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Virgil (wrestler)

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Virgil
Virgil in 2013
Birth nameMichael Charles Jones
Born(1951-04-07)April 7, 1951
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedFebruary 28, 2024(2024-02-28) (aged 72)
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materVirginia Union University
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Curly Bill[1]
Lucius Brown
Mr. Jones
Mike Jones[1]
Shane[1]
Soul Train Jones[1]
Vincent[1]
Vince[1]
Virgil[1]
Billed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Billed weight250 lb (113 kg)[2]
Billed fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[2]
Palm Beach, Florida
Trained byAfa Anoa'i[2]
Debut1985[1]
Retired2020

Michael Charles Jones (April 7, 1951[3] – February 28, 2024), better known by his ring name Virgil, was an American professional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his tenures in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

In his four-year tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he wrestled with the ring names Vincent, Curly Bill, Shane, Soul Train Jones, and Mr. Jones, primarily as a member of the nWo. After retiring, he became well known on social media as the subject of viral memes.

Early life

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Michael Jones was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1951,[3][4] to Warren Jones Sr. and Elizabeth Jones.[1] He had two older brothers, Warren Jr. and Donald, and a sister, Toni.

Jones attended Virginia Union University, and played as a defensive back for the college football team. He wrestled as an amateur.

Jones later worked at his uncle’s loading and moving company and began entering bodybuilding competitions. After a chance meeting with Tony Atlas in a Pittsburgh gym, Atlas recommended Jones to pro wrestling in 1985. In the same year, he began training with Afa of the Wild Samoans.

Professional wrestling career

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Early Career (1985–1987)

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Jones started wrestling professionally as Soul Train Jones in the Championship Wrestling Association based in Memphis, Tennessee in 1985. There, he feuded with Chick Donovan and Big Bubba. On January 4, 1987, he defeated Big Bubba for the AWA International Heavyweight Championship. On April 20, he was defeated by Donovan, ending his reign at 106 days. During this reign, he also participated in a tournament for the vacant AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, defeating Tommy Rich, The Hunter, and Goliath on his way to the final, where he was defeated by Austin Idol. He would also unsuccessfully challenge Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Alongside Rocky Johnson, he later held the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship for 28 days, until they were defeated by Donovan and Jack Hart.

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1994, 1995)

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Ted DiBiase's bodyguard (1987–1991)

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After moving to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he first appeared wrestling under the name Lucius Brown in 1986. His first WWF match was losing to "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in Salisbury, Maryland on September 17, 1986.[5][6]

Jones then went on to debut in the summer of 1987 as Virgil, the bodyguard for "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Virgil carried DiBiase's money that he liked to flaunt and was the one who got beaten up while DiBiase escaped the ring.

Virgil played a significant secondary role in the WWF main event storylines throughout 1988; including some of the biggest moments in WWF History; assisting Ted DiBiase and Andre The Giant during the infamous televised “Main Event” special on NBC where Hulk Hogan lost the World Heavyweight Championship after nearly 5 years as the champion, at the ensuing Wrestlemania IV tournament, and in the main event of the inaugural Summerslam. At Summerslam 1988, Virgil was in the corner of Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase as the Mega Bucks against Hulk Hogan, champion Randy Savage, and Miss Elizabeth as the Mega Powers.

Throughout 1989-1991, Virgil would also occasionally wrestle against DiBiase's rivals as a gatekeeper; if DiBiase’s opponents could defeat Virgil they would finally be granted a match with the Million Dollar Man.

Virgil was humiliated by DiBiase consistently and eventually turned on him, hitting him with his own Million Dollar Title belt at the Royal Rumble in January 1991, making him a fan favorite. After befriending and training with Roddy Piper, he defeated DiBiase by count-out at WrestleMania VII and pinned him for Ted DiBiase’s unsanctioned Million Dollar Championship on August 26, 1991, at SummerSlam. He lost the Million Dollar Championship Belt back to DiBiase in November of 1991 as a result of outside interference by the Repo Man. At Survivor Series 1991, Virgil was on Roddy Piper’s team with Bret Hart and the British Bulldog losing against Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, The Warlord, and the Mountie. Virgil was Disqualified with Hart and Piper after being counted out of the ring during a brawl with DiBiase and the Mountie at the end of the match, losing to Ric Flair who was still in the ring. At This Tuesday in Texas, Repo Man and DiBiase defeated Virgil and Tito Santana.

