decline of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom as people started to look at it more critically.

[35] Joint Promotions dwindled and eventually went out of business in February 1995[36] although its chief rival at the time All Star Wrestling (for which Kirk also sporadically worked)[37] remains active as of 2025.