Former Wrestler ‘Virgil’ Has Passed Away At Age 61

On Wednesday morning, longtime pro wrestling referee Mark Charles III announced that his friend, former WWE / WCW star Virgil, passed away after being hospitalized recently.

The Pennsylvania native, whose real name was Michael Jones, was 61.

“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,” wrote Charles on Facebook. “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!”

A former defensive back for Virginia Union University and a budding bodybuilder, Jones came to wrestling through Tony Atlas and the Wild Samoans’ Afa and turned pro in 1985. Competing in the AWA as Soul Train Jones, he battled the likes of Nick Bockwinkel, Tommy Rich, and Austin Idol before making his way to the WWF in 1986 as Lucius Brown.

But it was a year later that he made his breakthrough as Ted DiBiase’s bodyguard, Virgil, a character whose charisma hit a positive nerve with wrestling fans around the globe. The promotion knew it, too, and Virgil was a part of several important storylines over the next eight years while appearing in WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series events.

After his departure from WWF in 1994, Jones ultimately wound up in WCW as Vincent, the fifth member of the NWO, and he remained in the promotion until a retirement in 2000 that lasted six years.

There would be appearances in WWE, AEW, and several regional shows in the ensuing years, plus acting gigs and appearances that kept him in the public eye. But outside of the ring, he apparently struggled. In May of 2022, he created a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills, writing, “It’s really shitty right now. To make things worse, I now have stage 2 colon cancer. I am a fighter, but need your help. I cannot afford any of the medical bills and would love your support.”

Jones also referred to having multiple strokes and being diagnosed with dementia in the last couple of years before his untimely passing.

“Shocked and saddened to hear the news about Virgil,” wrote Jake “The Snake” Roberts on X. “Rest in peace, my friend.”

Thomas Gerbasi

Thomas Gerbasi is currently senior editor for BoxingScene.com, Women’s Boxing columnist for The Ring magazine, a contributor to Boxing News (UK) magazine, and a member of the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 in the non-participant wing. An award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, Gerbasi is also the author of five books. His amateur boxing record was 0-1.

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