Former ECW Champion passes away

[KingofOldSchool]

Former ECW champ Mike Awesome passes away

by Dave Meltzer

Dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Mike Alfonso, better known as Mike Awesome, was found dead on Saturday morning in the Tampa area according to those close to the family. He was 41.

More details should be forthcoming today.

Mike Awesome was one of the top foreign stars in FMW in Japan, who as a high-flying big man was made ECW champion on two occasions in 1999 and 2000. As champion, he signed with WCW, creating a situation that many feel ended up killing the title as Tazz from WWF was brought back to ECW to win the title, yet at the same time the title was jobbed in WWF.

He worked for a few months with WWF after the collapse of WCW, as well as with All Japan, but had not wrestled in some time.

[weather vane]

Holy shit! WTF?

RIP Mike Awesome

[ron the dial]

What the fuck?

:'( RIP, man.

[owenbrown]

OH NO! :'(

[Rammsteinmad]

Shit. That sucks. I really liked Awesome! :(

I watched One Night Stand just a few days ago and his match with Tanaka was amazing.

R.I.P. :(

[Rammsteinmad]

And 41?! WTF?!

[KingofOldSchool]

First Bam Bam
Now Mike Awesome

Death comes in 3's, so there is probably going to be another one coming unfortunately.

[Rammsteinmad]

Dunno if this is reliable or anything, but there is a line at the bottom of his page on Wikipedia that says:

"im not sure if it was today feb 18 or yesterday the 17 mike took his own life. rip mike".

Kinda sucks if he committed suicide.

[KingofOldSchool]

Dunno if this is reliable or anything, but there is a line at the bottom of his page on Wikipedia that says:

"im not sure if it was today feb 18 or yesterday the 17 mike took his own life. rip mike".

Kinda sucks if he committed suicide.

This was just released so there is no way some troll from Wikipedia will know what happened. Stop trying to stir stuff up.

[weather vane]

He wasn't trying to stir anything up you dong. He was reporting on something he saw on wiki.

[D Mac]

RIP :(

[KingofOldSchool]

He wasn't trying to stir anything up you dong. He was reporting on something he saw on wiki.

Come on, he saw it on Wikipedia. That's hardly trustworthy.

[Londoner]

Shit, RIP, its always weird when you hear about someone passing away at that age.

[FourFifty]

Goddamn it... Rest in Peace, Awesome.

[Mr. JL]

R.I.P. Mike Awesome

[weather vane]

Come on, he saw it on Wikipedia. That's hardly trustworthy.

That's probably why he said "I don't know if this is reliable or not..." at the beginning of his post.

[McLegend]

Fuck

[owenbrown]

It has now been confirmed on WWE.com :'(

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/mikeawesomepasses

[Rammsteinmad]

This was just released so there is no way some troll from Wikipedia will know what happened. Stop trying to stir stuff up.

Yeah dude, like Spilchuk said, I'm not stiring shit up. Read my post properly.

[Innovator]

Shit, the deaths are getting younger and younger. Bam Bam was 45, Awesome was 42. RIP

[SammyG]

:( :( :(
RIP

[KingofOldSchool]

That's probably why he said "I don't know if this is reliable or not..." at the beginning of his post.

Then why even post it?

Huh?

If he didn't think it was reliable, then why post it? I mean it's not like it's some meaningless rumor of "Cena's going to turn heel tonight!" This involves a man's life, it's one of those things you don't discuss unless you get it from someplace reliable.

[ClockShot]

Goddamn. What the hell is going around nowadays.

Awesome had the potential to be huge.

R.I.P. Mike :'(

[Xero]

Man. I didn't see much of his work but what I did see was, well, Awesome. I need to go find some of his stuff.

RIP :'(

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Fucking hell

RIP</font> :(

[Gertner]

wow, unbelievable

[ClockShot]

One of our sorry excuses of a reporter just posted this.

Rammstein was right.

Mike Awesome had been working as a realtor at Coldwell Banker in the Tampa area at the time of his death.

WWE has posted an article about Awesome's passing. WWE is saddened by news of the passing of Mike Alfonso, better known to wrestling fans as Mike Awesome. He was 42. Mike Awesome's first major exposure came overseas, where he became one of the Japan's top stars. Awesome would eventually become a star and champion in America while wrestling for Extreme Championship Wrestling. Following his successful run in ECW, Awesome spent time working in WCW and later WWE before retiring to his native Tampa, Florida. While in ECW, Awesome was a two-time World Champion and Tag Team Champion. His matches with Masato Tanaka, including a show-stealer at One Night Stand in 2005 were among the most memorable in ECW history.

