Mike Awesome

At 42 years old, Mike Awesome has this physical status:

Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American professional wrestler.

Mike Awesome, a nationally recognized wrestler, competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment as The Gladiator, where he spent two seasons as the champion and two as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

His second Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship reign from 1996-1997 was the longest in the competition's history, spanning 489 days.

During his tenure, he defeated W*ING Kanemura to unify the title with the Independent Heavyweight Championship at the 1996 Year End Spectacular.

He will then tour with ECW, where he became a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.

In both FMW and WCW, he was a member of two separate stables Team Canada.

Personal life

Alfonso attended King High School in Tampa, Florida, and he learned at Stan's Gym, an old school muscle gym, on 56th Street. Delisa Diann Bowers, a former high school classmate, married in Hillsborough, Florida, on May 11, 1991. They had two children together; father Casey (born 1996) and daughter Carissa (born 2000). Alfonso, a keen outdoorsman, loved fishing and trail biking with his friends and his son. He loved mountain biking and rode often at Alafia River State Park in Florida, near his Tampa home.

Alfonso was the uncle of Hulk Hogan's nephew Michael Bollea, who was better known for his time in WCW under the name Horace Hogan. Bill Alfonso, a fellow ECW sluggish, has no kinship.

Awesome retired from competitive wrestling, he spent time as a New Tampa, Florida real estate agent.

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Professional wrestling career

Steve Keirn taught Alfonso to wrestle on February 26, 1989 at the Eddie Graham Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Dennis Knight, Phineas Godwin, and "Big" Al Green were three of Alfonso's former professional wrestlers before making his debut. Alfonso competed in Florida Championship Wrestling, USWA, NWA, and World Championship Wrestling before heading to FMW in Japan.

Alfonso continued to Japan, joining Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in September 1990 and naming The Gladiator. He was originally supposed to compete as a Gladiator but was later moved to WCW as the replacement for Al Green. Alfonso debuted in FMW as a tumultuous villain against Atsushi Onita and Jimmy Backlund, which Alfonso's team won. Gladiator was Pogo's ally who feuded with Onita and competed with Pogo against Onita and his allies. After Alfonso returned to the United States, he lost in a Chain Deathmatch to Onita. Onita was impressed by Gladiator and invited him back for further tours with FMW. Mr. Pogo's partner in a tag team tournament on January 6, 1991, when the pair lost their first match against Onita and Sambo Asako. Pogo and Gladiator advanced to the semi-finals, where they defeated Grigory Verichev and Boris Gogichashivili, then defeated Onita and Asako in the final on January 15 to win the tournament. Following the tournament's success, Alfonso moved to FMW full-time.

Following Mr. Pogo's departure from FMW and resurrecting the feud with Atsushi Onita in the summer of 1991, Gladiator would form a tumultuous alliance with Tarzan Goto, Big Titan, and Horace Boulder. Gladiator qualified in the Barbed Wire Deathmatch Tournament on August 17, defeating Horace Boulder in the quarter-finals and losing to Sambo Asako in the semi-finals. During this period, Gladiator was inspired by Damian's lucha libre films on travels, which led him to adopting a high-flying style despite his tall height. Gladiator and Big Titan defeated Sambo Asako and Ricky Fuji in a street fight stretcher match at the 2nd Anniversary Exhibition in the following month. The two partners were able to establish a tag team that lasted nearly three years as a result of this collaboration. Gladiator and Titan competed in the World's Best Tag Team Tournament to choose the inaugural WWA World Martial Arts Tag Team Champions, but they were disqualified from the tournament by six points in the fall of the year. Gladiator and his allies will return to Onita and his allies from 1992 to The Sheik and Sabu to resume the conflict with Onita and his allies. Big Titan, The Gladiator and Horace Boulder defeated Sambo Asako, Ricky Fuji, and The Great Punk in a street fight stretcher match at the 3rd Anniversary Exhibition. Earlier this year, Gladiator and Boulder participated in the Street Fight Tag Team Tournament, where they qualified for the semi-final against Tarzan Goto and Big Titan, which they lost.

