YORK, Pa. — Former professional wrestler Mike Jones, better known by his stage name Virgil during his time in World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling, has died, sources said Wednesday.
Jones, who had been dealing with numerous health issues in recent years including a diagnosis of dementia in 2022, was 61.
His death was announced on Facebook by Pittsburgh-based pro wrestling referee Mark Charles III.
"My dear friends, it is with great sorrow that I bring news from the Jones family of the passing of our beloved Michael Jones, whom we know and loved as Virgil, Vincent, Soul Train Jones and more," Charles wrote. "Virgil passed peacefully at the hospital this morning and I ask that you pray for him and for his family. May his memory be eternal!"
Jones made his professional wrestling debut in the Memphis-based promotion CWA in the late 1980s, but his fame peaked when he moved to the WWE and assumed the persona of Virgil, the silent, menacing bodyguard of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.
According to Pro Wrestling News, the "Virgil" moniker was meant to be a jab at WCW wrestler Dusty Rhodes, whose real name was Virgil Runnels. When Jones moved to WCW and joined the "NWO" faction in the 1990s, his name was changed to "Vincent" as a tweak on then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon Jr.
Jones worked as late as 2010, when he was brought back to WWE and reprised his bodyguard role for Ted DiBiase Jr., Pro Wrestling News said.
Jones is the second prominent former pro wrestler to pass away this week.
On Monday, it was announced that Alan Robert Rogowski, better known by his wrestling persona Ole Anderson, died at age 81.
Anderson was a founding member of the original "Four Horseman" faction, which also included his fictional brother Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
