 Virgil in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Charles Jones[4] (1951-04-07)April 7, 1951[4] |
| Died | February 28, 2024(2024-02-28) (aged 72) Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Virginia Union University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Curly Bill[1] Luscious Brown[2] Mr. Jones Mike Jones[1] Shane Soul Train Jones[1] Vincent[1] Vince Virgil[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (113 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] Palm Beach, Florida |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[3] |
| Debut | 1985[3] |
| Retired | 2020 |
Michael Charles Jones (April 7, 1951 - February 28, 2024), better known by hisring nameVirgil, was an Americanprofessional wrestler and an actor. He is best known for his tenures in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).
In his four-year tenure inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), he wrestled primarily as a member of thenWo with thering nameVincent, and later wrestled asCurly Bill,Shane,Soul Train Jones, andMr. Jones. After retiring, he became well known on social media as the subject of viral memes.
Michael Jones was born inWilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1951, to Warren Jones Sr. and Elizabeth Jones.[4][5] He had two older brothers, Warren Jr. and Donald, and a sister, Toni.[4] Jones attendedVirginia Union University, where he played as adefensive back for thecollege football team and wrestled as an amateur.[4] Jones later worked at his uncle’s loading and moving company and began enteringbodybuilding competitions.[4]
In 1985, Jones metTony Atlas in aPittsburgh gym, who recommended Jones to professional wrestling. After training withAfa Anoaʻi that year, Jones began wrestling asSoul Train Jones for theChampionship Wrestling Association (CWA).[3] On January 4, 1987, he defeatedBig Bubba for theAWA International Heavyweight Championship, but lost the title toChick Donovan on April 20.[6] Also that month, Jones won theAWA Southern Tag Team Championship withRocky Johnson, holding the titles for 28 days until they were defeated by Donovan andJack Hart.[6]
Jones made his first appearance in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring nameLuscious Brown on September 17, 1986, losing toPaul Orndorff inSalisbury, Maryland.[2]
In June of 1987, Jones was repackaged asVirgil, the "Million Dollar Man"Ted DiBiase's silent bodyguard.[1] Virgil performed humiliating tasks for DiBiase and carried his money, often being on the receiving end of attacks by DiBiase's rivals.[5] He would also occasionally wrestle against DiBiase's rivals as a gatekeeper; if DiBiase’s opponents could defeat Virgil, they would be granted a match with DiBiase.[1][3]
On January 19, 1991 at theRoyal Rumblepay-per-view, after Virgil and DiBiase defeatedDusty Rhodes andDustin Rhodes, Virgilturned on DiBiase, hitting him with hisMillion Dollar Championship, making him afan favorite.[3] After befriending and training withRoddy Piper, he defeated DiBiase by count-out atWrestleMania VII on March 24 then pinned him to win the unsanctioned Million Dollar Championship on August 26 atSummerSlam.[7][8][9] He lost the Million Dollar Championship back to DiBiase on November 24 after interference fromRepo Man.[9] Three days later atSurvivor Series, Virgil was on Piper’s team withBret Hart and theBritish Bulldog, losing to DiBiase,Ric Flair,The Mountie andThe Warlord.[10] AtThis Tuesday in Texas on December 3, Virgil andTito Santana lost to DiBiase and Repo Man.[11]
Virgil then embarked in a career as a singles wrestler, serving as ajobber to the stars, and was famous for wearing unusual red candy-striped tights.[3] AtWrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992, Virgil teamed withBig Boss Man,Sgt. Slaughter andJim Duggan to defeatThe Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs andJerry Sags), Repo Man and The Mountie.[12] He also lost toNailz atSummerSlam on August 29 (aired on August 31).[13] He received a shot at Hart'sWWF World Heavyweight Championship on the November 21 episode ofWWF Superstars, but submitted to Hart'sSharpshooter. After the match, the two shook hands out of respect.[14] Virgil lost toYokozuna in the latter's pay-per-view debut on November 25 atSurvivor Series.[15]