After The Sheik and Sabu fan favorites formed an alliance with Atsushi Onita in 1993, Gladiator formed Team Canada, which included Ricky Fuji, Big Titan, Horace Boulder, Dr. Luther, and Dr. Hannibal. Gladiator, Ricky Fuji, and Big Titan defeated Katsuji Ueda, The Great Punk and Tarzan Goto in a Captain's Falling Captain's Fall at 4th Anniversary Show The team of Britain's Falling Captain No Rope Barbed Wire Tornado Street Fight Deathmatch, which Team Canada won, was a success at the 4th Anniversary Exhibition. Since Mr. Pogo returned to FMW in the summer of 1993 and assumed leadership of the group, the group regained control. At the Summer Spectacular, Sambo Asako and Mr. Gannosuke defeated Titan and Titan. Gladiator, Titan, and Fuji's team gained more success by defeating Asako, Katsuji Ueda, and Grigory Verichev in a street fight at Year End Spectacular.

Gladiator and Titan competed in a double-elimination tournament for the newly established Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship in the quarter-finals, defeating Hideki Hosaka and Oya in the quarter-finals, before winning the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship on January 18, 1994, marking Alfonso's first appearance in FMW. In a street fight on March 29, they successfully defended the title against Atsushi Onita and Sambo Asako, but they then lost the title to Mr. Pogo and Hisakatsu Oya in their second title defense on April 21. Titan and Gladiator dissatisfied with their victory. Gladiator, Titan, and Fuji clashed with Fuyuki-Gun in a match in which Gladiator and Titan had a miscommunication, but they ultimately won the match, but Gladiator and Titan then quietly ended Team Canada. As a result, Gladiator began feuding with Titan and defeated him in their first singles match against each other on July 31. At Summer Spectacular, the Gladiator won a rematch before losing to Titan on September 7 to put an end to the match.

Gladiator joined the W*ing Alliance in October with Mr. Pogo, Mitsuhiro Kanemura, Goro Tsurumi, Goro Tsurumi, Horace Boulder, Hideki Hosaka, and Hisakatsu Oya. The group was mainly composed of wrestlers from the former W*ING promotion, who held Atsushi Onita and FMW accountable for ending the promotion and forming the alliance to bring FMW's demise, just as W*ING was lost. Gladiator and Pogo won the vacant Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship on October 28, defeating Atsushi Onita and Mr. Gannosuke. In a rematch on February 24, 1995, they lost the tag titles to Onita and Gannosuke. Gladiator and Horace Boulder lost to Katsutoshi Niiyama and Masato Tanaka at the 6th Anniversary Show. After Pogo and Kanemura lost their match, Mr. Pogo turned on the W*ing Alliance by blowing a fireball on Yukihiro Kanemura, causing Gladiator, Boulder, and Hisakatsu Oya to abandon Pogo and join Lethal Weapons later that night.

After Atsushi Onita's retirement, the group's top star Hayabusa decided to change its direction from deathmatch wrestling to a technical wrestling style, and Gladiator received a big boost as the company's new top star Hayabusa's arch rival. He was supposed to win the Grand Slam Tournament in September, beating Hayabusa in the tournament's top title, the coveted Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship, and establishing himself as the company's top villain. On October 25, the Gladiator won his first title defense against Horace Boulder. In the fall of 1995, he sustained a knee injury, causing him to resign the office on January 5, 1996. On March 15, the Gladiator recovered from injury to face Super Leather for the title, but Leather was defeated by Leather. During this time, V.C. Quinones' Puerto Rican Army overthrew W*ing and Lethal Weapons to become the top villainous group in FMW and Quinones, attracting members of both factions into his Puerto Rican Army, causing Gladiator to become a fan favorite for the first time in his career. Hisakatsu Oya, Horace Boulder, and The Gladiator lost to Super Leather and The Headhunters in a match for the inaugural World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship at 7th Anniversary Show.