Various storylines and departure (1992–1994, 1995)

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After this Tuesday in Texas, Virgil then departed on a career as a singles wrestler and was famous for wearing unusual red candy-striped tights. He entered the 1992 Royal Rumble as entrant number 23 and was eliminated by Hacksaw Jim Duggan; lasting 20 minutes and 45 seconds. On the March 22nd edition of Wrestling Challenge, Sid Justice attacked Virgil and broke his nose after Virgil appeared with other wrestlers to stop Sid Justice from beating up David Wolfe after their match. Virgil was forced to wear a protective face mask to protect his nose while wrestling for a few months after the injury. At WrestleMania VIII, Virgil teamed with Big Boss Man, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jim Duggan to defeat The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags), Repo Man, and The Mountie. Virgil pinned Knobbs following a miscommunication from the opponents team. He also appeared in a losing match against Nailz at SummerSlam and also lost to Yokozuna at Survivor Series. He did receive a shot at Bret Hart's WWF World Heavyweight Championship on the November 21, 1992 episode of WWF Superstars. After a valiant effort, Virgil submitted to Hart's Sharpshooter. After the match, the two shook hands out of respect.

Virgil began 1993 by appearing at the January Royal Rumble as entrant number 6 and was eliminated by the Berserker after lasting 17 minutes and eight seconds. Afterward, Virgil’s time in the spotlight began to fade in 1993 but he remained in the undercard of the WWF, losing a match to Johnny Polo in November a match in Ontario Canada.

Virgil's last appearance on a WWF PPV event was the Royal Rumble, where he was a late substitute for Kamala. He entered the rumble as number 10 but was eliminated by Diesel in 32 seconds. Virgil’s last notable feud was with a returning Nikolai Volkoff in the summer of 1994. Volkoff was down on his luck and had just been “bought” by Ted DiBiase, forcing Volkoff to wear a ¢ symbol on his tights. Virgil tried to persuade Volkoff this was a mistake and tried to inform him of DiBiase’s abusive history. Volkoff refused and defeated Virgil on the July 24 episode of WWF Superstars. This loss was a significant moment for the WWF in 1994, as the event kicked off the formation of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation stable of wrestlers who would go on to main event Wrestlemania XI. This match was Virgil’s last television appearance in the WWF and he left in August 1994.

Virgil did return briefly to the WWF in May and June of 1995 in matches against Jean-Pierre LaFitte in Western Canada and the US Midwest.

National Wrestling Conference (1995)

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On August 25, 1995, Virgil competed in the National 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 a KKK hood. The Thug was accompanied by another man dressed in a full KKK outfit who revealed himself as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Both men proceeded to attack Virgil with Neidhart rolling the KKK robe into a noose and hanging Virgil on the outside ropes. The 2-on-1 assault finally ended when the building's security dragged Neidhart to the back and Virgil was carried away on a stretcher.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–2000)

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New World Order (1996–1999)

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Following two years on the independent scene, he appeared in WCW as Vincent in 1996 as the 5th member of the original nWo along with Ted DiBiase. He was given the role of "Head of Security" for the nWo. Vincent, like his role as Virgil in the WWF, would often again take the brunt of the beatings from WCW wrestlers as other nWo members scurried away.

As Vincent, Jones had minor success when first arriving in WCW, having a short stint of undefeated matches on WCW Saturday Night. He also often was the valet for nWo members; most notably alongside Ted DiBiase during Hollywood Hogan’s title matches.

