Mike Awesome
| Mike Awesome | |
|---|---|
Awesome in December 1999.
|
|
| Birth name | Michael Lee Alfonso |
| Born |
January 24, 1965 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | February 17, 2007 (aged 42) Tampa, Florida, U.S.A |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
| Spouse(s) | Diana Bowers (m. 1991; his death 2007) |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Gladiator Mike Awesome The Pro |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Billed weight | 292 lb (132 kg) |
| Trained by | Steve Keirn |
| Debut | February 26, 1989 |
| Retired | February 26, 2006 |
Michael Lee "Mike" Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the American professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Mike Awesome and for his appearances in Japan for with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling as The Gladiator.
Alfonso was trained to wrestle by Steve Keirn, debuting on February 26, 1989. Alfonso trained for about one year along with former professional wrestlers, Dennis Knight (Mideon, Phineas Godwin) and the late "Big" Al Green before making his debut. Alfonso competed in Florida Championship Wrestling, USWA and NWA World Championship Wrestling before making his way to FMW in Japan.
Alfonso moved on to Japan, joining Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in September 1990 and using the name The Gladiator. In 1993, he joined forces with Ricky Fuji, Big Titan, and Dr. Luther in the original Team Canada stable; the stable disbanded in 1994.
In 1994, the Gladiator captured his first title, teaming with Big Titan to defeat Atsushi Onita and Katsutoshi Niyama in the finals of the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship Tournament. They lost the title that April, but Awesome won them again with new partner Mr. Pogo in October. In 1995, he joined the group, Lethal Weapon, reuniting with Ricky Fuji. As the Gladiator, he faced and defeated Hayabusa for his first major singles title, the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in September 1995, but was forced to vacate it due to a legitimate injury the next February. In May 1996 he won the title for a second time, then unified it with the FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship after defeating W*ING Kanemura in that December. The next August, teaming with Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke he won the vacated FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag-Team Titles, holding all three belts at once, but within a month lost all three during a feud with Masato Tanaka.
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