Gladiator won his second Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship on May 27, defeating Super Leather. In a rematch between Leather and Gladiator on September 1, the gladiator successfully defended the title against Leather. During a match against Hideki Hosaka, Hido, and Taka Michinoku, Gladiator and Horace Boulder took on Ricky Fuji on September 15, she and Horace Boulder took on Ricky Fuji. The entire Lethal Weapon wreaked havoc on Fuji and convinced Terry Funk's new faction Funk Masters of Wrestling, causing Gladiator to turn into a murderer. Gladiator defeated W*ing Kanemura after Kanemura successfully protected the Independent Heavyweight Championship against Hisakatsu Oya and Gladiator, who defeated Kanemura and Gladiator to advance to the first-ever FMW Double Champion. On February 18, 1997, the Gladiator defended his Double Championship against Masato Tanaka. Atsushi Onita, Masato Tanaka, and W*ING Kanemura will retaliate against Gladiator, Terry Funk, and Cactus Jack as the team of Gladiator, Terry Funk, and Cactus Jack was defeated by Atsushi Onita, Terry Funk, and Cactus Jack at the 8th Anniversary Show on April 29, the Gladiator would retaliate with the returning Atsushi Onita. Gladiator won the longest reigning Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion for the fourth time on April 30, having been in office for 338 days as of April 30.

On August 5, Hisakatsu Oya, Mr. Gannosuke, and The Gladiator defeated Fuyuki-Gun at a Fuyuki Army parade to win the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On August 31, they lost the title to Hayabusa, Koji Nakagawa, and Masato Tanaka. Gladiator at Kawasaki Legend: Fall Spectacular, defeated Masato Tanaka in the Double Championship, bringing his Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship reign to an end at 291 days and his longest reigning Independent Heavyweight Champion and the longest serving Independent Heavyweight Champion.

After Terry Funk's departure from FMW, Funk Masters (FMW) of Wrestling, Atsushi Onita's atonement, Atsushi Onita's declaration as a FMW wrestler and joined ZEN on September 30, 1997 to clash with FMW, a result of Terry Funk's exile. Super Leather and The Gladiator lost a match to their former teammates Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke on October 21, after which Gladiator assaulted Leather and officially ended Funk Masters of Wrestling. Gladiator attacked Hayabusa's team in the main event later that night, and then Gladiator raised the flag of ZEN and joined ZEN, marking the first time in his career that he had feuded with him for the past seven years. Despite being the longest reigning champion and a ZEN mid-card player, Gladiator had lost his place as a major event competitor after losing the Double Championship. In the fall of 1997, three of the group's founders, Mr. Gannosuke, Yukihiro Kanemura, and Hido all turned on Atsushi Onita and left the party, forming Team No Respect in 1998.

Gladiator qualified as the top contender for the Double Championship at the 9th Anniversary Exhibition in March. In the quarter-finals and Yukihiro Kanemura in the semi-final, he defeated Hayabusa in the final and became the tournament's runner-up. Gladiator defeated TNR members Super Leather and Horace Boulder in a losing bid at FMW's first pay-per-view show at FMW's first FMW 9th Anniversary Show. Atsushi Onita died in a match against TNR member Kodo Fuyuki, which prompted Onita to call off ZEN. After ZEN's dissolution on May 5, Gladiator became a free agent. Gladiator's last pay-per-view match in FMW was at the Welcome to the Darkside pay-per-view on August 22, where he defeated Naohiko Yamazaki, Yoshinori Sasaki, and Mr. Pogo #2 in a gauntlet match. Gladiator lost his last FMW match on August 26, defeating longtime rival Super Leather. Alfonso suffered his knee during the match and went on a hiatus, during which he returned to the United States and toured with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for the remainder of the year. Due to a rift over Kodo Fuyuki's booking method, he left the company.

In 1998 and 1999, Alfonso fought as The Gladiator for a brief period of All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Alfonso appeared in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period (as "Awesome") during their time in Japan in 1993. After Sabu began working with ECW, he returned to Japan and told Michael about the promotion and how he should work there. Despite being initially hesitant, citing a lack of interest, Sabu managed to engage Alfonso, who used his frequent fly miles to travel to Philadelphia to compete in a match for ECW.

