Ladies and Gentlemen,
Once again the wrestling world has been hit with unspeakable tragedy. In
the wake of Bam Bam Bigelow’s premature death, we have the suspected suicide
of Mike Awesome. Below is a link to the Associated Content’s article on
Mike Awesome’s passing…
“Word came out today (and confirmed by two independent sites) that former
> ECW World Champion Mike Awesome was found dead in his Tampa home on Saturday
> night. The cause of death is believed to be suicide although an autopsy is
> scheduled to be done soon. Awesome was 42-years old and working outside of
> the wrestling business recently.”
>
http://www.thebalrogslair.com/coverage/173934582.shtml
For me, as well as many of the old ECW fans, Mike Awesome will be remembered
for his brutal matches with Masato Tanaka. I’ll never forget watching these
two go at it and thinking to myself, “My God, they’re trying to kill each
other!” Mike Awesome will also be remembered as the man, along with Tazz,
who took place in the first truly inter-promotional match. This match,
which saw WCW’s Mike Awesome return to the ECW Arena to drop the ECW
Championship against WWE’s Tazz will go down as one of those rare “mark out”
moments in contemporary professional wrestling history. Again, see the link
below to a SLAM! Sports retrospective on Mike Awesome’s career…
“Best known to fans for his time in ECW, where he feuded in a wild series of
> matches with Masata Tanaka over the ECW World title as the company debuted
> on TNN, Awesome jumped ship to WCW while still champion in April 2000.
> Heyman threatened legal action for the departure, and an agreement was made
> that Awesome would return to drop the title to a wrestler of ECW’s
> choosing.”
>
http://www.thebalrogslair.com/coverage/173934498.shtml
For the staff and employees of both
http://www.TBLWrestling.com
http://www.XHeadlines.com
condolences to Mike’s family and friends. Our prayers are with you as are
our hearts. And, once again in too short a time, our minds are with all of
those in the wrestling world who have passed prematurely.
Be well,
Joe
