Obituaries
Pittsburgh legend Jumpin’ Johnny DeFazio dies at 79
Both Bruno Sammartino and George “The Animal” Steele once mused that John DeFazio could have very well been the World Wide Wrestling Federation...
NWA’s Jocephus / Question Mark passes away
Joseph Hadley Hudson, who wrestled as Jocephus and in NWA Powerrr Question Mark, has died. In the NWA, he was paired with Aron Stevens, the former...
Journeyman Don Serrano dies
Hector "Don" Serrano, a long-time pro wrestler and occasional promoter, has died. His name was not on the top of the card often, but that did not...
More Headlines
Mat Memories: Revisiting Tom Cole makes for a tough show
This weekend, my Pro Wrestling Spotlight Live YouTube and Facebook show was one of the hardest I have ever done in my entire 40-year career in pro wrestling journalism. On February 12, 2021, Tom Cole, one of the key figures in the 1992 WWF ring boy scandals, committed...
Family says goodbye to Tom Cole at funeral
On February 19, 2021, a small group of family and friends gathered to say goodbye to Tom Cole, in a ceremony in Fishkill, NY. The funeral itself was private, although it was accessible to all via livestream. It was a simple service with no frills, and no mention of...
Mat Matters: Cole, dead at 50, was the original whistleblower for #SpeakingOut
When the #SpeakingOut movement, where men and women brought to light allegations of abuse they experienced in pro wrestling, was launched in June 2020 over Twitter, my first thought was of Tom Cole. With his suicide on February 12, I find myself overwhelmed with...
Beloved wrestler, trainer Rusty Brooks dies
There was a time when wrestling schools weren't a dime a dozen. A select few in the late 1980s and early 1990s taught the skills to next generation. One of the best was Rusty Brooks, whose death shook the tight-knit Florida wrestling community on February 11. He was...
Leon Spinks’ many wrestling connections
Former boxing world champion Leon Spinks -- who surprised everyone by beating Muhammad Ali in 1978, has died. He was 67. According to a public relations firm that represents him, he died on Friday, February 6, after suffering from prostate and other cancers for five...
Peers react to the death of ‘Hacksaw’ Butch Reed
As the news of the death of Bruce Reed, who wrestled as “Hacksaw” Butch Reed and was in the tag team Doom, reached the masses, the pro wrestling community has taken to social media to express their grief, share their memories and pay tribute. Reed suffered a heart...