The Night the Line Was Crossed, an incredibly wounded wrestler J.T., suffered a serious injury at ECW's convention on February 5, 1994. Smith made a high-risk dive to the outside of the rings. During the blast, Smith's back was folded backwards against the guard rail. This spot appeared in many ECW highlight reels, as well as the introduction to a variety of their television shows for years to come. (According to ECW announcer Joey Styles, his own reaction to the spot inspired his "Oh My God" catch).

Awesome returned to ECW in January 1997 at the House of Representatives, defeating Balls Mahoney. He lost to Louie Spicolli the following month, leaving ECW the next day.

Awesome returned to ECW in January 1998 and continued his rivalry with Masato Tanaka in the United States. On episode ECW's weekly Hardcore TV, Awesome began in ECW by losing to Tanaka. However, he delivered an Awesome Bomb to Tanaka over the top rope by a table set up on the outside during the match. Awesome lost to Tanaka once more at the August Heat Wave pay-per-view festival. Awesome strained his anterior cruciate ligament in a match against Balls Mahoney in September 1998, but he did not wrestle again until September 1999.

He stunned the wrestling world by winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in Anarchy Rulz, defeating reigning champion Taz and nemesis Masato Tanaka in a three-way dance that was recorded on the spot, almost immediately after arriving in ECW for his third stint in September 1999. Awesome continued to be a major factor in ECW in 2000, from working with Raven to defeat Tanaka and Tommy Dreamer for the ECW World Tag Team Championship. Judge Jeff Jones, the former boss of Awesome, who won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice in 1999, has been promoted to the top of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice.

Awesome made a surprise appearance on WCW Monday Nitro, assisting Kevin Nash, while still reigning as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Lance Storm, Awesome's friend, has confirmed that he did not sign a new contract with ECW until Paul Heyman paid him overdue wages.

Awesome was refused to appear on their television shows with the ECW belt due to legal issues. A deal was finally reached. Awesome (a WCW employee and ECW champion) appeared at an ECW meet in Indianapolis, Indiana, accompanied by WCW's chief of security, who lost the title to Tazz (a World Wrestling Federation employee) a week later (who mistakenly lost it to Justin Credible). Awesome said in a shoot interview with Highspots in 2005 that he would have rather played off with his former ECW and WWE colleague Rhyno, who also said that they may have put on a more entertaining match, despite the fact and the manner in which he had left ECW.

Awesome continued to be a major factor in the New Blood for the next month, collaborating with Billy Kidman occasionally to assist him in his feud with Hulk Hogan. Awesome was also involved in an on-and-off feud with Kevin Nash, as well as feuding with Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon. Kanyon was thrown off the first floor of a triple cage in May 2000, sparking his "Career Killer" gag.

His gimmick was revamped after Bash on the Beach in July 2000, with him becoming obsessed with heavyset women and identifying himself as "The Fat Chick Thriller" and rivaling Scott Steiner and Lance Storm for the WCW World Championship.

Awesome's gimmick was changed to "That '70s Guy" (a nod to the TV series That '70s Show), in which he wore 1970s-inspired clothing and hosted the "Lava Lamp Lounge" interview segment on Monday, September 6, 2000. In addition, he was given a bus that looked like the one on The Partridge Family to drive into arenas as part of his admission. He had a feud with Vampiro that culminated in brawls between Awesome and Vampiro's allies, the rapper Insane Clown Posse (Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope). On an episode of Nitro, Awesome challenged Shaggy with a powerbomb on the roof of the bus, causing Shaggy to crash to the concrete floor below, causing him to fall to the ground below.

Awesome dropped the 1970s gimmick in favour of a "Canadian Career Killer" gimmick and joined WCW's Team Canada, with Lance Storm and Elix Skipper on January 3, 2001. Awesome challenged Billy Kidman to a Hair-vs-Hair match on January 15, but Team Canada refused to allow him to participate in the tournament, leaving him unable to participate. Konnan, the kidman's bald stablemate, was recalled and gained the victory, giving the Animals the freedom to cut off Awesome's long-running mullet. Awesome then faded into the background, mostly supporting Storm in his fights against Ernest "The Cat" Miller. In a WCW World Tag Team Championship match, Awesome and Storm were defeated by Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire on March 26, 2001.