As noted earlier, friends coming to pick him up from his Tampa home discovered his body Saturday night at about 10:30 pm. He was found hanging, and is believed a suicide.

[JT]

You know, I've been sadden and upset at hearing of all these wrestlers passing on, but this is the first one I actually started cursing at. Guy was one of my favorite from ECW and even WCW. Seriously, what the fuck is with all these wrestlers fucking dieing.

I think you can easily name 20 wrestlers who have died in the last few years below the age of 50...that's just wrong.

[Indifferent Clox]

He was found hanging. Shit.

[Mike the Metal Ed]

:( R.I.P. Mike

[Avenger]

Then why even post it?

Huh?

If he didn't think it was reliable, then why post it? I mean it's not like it's some meaningless rumor of "Cena's going to turn heel tonight!" This involves a man's life, it's one of those things you don't discuss unless you get it from someplace reliable.Shut up you childish idiot.


RIP, Mike Awesome

[Lock Jaw]

R.I.P. Mike

[Stickman]

Who had him in their pool?

[Stickman]

Too soon?

[Blitz]

Goddamn. RIP. Another one of the best big men in the business :(

[SammyG]

Fuck, he did commit suicide :(

[M-A-G]

Damn, Mike, were things really that bad? R.I.P.

[Impeccable]

Shit! Why?

Fucking why?

[Corkscrewed]

Sadly enough, my first instinct was to credit this to drugs, as almost all wrestling deaths seem to ultimately stem from these days (as in drugs ended up catching up to the guy, or the guy literally just OD'd).

Now it appears that he hung himself. Which is shocking to me, since I can't think of why he'd do that. Obviously, he had personal issues. RIP Mike Awesome.

[Pardeep 619]

RIP Mike Awesome

[Disturbed316]

Wow, total shocker :(

R.I.P Awesome

[Caged Heat18]

What horrible news, such a shame.

[Blue Demon]

:eek: that's a surprise :(

[Sadistic]

Aw Fuck. Awesome was one of my favourites. This guy really knew how to put on an entertaining match. Fucking amazing at what he did.
He'll be greatly missed.

[addy2hotty]

I was an Awesome mark. Away from the obvious stuff, I will never forget the shock at him winning the Hardcore title at MSG to start the WWF/WCW war. One of the last great Raw moments.

RIP Mike Awesome

PS I wonder whether Styles will show some humility regarding him on ECW, he hated him.

[Destor]

I have no remorse for suicides. Provided that has any truth to it I could care less.

Hoping that's just bs though.

[Skippord]

RIP Man

[6to1]

i wish wwe would have picked him up after that one night stand maby he would still be alive he was a good one.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I also have no sympathy for suicide. Still, RIP Awesome.

[Gerard]

Only ever seen him on one match, that was against tanaka at ons 2005 and it was a match making me go "holy shit" practicaly all the way through, match of the night then imo and one of the best hardcore matches ive seen.

Another wrestler leaving too early :(

[The Ravishing One]

RIP

Total surprise, just can't belive it.

[6to1]

you missed some good stuff when he 1st went to wcw he was great then russo screwed him up and made him some 70's guy and killed his cred.

[Gerard]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QqzhlFe1a04

awesome :cool:

[XL]

Hmm

Was utterly shocked coming in here. That's 2 in the first 2 months of the year...not a great start.

When I heard Bam Bam had gone it made me kinda think "this'll be the start of a load of the guys that I used to watch dying". But having thought that you already have Big Boss Man, Davey Boy, Earthquake, Hawk, etc.

It's truely sad just how many of these guys die so young.

However, when suicide came into the equation I kinda just felt numb to it.

Still...R.I.P. Mike Awesome

[eazey]

R.I.P. Mike Awesome :wavesad:

[Anybody Thrilla]

Honestly, I expected him to kill himself after being tagged 'The Fat Chick Thriller'. Surprised he held out this long.

RIP, I suppose. You never like to see this sort of thing, but suicide is for bitches.

[Fignuts]

This sucks huge.

He was probably the most misused wrestler in the history of wwe and wcw. No arguement.

[The One]

Always sad to hear of a wrestler dying.

[NeanderCarl]

He was probably the most misused wrestler in the history of wwe and wcw. No arguement.

Hmm... people were saying the same thing about Bam Bam last month. He was misused, though. It's a shame. R.I.P.

[DrA]

I thought he was already dead.

Nevertheless, it's always sad to hear about deaths like this. It is a shame.

[Outsider]

Is Big Boss Man dead? I didn't know that :(

And Mike Awesome, the fact that WWE did so little with him is what made me realise just how bad the WCW merger was going to be for some of my favourite wrestlers, of which he was one.