Virgil’s time in the spotlight began to fade in 1993 but he remained in the undercard of the WWF.[16] Virgil's last WWF pay-per-view appearance was at theRoyal Rumble on January 22, 1994, entering theRoyal Rumble match at number 10, but was quickly eliminated byDiesel.[17] Following a feud in the summer withNikolai Volkoff, who had been “bought” by DiBiase and defeated Virgil in a series ofhouse show matches, Virgil left the WWF in August 1994.[18]
From May to June 1995, Virgil briefly returned to the WWF to compete in several matches againstJean-Pierre LaFitte inWestern Canada and theMidwestern United States.[19]
On August 25, 1995, Virgil competed in theNational Wrestling Conference in the supercard event "Night of Champions". The match aroused controversy when Virgil's opponent, The Thug, came out to the ring dressed in aKKK hood. The Thug was accompanied by another man dressed in a full KKK outfit, who revealed himself asJim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Both men attacked Virgil, with Neidhart rolling the KKK robe into a noose and hanging Virgil on the outside ropes. The 2-on-1 assault ended when the building's security dragged Neidhart to the back and Virgil was carried away on a stretcher.[20]
In 1996, Jones debuted forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) asVincent, the eighth member of the originalnWo along with Ted DiBiase. He was given the role of nWo's "Head of Security" and often took the brunt of the beatings from WCW wrestlers to protect the other nWo members.[5][3] Jones had minor success upon his arrival, having a short stint of undefeated matches onWCW Saturday Night. After DiBiase quit the nWo, Vincent began accompanyingScott Norton,Scott Steiner,Konnan andBrian Adams to the ring.[21] AtStarrcade on December 28, 1997, he teamed with Norton andRandy Savage to defeat theSteiner Brothers andRay Traylor.[22]
When the nWo split in 1998, Vincent remained loyal to the original black and white faction led byHollywood Hulk Hogan, which was now being called “nWo Hollywood”, frequently teaming with new nWo Hollywood recruitStevie Ray. AfterStarrcade, the nWo Hollywood and Wolfpac factions reunited and formed two squads, Wolfpac or nWo Red & Black (also known as nWo Elite), and Vincent was demoted to be a part of the nWo Black & White (known as the nWo “B-Team”) withThe Giant, Adams,Curt Hennig,Horace Hogan, Norton and Ray.
On the February 13, 1999 episode ofWCW Saturday Night, before his match withJohnny Swinger; Vincent asked for a microphone and changed his name toVince.[23] He began feuding with Ray over who would be thede facto leader of the nWo B-Team, but Ray became the leader after defeating Vince in a HarlemStreet Fight atUncensored on March 15.[24] The issue of who was the leader persisted, and on April 5 episode ofMonday Nitro, a 4-man battle royale was held to determine the leader, but Vince was the first man eliminated by Adams; Ray won the match.[25] In the following months, Vince remained with the nWo B-Team as the last remaining member of the original nWo. Both squads of the nWo shrunk as one member after another slowly left over time, leaving only Vince as the sole member andde facto last leader of the original nWo before the faction dissolved for good in October.
After the nWo dissolved, Jones changed his name toCurly Bill and joined theWest Texas Rednecks with Hennig,Barry Windham,Kendall Windham andBobby Duncum Jr.[26]Vince Russo started the “Powers That Be” and in December 1999 changed Jones’s name toShane and made him a bodyguard character once again for himself and theHarris Brothers (known briefly as Creative Control). In mid-2000, Jones becameMr. Jones; the manager forErnest "The Cat" Miller, but he was soon replaced by a valet namedMs. Jones. This was Jones' final character in WCW and he wrestled under his real name, Mike Jones, before departing WCW in late 2000.
