Mike Awesome dies

[dubq 0]

And by the way, it was STILL bullshit the way Awesome left ECW. I understand that the guy was owed money, but so was everybody in ECW for the most part. For the world champion to attempt to ditch a promotion and take their belt with him to another promotion is just sleazy. If Awesome was frustrated with his status in ECW, he should have filed a breach of contract and jobbed the title without incident. Then he could be free to sign elsewhere with no ill feelings. The way Awesome left angered a lot of people.

 

Hey, give us a call when you're in THEIR shoes one day, k?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Why should he have done a job if he wasn't being paid either way? The fault lies with Heyman, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Hayabusa posted an online blog about Awesome, and is in hardcore denial.

 

He mentioned how after his accident, Awesome came to visit him and basically encouraged him to fight his condition with all his heart. He doesn't think a man like that could ever kill himself, and is ADAMANT about this being a mistake. That somewhere, things got mixed up and Awesome's not dead.

 

Really sad. The things Hayabusa's had to deal with in his life, and his friends is so very sad.

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

cabbage, I see what you're saying, but the fact is Awesome hadn't been paid for his title matches with Tanaka, some four months before his leaving. Four months not getting paid for doing your job! From accounts I've heard/read, Awesome was going to be World Champion all the way until November to Remember, where he'd lose to RVD, so that's a rather lengthy title. Heyman, not Awesome, put that in jeopardy by not paying him. To me, it's akin to being given a promotion in your own line of work, not getting paid for months on end, then being expected to train the guy who's taking over for you when you leave for a company that is going to pay you, and pay you on time for that matter.

[snuffbox 0]

Money shouldnt matter in ECW! And, besides, he killed himself...LOL.

[luke-o 0]

I still cant believe hes dead, it was only during No Way Out that me and why housemate where wondering where he was.

[geniusMoment 0]

This isn't the right thread for this but some of you are forgetting the big deal with the jump. Awesome was going to go on Nitro and throw down the ECW belt, calling it garbage. If he wanted to leave, fine, but there was no call to try and devalue something that a whole lot of people gave a lot of their lives to creating. The reason why he didn't throw down the belt right away is because Heyman got an injunction to stop the planned actions.

 

I have no problem with Awesome leaving. And I think the honorable thing would've been to just show up for one more show, and drop the belt. Hell, I wouldn't care if he refused to take bumps during the match, just a quick drop of the title. Remember that Awesome was owed money, but he was also paid well for his time in ECW, and that exposure he garned was the only reason WCW wanted him. But with all that said, I wouldn't even care if he would've just handed over the belt, and refused to show up for any more shows. But to plan to throw down the belt was a pretty crappy thing to do, if not somewhat ironic considering how ECW became extreme.

[Hasbeen1 0]

Yeah when Douglas did it that was a one of the most memorable moments of the decade, when Awesome did it he's trash. Can any of you not get that's what he was told to do?

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

This isn't the right thread for this but some of you are forgetting the big deal with the jump. Awesome was going to go on Nitro and throw down the ECW belt, calling it garbage. If he wanted to leave, fine, but there was no call to try and devalue something that a whole lot of people gave a lot of their lives to creating. The reason why he didn't throw down the belt right away is because Heyman got an injunction to stop the planned actions.

 

I have no problem with Awesome leaving. And I think the honorable thing would've been to just show up for one more show, and drop the belt. Hell, I wouldn't care if he refused to take bumps during the match, just a quick drop of the title. Remember that Awesome was owed money, but he was also paid well for his time in ECW, and that exposure he garned was the only reason WCW wanted him. But with all that said, I wouldn't even care if he would've just handed over the belt, and refused to show up for any more shows. But to plan to throw down the belt was a pretty crappy thing to do, if not somewhat ironic considering how ECW became extreme.

 

Once again, imagine if it was your job. Maybe I'm caddy, but if a company I busted my ass for was screwing me over financially despite being one of its top producers, I'd have no qualms publicly bashing it. In fact, I think it'd be warranted.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

This isn't the right thread for this but some of you are forgetting the big deal with the jump. Awesome was going to go on Nitro and throw down the ECW belt, calling it garbage. If he wanted to leave, fine, but there was no call to try and devalue something that a whole lot of people gave a lot of their lives to creating. The reason why he didn't throw down the belt right away is because Heyman got an injunction to stop the planned actions.

 

I have no problem with Awesome leaving. And I think the honorable thing would've been to just show up for one more show, and drop the belt. Hell, I wouldn't care if he refused to take bumps during the match, just a quick drop of the title. Remember that Awesome was owed money, but he was also paid well for his time in ECW, and that exposure he garned was the only reason WCW wanted him. But with all that said, I wouldn't even care if he would've just handed over the belt, and refused to show up for any more shows. But to plan to throw down the belt was a pretty crappy thing to do, if not somewhat ironic considering how ECW became extreme.

