He was part of the popular era of WWE in the 80s. Recently, however, things had become quiet around Virgil – the former wrestler had to accept a few punches.
The wrestling world is mourning the loss of a great star from the 80s: Michael Jones, better known to fans as “Virgil,” died on Wednesday at the age of 61.
“It is with great sadness that I bring the news to the Jones family that our beloved Michael Jones, who we knew and loved as ‘Virgil’, ‘Vincent’, ‘Soul Train Jones’ and more, passed away peacefully in the hospital this morning.” wrote wrestling referee Mark Charles III. in an emotional post on Facebook. “I ask for prayers for him and his family. We will remember him forever.”
Greatest time as “Virgil” in the WWF
In fact, Jones has worked in the ring under these and other names for various promoters since his wrestling debut in 1985. Jones had his best time starting in 1987 as “Virgil” at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, then still “World Wrestling Federation”) at the end of the 80s, when he first acted as a henchman of the evil “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase But then four years later he turned against his seemingly all-powerful “boss” and became a crowd favorite. From 1996 to 2000 he worked for the then WWE competition World Championship Wrestling (WCW), after which he ended his active career.
For several years, Jones had also built up a personality as an exaggerated, flashy ex-star at X before things quieted down around him – for health reasons.
Jones recently had serious problems: In 2022, the former star suffered two strokes and was also diagnosed with dementia and colon cancer. Now Jones has died.