On April 29, 2006, Jones appeared at theWorld Wrestling Legends (WWL) pay-per-view 6:05 The Reunion, losing toRick Steiner.[27] Also that year, he wrestled for the Armed Force Entertainment as Vincent of the nWo for U.S. troops inKorea,Tokyo,Guam andHonolulu.[28]
In 2016, he appeared on the "Old School" and the "Addicted to the Shindig" episodes ofThe Edge and Christian Show on theWWE Network. In an interview withESPN.com in September 2016, DiBiase revealed that he and Jones had a falling out over Jones booking independent wrestling shows for the two without DiBiase's knowledge, which led to DiBiase unknowingly no-showing the events. DiBiase had to apologize to the promotions for the unintentional no-shows and had to stress that Jones did not represent him for bookings.[29]
On December 1, 2017, he wrestled a match forPreston City Wrestling (PCW) atJoey Janela's Big Top Adventure.[30] On April 5, 2019, Virgil, dressed as the character Starman fromNESPro Wrestling, appeared atJoey Janela's Spring Break 3, where he defeatedEthan Page.[31] In late 2020, Virgil made a cameo in the ball for a ball match at Talk'N ShopAMania 2, which was hosted by theGood Brothers.[32]
On the May 17, 2010 episode ofRaw, Jones, reprising his Virgil character, returned to WWE as the bodyguard ofTed DiBiase Jr. He carried out all of his old actions, such as holding the ropes open for DiBiase and bringing him a microphone when asked.[33] On the June 14 episode ofRaw, Virgil and DiBiase were in a tag team match againstBig Show andRaw guest hostMark Feuerstein. After Virgil got pinned and lost the match, DiBiase stuffed a $100 bill in Virgil's mouth and walked out on him.[34] The following week, DiBiase first apologized to Virgil, but then fired him and replaced him withMaryse.[35]
From 2019 to 2020, Jones, under his old ring name of Soul Train Jones, began making recurring appearances forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an ally ofChris Jericho andThe Inner Circle. On the November 6, 2019 episode ofDynamite, he appeared in a video package that mocked an earlier promo fromCody Rhodes (whom Jericho was feuding with at the time).[36] On the November 27 episode ofDynamite, Jones introduced Jericho for his Thanksgiving Thank You Celebration, which was interrupted bySoCal Uncensored.[37] On the April 29, 2020 episode ofDynamite, Jones made a cameo during the Inner Circle's Bubbly Bunch segment, appearing in the Manitoba Melee.[38]
In 2014, Jones appeared in theJason Michael Brescia film,Bridge and Tunnel as Kony, a neighborhood barfly.[39] In 2017, he reprised the role in Brescia's follow-up film,(Romance) in the Digital Age.[40]
Post-fame, Jones had been attending fan conventions and was seen at subway stations selling autographs. As a result, since 2012, there have been "Lonely Virgil"memes created where fans posted pictures of him at conventions with nobody lining up.[41] Lonely Virgil was originally created bySam Roberts of theOpie and Anthony radio show.[3]
In 2015, a documentary featuring Jones was released titledThe Legend of Virgil & His Traveling Merchandise Table, which discusses his wrestling career and the recent upsurge of social media discussions surrounding him.[42]
Jones had a degree in mathematics from theUniversity of Virginia and became a high school math teacher in Pittsburgh after retiring from in-ring competition full time in 2000.[28]
On April 15, 2022, Jones revealed that he had previously suffered twostrokes and had been diagnosed withdementia.[43] A month later, he said he was diagnosed with stage twocolon cancer.[44] He was diagnosed with two additional strokes on February 23, 2024, and died five days later atCanonsburg Hospital of complications from the strokes and dementia at age 72.[5] His memorial service was at Coston Funeral Home on March 16, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[45]
Jones had multiple conflicting dates of birth up until his death, with most media believing he died at age 61.[46][47][48] However, his family and friends revealed his actual age at death as 72.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Bridge and Tunnel | Kony | [39] |
| 2015 | The Legend of Virgil & His Traveling Merchandise Table | Himself | Documentary[42] |
| 2017 | (Romance) in the Digital Age | Kony | [40] |
| Sweet Daddy Siki | Himself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends | Himself | Episode: "Wrestling" |
| 2004 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | Episode: "12-Stepping" | |
| 2015 | The Special Without Brett Davis | Episode: "Fuck Money" | |
| The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore | 2 episodes[50] | ||
| 2016 | The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness | 2 episodes |