After Ted DiBiase quit the nWo, Vincent began accompanying Scott Norton, Scott Steiner, Konnan, and Brian Adams to the ring.

Vincent's first PPV match with WCW was at World War 3 1997 in the battle Royal, where he made it to the final eight before being eliminated by the Giant with assistance from DDP. He also wrestled at Starrcade 1997, when he teamed with Scott Norton and Randy Savage to defeat the Steiner Brothers and Ray Traylor.

In 1998 the nWo split; and Vincent remained loyal to the original black and white faction led by Hollywood Hulk Hogan which was now also being called “nWo Hollywood”. He assisted the faction in their feuds with the nWo Wolfpack and Ultimate Warrior’s “OWN”, the One Warrior Nation stable. He frequently was tag teaming with new nWo Hollywood recruit Stevie Ray and accompanied him to the ring for most of his matches.

In November 1998, he wrestled again in the Battle Royal match at World War 3 on behalf of the nWo Hollywood group.

After Starrcade 1998, 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 also as the nWo “B-Team” with The Giant, Brian Adams, Curt Hennig, Horace Hogan, Scott Norton, and Stevie Ray. The nWo B-Team members began competing over who would be the leader of the squad. On the February 13, 1999 WCW Saturday night before his match with Johnny Swinger; Vincent asked for a microphone and changed his name to Vince and began another winning streak. Vince had a new cocky attitude and tried to impress Hollywood Hulk Hogan for control of nWo B-Team. Vince began feuding with his main rival Stevie Ray over who would be the leader of the Black & White (B-Team) nWo but eventually lost the Harlem Street Fight at the 1999 WCW Uncensored PPV that made Stevie Ray the de-facto leader. The issue of who was leader of nWo B-team persisted and on April 5, 1999 a 4 man battle royale was held on WCW Nitro to finally determine who would be the leader. Vince was eliminated first by Bryan Adams and Stevie Ray won again. Vince ended up remaining with the nWo B-Team as the last remaining member of the original nWo. Over the course of 1999 both squads of the nWo shrunk as one member after another slowly left overtime ironically leaving only Vince as the sole member and de facto last leader of the original nWo before the faction dissolved for good in October 1999. He never joined the nWo again when it came back as nWo 2000 (also known as nWo silver and black), or briefly in WWE.[5]

West Texas Rednecks, Powers That Be, Mr. Jones and end of WCW (1999–2000)

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In October 1999 after the nWo dissolved, Jones changed his name to Curly Bill and joined the West Texas Rednecks with Curt Hennig, Barry Wyndham, Kendal Wyndham, and Bobby Duncum Jr.[7]

Vince Russo started the “Powers That Be” and in December 1999 changed Jones’s name to Shane and made him a bodyguard character once again for himself and the Harris Brothers (known briefly as Creative Control).

In mid 2000 Jones became Mr. Jones; the manager for Ernest "The Cat" Miller, but he was soon replaced by a valet named Ms. Jones. This was Jones' final character in WCW and he wrestled under his real name, Mike Jones, before departing WCW in late 2000 and retiring from pro wrestling. Only a few months after, WCW went out of business and was bought by WWF.

Retirement (2000–2020)

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Jones retired from active competition in 2000. He began making appearances again in 2006.

In April 2006, Jones toured Asia for the Armed Forces Entertainment. He wrestled as Vincent of the nWo for U.S. troops in Korea, Tokyo, Guam and Honolulu, Hawaii.[8]

Jones posing with a U.S. Soldier by demonstrating a neckbreaker

In 2016, he appeared on the "Old School" and the "Addicted to the Shindig" episodes of The Edge and Christian Show on the WWE Network.