Awesome conspired that the infamous 2003 shooting between Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan at Bash may have been one of the reasons as to why he was plagued by a series of unfavorable gimmicks, according to a shooting interview published by Highspots. Awesome suggested that Russo may have mistook him for "too close" to Hulk Hogan and decided to take it out on him as a cousin of Michael Bollea (Horace Hogan, who also left WCW following the incident.

On December 12, 1996, he first appeared in WWF as a jobber, losing to Justin Credible, then known as Aldo Montoya, in a dark match for WWF Superstars of Wrestling.

Awesome became a member of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 2001. Test was defending his Hardcore Championship against Rhyno on June 25, 2001 on Raw, his WWF debut on Raw. Awesome wielding a metal pipe struck Rhyno Gored Test against a wall and pinned him down, only to be confronted by Awesome wielding a metal pipe. Rhyno was then powerbombed onto a ladder and pinned him, becoming the champion himself thanks to the 24/7 rule. Awesome was the first "Invader" to win gold in the WWF, stealing the Hardcore belt before any WWF wrestlers could catch him. Awesome's hardcore reign came to an end a few weeks later on SmackDown's July 12 issue. Jeff Hardy pinned him down due to Edge's distraction. On the July 16 episode of Raw, Awesome defeated Edge.

Edge also introduced his tag team partner Christian into the fray, fueling the feud. Edge and Christian at Invasion on July 22, Australia's first WWF pay-per-view match between Awesome and Lance Storm were defeated by Edge and Christian. Awesome's rise, beginning with modest participation on WWF's b-shows, before being sidelined with an injury in November 2001.

Awesome returned to the SmackDown!

On the 2002 edition of Velocity, where Tajiri defeated him, the brand was present on his website. Awesome was a mainstay on Velocity, SmackDown! For the next month,'s tertiary show will highlight wrestling stars from Faarooq, Bull Buchanan, Mark Henry, and Funaki.

Awesome was removed from the WWE on September 27, 2002, as well as Shawn Stasiak and Horace Hogan. "Being in the WWE (formerly the WWF) sucked," Awesome was quoted saying. I hated it. You had to kiss everybody's asses... you had to be on your political toes all the time. You would not believe the backstage politics. You were getting stabbed in the back all the time. When I was told that I was gone, I was so happy.

Awesome competed on the independent circuit in the United States and Japan, where he resurrecting to All Japan Pro Wrestling as "The Gladiator" once more. He starred in the MLW World Heavyweight Championship from Satoshi Kojima but then lost it ten minutes later to Steve Corino (Kojima's employers), but AJPW would not allow him to drop the title to an employee of a rival company Zero-1).

He served with Pro Wrestling Noah from 2004 to 2005.

Awesome said in February 2006, after 17 years in the sport, that he wanted to spend more time with his family and that he would only return to the ring "if the money was right."

Awesome debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in April 2003. Before leaving in May 2003, he wrestled several matches for the promotion. Awesome defeated Perry Saturn by DQ on April 16, 2003, when The Sandman and New Jack intervened. Awesome teamed with Brian Lee and Slash in a losing effort against Perry Saturn, New Jack, and The Sandman on April 23. Awesome was in his last TNA match, losing to Mike Sanders in a Tables Match on May 14th.

Awesome performed at WWE's (formerly the WWF) One Night Stand back in 2005, defeating Masato Tanaka. At the start of the match, the audience applauded Awesome's demise of ECW for WCW and during the match, and Styles' comments: "And it's a shame he didn't succeed in taking his own life," Styles referred to Awesome's exclusion of ECW for WCW and during the match. (foreshadowing Awesome's tragic real-life death 20 months later), but by the time, the audience was screaming "this match rules!" Both men received standing ovation, and they were lauded.

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