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Mike Jones, who performed under the name Virgil, Vincent, Shane, and a few other names during his decade-spanning career, passed away at 61. Along with his run in WWE as Ted DiBiase’s henchman/servant, Virgil eventually joined WCW as a latter-day member of the NWO. In his later years, he showed up at AEW as Soul Train Jones in association with Chris Jericho.
He was diagnosed with dementia in 2022 and suffered two minor strokes before that diagnosis. His death was first made aware by referee Mark Charles III, and later confirmed by other sources.
“My dear friends, it is with great sorrow that I bring news from the Jones family of the passing of our beloved Michael Jones, whom we know and loved as Virgil, Vincent, Soul Train Jones, and more,” Charles wrote. “Virgil passed peacefully at the hospital this morning and I ask that you pray for him and for his family. May his memory be eternal!”
Virgil started his career in 1985 after meeting with Tony Atlas in a Pittsburgh gym where the future WWE Hall of Famer recommended him to try out. Jones began training with Afa of the Wild Samoans soon after. Jones is a former AWA Southern Tag Team Championship alongside Rocky Johnson, another WWE Hall of Famer and father to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He won the Million Dollar Championship in WWE from his former “employer” Dibisase.
Non-wrestling fans who attend conventions may recognize Jones as one of the first wrestlers to regularly appear on the con circuit. Long before wrestlers became a mainstay of conventions, you could often find Jones with his own table, signing autographs and taking photos under a banner that read, “Virgil – Wrestling Superstar.”