In an interview with ESPN.com in 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 does not represent him for bookings.[9]

Return to WWE (2010)

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On the May 17, 2010 episode of Raw from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jones returned to WWE reprising his Virgil bodyguard character, this time with Ted 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.[10] On the June 14 episode of Raw, Virgil and DiBiase were in a tag team match against Big Show and Raw guest host Mark Feuerstein. After Virgil got pinned and lost the match, DiBiase stuffed a $100 bill in Virgil's mouth and walked out on him.[11] The following week, DiBiase first apologized to Virgil, but then fired him and replaced him with Maryse.[12]

Preston City Wrestling, Joey Janella’s Spring Break and Talk'N ShopAMania 2 (2017–2020)

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On December 1, 2017, he wrestled a match for Preston City Wrestling (PCW) at Joey Janela's Big Top Adventure, held at the Blackpool Tower Circus.[13]

On April 5, 2019, Virgil, dressed as the character Starman from NES Pro Wrestling, appeared at Joey Janela's Spring Break 3, where he defeated Ethan Page.[14]

In late 2020, Virgil made a cameo in the ball for a ball match at Talk'N ShopAMania 2, hosted by the Good Brothers.[15]

All Elite Wrestling (2019–2020)

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From 2019 to 2020, Jones, under his old ring name of Soul Train Jones, began making recurring appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), as an ally of Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle. On the November 6, 2019 episode of Dynamite, he appeared in a video package that mocked an earlier promo from Cody Rhodes (whom Jericho was feuding with at the time).[16] The promo saw Jones compare Jericho's talents to Olive Garden breadsticks as "unlimited" and it received critical praise from fans.[16] On the November 27 episode of Dynamite, Jones started off the show by introducing Jericho for Chris Jericho's Thanksgiving Thank You Celebration for Le Champion, which was ultimately interrupted by SoCal Uncensored.[17] On the April 29, 2020 episode of Dynamite, Jones made a cameo during the Inner Circle's Bubbly Bunch segment, appearing in the Manitoba Melee.[18]

Other media

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In 2014, Jones appeared in the Jason Michael Brescia film, Bridge and Tunnel as Kony, a neighborhood barfly.[19] Jones was cast in the film after he met actor-producer Joe Murphy while selling autographs at Grand Central Station. In 2017, he reprised the role in Brescia's follow-up film, (Romance) in the Digital Age.[20]

Pop culture

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Jones at a convention in 2006, an early example of the "Lonely Virgil" meme

Post-fame, Jones has been attending fan conventions and has been 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. Lonely Virgil was originally created by Sam Roberts of the Opie and Anthony radio show.[21]

In 2015, a documentary featuring Jones was released titled The Legend of Virgil & His Traveling Merchandise Table, which discusses his wrestling career and the recent upsurge of social media discussions surrounding him.[22]

Urban legends

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Since the 80s there has been an urban legend inside the pro wrestling industry that Jones’s character Virgil was named after Dusty Rhodes (real name Virgil Riley Runnels Jr.) as an inside joke rumored to be Bobby Heenan’s idea. This was never confirmed and is in constant dispute by WWE insider Bruce Prichard, who was on the writing team in 1987 and denies the rumor. Joel Watts came up with the name and said it was a coincidence. Despite the gossip never being confirmed as true, the hearsay never went away and as result of the rumor WCW named Jones’ WCW bodyguard characters after Vince and Shane McMahon as an inside joke.[23]

Personal life and death

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Jones had a degree in mathematics from the University of Virginia and became a high school math teacher in Pittsburgh after retiring from full time in ring competition in 2000.[24] Since 2018, Jones had resided in Marianna, Pennsylvania.

On April 16, 2022, Jones revealed that he had previously suffered two strokes and had been diagnosed with dementia.[25] A month later, he said he was diagnosed with stage two colon cancer.[26] He was diagnosed with two additional strokes on February 23, 2024,[4] and died five days later at Canonsburg Hospital of complications from the strokes and dementia. He was 72 years old.[4]

Age confusion

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Jones had multiple conflicting dates of birth up until his death. He was thought to be 61 years old by most media[27][28][29] upon his death, but his family and friends revealed his actual age as 72.[4]