This sucks :( I hope he has found his peace with whatever made him want to do this (if it's true) and my thoughts are with his family and friends.

[Crossrine]

Damnit thats two ecw "brothers" we lost this year. First Bam Bam now this? R.I.P. Mike Awesome...

[Jura]

I didn't see him much but I became an instant fan of the awesome one back in WCW.

RIP Awesome One.

[FourFifty]

Ah.... there goes the best powerbomb in the industry....

[Kane Knight]

Has any source worth a fuck confirmed the apparent suicide?

As much as I loathe suicide, I'm not going to take it on the word of Wikipedia or TPWW's incredibly horrible newsboards.

[Jura]

http://www.ecw2k.itgo.com/2.jpg

[Splaya]

Man, another sad day. I gotta believe tonight's Raw and tommorow's ECW will have a short dedication to him before the respective shows start.

[Splaya]

Has any source worth a fuck confirmed the apparent suicide?

As much as I loathe suicide, I'm not going to take it on the word of Wikipedia or TPWW's incredibly horrible newsboards.

I read it at Wrestleview.com

[Destor]

Man, another sad day. I gotta believe tonight's Raw and tommorow's ECW will have a short dedication to him before the respective shows start.Maybe. Did they for Bam Bam?

[Crossrine]

Ya but for Bam Bam it was like a picture of him before the show saying r.i.p. Then they went on like nothing happend.

[Destor]

And that was for a guy who Main Evented Wrestle Mania? Right? yeah, Awesome probably wont get shit.

[Crossrine]

So true. But (I know I may get flamed for this but fuck it) when Eddie died we had to hear it for ever. To the point where a story was made out of it. The most they'll do to Awesome is just post it on their website.

[Destor]

Well, to be fair it's not like he ever did anything in the WWE...

[Xero]

There's a difference between a wrestler who was still in the company and in a main event spot when he died and a wrestler who didn't get to do shit in the WWE (Awesome) or a wrestler who hadn't been seen in the WWE in at least 13 years (Bigelow).

[Kane Knight]

I read it at Wrestleview.com

I'm still not reading it anywhere worthwhile.

[Blue Demon]

Anywhere I've read still has it listed as an APPARENT suicide...even Wikipedia ;)

[Kane Knight]

Anywhere I've read still has it listed as an APPARENT suicide...even Wikipedia ;)

Has any source worth a fuck confirmed the apparent suicide?

As much as I loathe suicide, I'm not going to take it on the word of Wikipedia or TPWW's incredibly horrible newsboards.

[Corkscrewed]

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=18705

Former ECW champ Mike Awesome passes away
by Dave Meltzer
Dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Mike Alfonso, better known as Mike Awesome, was found dead on Saturday evening in the Tampa area according to those close to the family. He was 42.

Friends were coming to his home in Tampa to pick him up and go out Saturday night at about 10:30 p.m. and he never answered the door and found him hanging in the home. It is believed the death was due to suicide pending results of the autopsy.

Mike Awesome was one of the top foreign stars in FMW in Japan, who as a high-flying big man was made ECW champion on two occasions in 1999 and 2000. As champion, he signed with WCW, creating a situation that many feel ended up killing the title as Tazz from WWF was brought back to ECW to win the title, yet at the same time the title was jobbed in WWF.

He worked for a few months with WWF after the collapse of WCW, as well as with All Japan, but had not wrestled in some time. He was working as a realtor at Coldwell Banker at the time of his death.



*shrug*

[Sting Fan]

Pretty sad really, far to young to die, and you really have to pity him and feel for his family if it was suicide.

[Kane Knight]

Feh. Suicide's not worthy of pity.

[The Fugitive]

Shit.

RIP Mike

[CYCLOPTERSAURUS]

I'm not gonna say he was my favorite wrestler, but I did enjoy his stuff, and he tore the house down several times with Tanaka. He certainly could have been a lot more than he was - a big guy that could move? pretty rare. He will be missed.

[Bad Company]

Another Talant the WWE could of really used these days. I'm a massive mark for him, gutted he's gone.
I don't see why his life was so tough to kill himself though, didn't he get a massive payout from WCW to Jump ship? And before someone says money isnt everything, it is.

[FourFifty]

And before someone says money isnt everything, it is.

A little off topic-
I was talking to a coworker who gets paid half of what I make and I used that exact quote.

[Xerzes]

RIP

[jindrak]

I'm going to watch a Mike Awesome match now as a tribute.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

I'm sad to see him go. Extremely talented and very young. Not going to say I liked him personally or professionally but I recognize the man was talented. Shame about the suicide too, such a dumn selfish thing.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

For the record though, if this whole suicide thing is true. Fuck him for being that selfish and doing such a thing to his family. I genuinely hate to speak ill of the dead but fuck that, if you're selfish enough to put your family through such a thing maybe they're better off.