 

Once again, imagine if it was your job. Maybe I'm caddy, but if a company I busted my ass for was screwing me over financially despite being one of its top producers, I'd have no qualms publicly bashing it. In fact, I think it'd be warranted.

 

Exactly. It's not exactly a secret that Paul Heyman was bad at paying his guys. We can laugh about it now, but when you're risking your health each night, you should be compensated promptly for it. If not, all bets are off.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The issue isn't whether Awesome should or shouldn't have jumped. It's that he took the title with him. A month or so ago we had a discussion about least professional workers. Within the wrestling industry, one of the least professional things you can do is jump a promotion with their title belt. Like someone said, Awesome probably should have come out for one last match to drop the belt, or even just surrender it on television.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, playing devil's advocate again, one could argue Heyman had it coming from when he had Shane Douglas trash the NWA World Title.

[1234-5678 0]

Has Awesome ever confirmed anywhere that he was going to trash the belt? Could've just been something cooked up by Paul E. to get people to hate the guy, or could've been cooked up by Bisch to get people talking.

[Celtic Jobber 0]

From Mike's Real Estate job website profile:

http://www.floridamoves.com/agentoffice/ag...amp;agent=76301

 

Mike Awesome

 

 

We mourn the unexpected passing of Michael Alfonso on February 17, 2007. We pray for his soul and for his family. Mike truly was Awesome, he will be dearly missed.

The following brief self written bio will remain for a short time.

 

 

Early Years

 

I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. I attended King High School, where I met my future wife, Delisa Bowers. Delisa and I were married in 1991. We have 2 children, Casey (10) and Carissa (6). After high school, I was employed as an iron worker for 1 year to save for college. I assisted in the construction of several high rises in Downtown Tampa.

 

 

Wrestling Career

 

After 3 years in college, I decided to take a different career path. I became a professional wrestler. I wrestled the majority of my 17 years in Japan, as "The Gladiator". I became emerced in the Japanese culture and even speak some of the language. I also wrestled in China, South Korea, Guam, Australia, Germany, England, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United States. I feel blessed to have had such an exciting and successful career in wrestling. I did not employ the services of a business manager during my career. I handled and negotiated all contracts myself.

 

 

Real Estate Career

 

After retirement from wrestling, I took 1 year off to spend time with my family. During that time, I also obtained my real estate license. I chose to work with Coldwell Banker because of their reputation and excellent training program. I am ready to put my life experiences to work for you. I am highly motivated and backed by Coldwell Banker's 100 years of experience

[Failed Bridge 0]

I can't really damn somebody for committing suicide as I've been down the whole depression path before, but the one thing about this I don't agree with is he took that way out rather than looking for help and in the process left two young children without a father. I just hope the kids never saw him hanging.

[Scroby 0]

And by the way, it was STILL bullshit the way Awesome left ECW. I understand that the guy was owed money, but so was everybody in ECW for the most part. For the world champion to attempt to ditch a promotion and take their belt with him to another promotion is just sleazy. If Awesome was frustrated with his status in ECW, he should have filed a breach of contract and jobbed the title without incident. Then he could be free to sign elsewhere with no ill feelings. The way Awesome left angered a lot of people.

 

Hell, consider the way Awesome left to the way Storm left ECW. I don't think Storm was ever owed $$ in ECW (at least according to the Rise and Fall DVD), but when he went to WCW he gave his notice to Heyman and put over his friend Justin Credible on the way out.

Pro Wrestling is a cut throat buissness, those do what they need to do to make a living. I don't like what Awesome did either, but like I understand why he did it, he needed to make a living.

 

I honestly don't know what to say about Awesome's passing. I don't feel sorry for those who kill themselves but then again, I also really respectd Mike Awesome. That man worked his ass off for ECW and then got really mis-used in WCW and WWE until he was let go but he still kept going. Then him and Tantaka had that fucking awesome match at ONS that tore the house down and Awesome still wasn't signed. I just don't understand how Awesome was just so mis-used after his run in ECW. Even though he's gone, I got quite a few of his ECW and FMW matches on tape and dvd, so I can still watch those matches but it sucks to know he's gone.

 

R.I.P Mike Awesome and thank you.

[geniusMoment 0]

Jim Ross just wrote in his blog that Awesome was having bad marital problems. It looks like this death was not like the other wrestling deaths, but happened because of a more personal nature.

[Scroby 0]

Last night, at the Indy show I did, we did a 10 bell salute to Mike Awesome. The fans bowed their heads while the wrestlers surronded the outside of the ring. I was the one that rang the bell 10 times. It was one of the most weirdest things I've ever done. I never thought I would ever ring the bell 10 times for a pro wrestlers death and if you would have told me that my first one would have been for Mike Awesome, I would have called you a liar. I can't believe I did it for him.

[goldengreek 0]

Just saw this. HOLY SHIT !!! No pun intended - One of my favorite wrestlers ever. Great high flying big man. I always never understood how he wasnt a bigger start. RIP !!