Championships and accomplishments

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Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Bridge and Tunnel Kony
2015 The Legend of Virgil & His Traveling Merchandise Table Himself Documentary
2017 (Romance) in the Digital Age Kony
Sweet Daddy Siki Himself Documentary
Television
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
2016 The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness 2 episodes

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Virgil". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "Virgil". WWE. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Michael "Virgil" Jones Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information". www.costonfuneralhome.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "'Larger than life': Mike Jones, wrestler better known as Virgil, dies". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Pope, Kristian (2005). "Virgil (1980s–2000s)". Tuff Stuff – Professional wrestling field guide. Iola, Wisconsin: KP Books. p. 473. ISBN 0-89689-267-0.
  6. ^ "1986". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  7. ^ RD Reynolds and Randy Baer (2003). Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 211. ISBN 1-55022-584-7.
  8. ^ Hoffman (January 28, 2007). "Where Are They Now?Virgil".
  9. ^ Houser, Ben (September 13, 2016). "From "Million Dollar Man" to preacher man". ESPN. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Stephens, David (May 17, 2010). "Raw Results – 5/17/10". WrestleView. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  11. ^ Stephens, David (June 14, 2010). "Raw Results – 6/14/10". WrestleView. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  12. ^ Stephens, David (June 21, 2010). "Raw Results – 6/21/10". WrestleView. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  13. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "PCW Joey Janela's Big Top Adventure". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Peeples, Jeremy (April 5, 2019). "JOEY JANELA'S SPRING BREAK 3, PT. 1 LIVE RESULTS". Figure Four Online. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  15. ^ Nason, Josh (November 13, 2020). "Talk'N ShopAMania 2 live results: Rise of the Torturer". Figure Four Online. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Watch: Virgil Appears in Chris Jericho's Hilarious Parody Promo on AEW Dynamite". ComicBook.com. November 7, 2019.
  17. ^ Boutwell, Josh (November 27, 2019). "AEW Dynamite Results – 11/27/19 (AEW World Championship match, Omega vs. PAC)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  18. ^ Boutwell, Josh (April 29, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results – 4/29/20 (TNT Championship Tournament Semi-Final Matches)". WrestleView. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  19. ^ Scancarelli, Derek. "Movie Review: 'Bridge and Tunnel' Gets Long Island Right". Under The Gun Review. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  20. ^ Csonka, Larry (June 26, 2017). "WWE News: Shinsuke Nakamura Suffers First Main Roster Pinfall Loss, Curt Hawkins Movie". 411Mania.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  21. ^ Greenberg, Keith Elliot (July 22, 2015). "For Virgil, the million dollar quest continues - July 22, 2015". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  22. ^ Mooneyham, Mike (June 21, 2019). "Where is Virgil, bodyguard of 'Million Dollar Man,' now?". Post & Courier. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  23. ^ Houser, Ben (June 21, 2022). "Virgil". Sportster. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  24. ^ hoffman, brett (January 28, 2007). "Where are they now, virgil - January 28, 2007". WWE. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  25. ^ Lee, Joseph (April 16, 2022). "Virgil Currently Battling Dementia, Says He's Had Multiple Strokes Recently". 411Mania.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  26. ^ @TheRealVirgil (May 14, 2022). "It's really shitty right now" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "Virgil, former WWE wrestling star, dies at 61". NBC News. February 28, 2024.
  28. ^ "Virgil, former WWE wrestling star from Wilkinsburg, dies at 61 - CBS Pittsburgh". CBS News. February 28, 2024.
  29. ^ "Michael Jones, known to WWE fans as Virgil, passes away".
  30. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "AWA International Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 31. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  31. ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006) [2000.]. "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: Southern Tag Team Title [Roy Welsch & Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett from 1977]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, Ontario: Archeus Communications. pp. 185–189. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  32. ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  34. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Virgil « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  35. ^ "The PWI Years". Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  36. ^ Brian Shields (2006). "Superstars Bios: Ted Dibiase". Main event – WWE in the raging 80s (4th ed.). Pocket Books. pp. 133–135. ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6.
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