[Dave Youell]

To anyone that's having a go at (the now deceased) Awesome for commiting suicide, how about you wait until you have some more facts first.

Jesus! He's been dead less than 24 hours and already he's getting shit.

RIP Mike

[Jeritron]

He was found dead on Saturday morning. Its been 3 days.

[Dave Youell]

You know what I mean!

[Sting Fan]

I have pity for suicide because its pretty sad that someone feels that is there only way out, selfish yeah but sad as well.

And for his family its doubly sad that none of them seemed to be enough of a reason for him to live.

Off topic slightly but because you as a person have no sympathy for someone in a certain situation does not mean others can not or that it is wasted.

[LK]

Certainly wasn't his biggest fan but I enjoyed some of his work especially some of those matches with Tanaka. Their match at ONS remains one of my favourites over the last few years.

R.I.P Mike Awesome

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/4663/08wo9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Kane Knight]

Another Talant the WWE could of really used these days. I'm a massive mark for him, gutted he's gone.
I don't see why his life was so tough to kill himself though, didn't he get a massive payout from WCW to Jump ship? And before someone says money isnt everything, it is.

Because people, especially wrestlers never make bad decisions or piss their money away.

Even if your retarded assertion about money was true, there's still a decent chance he blew it.

[Kane Knight]

To anyone that's having a go at (the now deceased) Awesome for commiting suicide, how about you wait until you have some more facts first.

You'll note that most of the people talking about suicide are talking in hypotheticals. As in, fuck you, and if he killed himself, fuck him too.

So really, they're only having a go at him if he killed himself.

[Dave Youell]

You'll note that most of the people talking about suicide are talking in hypotheticals. As in, fuck you, and if he killed himself, fuck him too.

So really, they're only having a go at him if he killed himself.
Granted, I'm coming from an angle of if he did kill himself, who are we to judge him?

I'm not saying I support it, but without knowing about his personal situation I find it hard to critize a man I know very little about

[HeartBreakMan2k]

No, regarldess personal situations, if he did it, fuck him. It's selfish as shit. I hope he didn't, I know how talented he was and it's a genuine shame that he's passed but that doesn't change the fact that if he did kill himself, he was a selfish ass.

[DAMN iNATOR]

First Bam Bam, and now Awesome...wonder who's next? At this pace we're about due for another 10-13 more wrestlers passing...but you never can tell. Anyways, RIP Mike, and thanks for the memories:'(

[Sting Fan]

Man I wish I was as perfect as some of you guys, it must be great to have never done a stupid or selfish thing in your entire life making it oh so easy to judge.

[Mr. JL]

I agree with Youell all the way.

Its 2007 and with all the medical knowledge we have available nowadays I would have thought people would be far more understanding; since a lot of suicides occur because of undiagnosed disorders in the brain. Or accidental mixing of medications can also spring severe depression in a perfectly normal, active person.

There are so many unaccounted factors, so say your condolences or speak of a fond memory you enjoyed from the man and leave it at that.

[MTH15]

Shit R.I.P and I didn't even know Bam Bam Bigalow died.

[YOUR Hero]

Unless you walk a mile in a man's shoes, you shouldn't judge a person for taking their own life. Pretty shitty to have a closed mind about the fact some people can't cope for whatever reason.

RIP to Mike Awesome.

[The Optimist]

WWECW is so terrible that its actually killing ECW's legacy.

[Dave Youell]

No, regarldess personal situations, if he did it, fuck him. It's selfish as shit. I hope he didn't, I know how talented he was and it's a genuine shame that he's passed but that doesn't change the fact that if he did kill himself, he was a selfish ass.
So if a 9 year old school girl kills herself because of constant bullying at school and she feels like she can't cope, is that selfish?

[Optimistic T]

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/oldtrusty/awesome.jpg

RIP MIKE

[El Fangel]

Holy shit! WTF?

RIP Mike Awesome

[hitman23]

RIP Mike. Thanks for the great matches especially the ones with you and Tanaka. Simply classic.

[Corkscrewed]

So if a 9 year old school girl kills herself because of constant bullying at school and she feels like she can't cope, is that selfish?

That's tragic and stupid. Tragic that a girl so young could be pushed to consider death as a solution. Stupid because she considered death as a solution.

And I'd also assume some blame on parenting for not being able to intercept those feelings and do something to help her cope or realize, at the very least, that killing herself wasn't the answer.