RIP Mike Awesome

[JiggidyJames]

Got it off Wrestlingobserver.com

Mike Alfonso, better known to wrestling fans as Mike Awesome was found dead at the age of 42 in Tampa.

Friends were going to pick him up at his home, he didn't answer the door and was found hanging. This is being ruled a suicide until the results of the autopsy.

Awesome found great success as "The Gladiator" in FMW in Japan. He was a high-flying big man and was later made ECW champion on two occasions in 1999 and 2000, where he and Masato Tanaka continued their feud from FMW. While he was champion he signed a WCW contract, and Tazz was loaned back to ECW from WWE to take the title back.

Awesome worked for a short time with the WWF after the collapse of WCW during the Invasion angle and after that in All Japan. He had not wrestled in some time. Awesome was recently working as a realtor at Coldwell Banker.

Kind of ironic with an agile big man winning a world title this weekend. Say what you will about selling out and betraying ECW, but the man was a hell of a wrestler and was ECW's champ when they were drawing their biggest houses. RIP, Mike Awesome.

[SPTO]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Wow pretty sad news

Wait wasn't he "that '70s guy" in WCW? I always thought that was a crappy gimmick but looking back at it he made it work far longer then others could've.

Anyways RIP

[cbgatorade0202]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Dang man RIP, I always enjoyed a lot of his matches.

[hvegasooner]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Oh my gosh this is just awfull news I realoly liked him he was a good wester in ECW and WWF and he and lance strom made a good tag team

[TimmeH]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

I heard rumors about this last night, didn't believe it until wwe.com posted it a little while ago. He was damn good for a big man. I'll remember him for stealing the show with Masato Tanaka at the first One Night Stand. RIP Mike

[CaptainZombie]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Got it off Wrestlingobserver.com



Kind of ironic with an agile big man winning a world title this weekend. Say what you will about selling out and betraying ECW, but the man was a hell of a wrestler and was ECW's champ when they were drawing their biggest houses. RIP, Mike Awesome.

WOW! RIP Mike Awesome.

He had a few stupid gimmicks, but I will always remember him for almost killing Masato Tanaka not once but twice. I despised him for going to WCW with the ECW World Title at the time. He reminded me so much of Kane, being a big man that could wrestle like he was a smaller guy.

[Lintyfresh85]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

wow... I'm shocked... Awesome was fun to watch... and once again, another wrestler dies/kills himself well before his time. RIP.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

RIP.

[Spear]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Damn, one of my favourites back in the day. Way too young, RIP.

[Holic]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Wow, another wrestler dead at the age of 42, way too young. RIP Mike Awesome..

[Fiddy]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

dang.. rip!!

[CWood2]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

I remember the 3 way that saw him eliminate the undefeatable Tazz and become the new ECW champ like it was yesterday... and with fond recollection. The over-the-top powerbombs through a table with Tanaka probably prompted the biggest "OOOhhh my Gooooood" of my lifetime, and not out of the mouth of Joey Styles either!

RIP... very sad news.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

Wow, another wrestler dead at the age of 42, way too young. RIP Mike Awesome..

What gets me is that I could understand if he passed away from health related issues, but suicide is so mind boggling.

[Mashiasu]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

WOW Holy crap,

"Awesome" Mike Awesome was just a joy to watch in ECW and in Japan, I will always enjoy his feud with Masato Tanaka.

RIP Big Fella

[BGarrett7]

Re: RIP Mike Awesome

To keep from having to be repetitive, here's the post I made on BN a little while ago...

God, this sucks.

Awesome had zero charisma, was a total a-hole, stabbed Paul in the back... But the matches he had with Masato Tanaka and Spike Dudley in the dying years of ECW was some of the best during that era. The guy was a total emabrassment in WCW -- thanks mainly to his inability to work the mic at all -- but still provided one of my most memorable moments when he threw Kanyon off the three-tiered cage in the infamous Arquette/Jarrett/DDP match.

How many wrestlers have to die before this becomes the big deal that it should already be? Yeah, VKM has done his part with his *cough* "Wellness Plan" but that's only a start. He's only protecting his own commodities, and given the treatment dealt out to Sabu and Van Dam when they were busted with drugs last year, even then he's not being strict about it.

Something simply has to be done here.

EDIT: Didn't see Chief's reply [concering it being a suicide] until after I posted this. If that is the case, then my sincerest condolences go out to his family. Suicide is some deep ****, and I really feel for whatever Mike was going through to have to take his own life.