Former WWE Star Dead at 61
WWE legend Michael Jones, better known as his alter-ego Virgil, has passed away at the age of 61, his family confirmed on Wednesday. TMZ reported the news.
Mark Charles III, a wrestling referee and close friend of Jones, announced his death in a Facebook post. “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!”
Jones was best known as “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase’s bodyguard Virgil, a character he debuted in 1987 just two years after making his WWE debut. He served mostly as a bodyguard and manager for DiBiase, though he occasionally jumped into the ring to defend his charge from various fighters.
Virgil ultimately went against “The Million Dollar Man,” defeating DiBiase at both WrestleMania and SummerSlam in 1991. He later re-teamed with DiBiase in 1996 as a member of the WCW’s New World Order. Much like his time as DiBiase’s bodyguard, Jones only occasionally wrestled with WCW, nominally providing muscle.
Jones retired from active competition in 2000 but returned to events in 2010 as Ted BiBiase Jr.’s bodyguard. From 2019 until 2020, Jones adopted his previous stage name of Soul Train Jones for a series of appearances on All Elite Wrestling, playing an ally of Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle.
He wrestled his last match on April 29, 2020, when he appeared during an episode of Dynamite on the Inner Circle’s Bubbly Bunch segment, appearing in the Manitoba Melee.
In his later years, Jones relocated to Ohio Valley and made multiple appearances at local wrestling conventions.
A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed. According to WTRF, Jones was diagnosed with dementia and suffered two strokes in 2022. Last December, he set up a GoFundMe page requesting $400 to buy clothes and toiletries. Those who donated $25 or more were promised an autographed headshot of Virgil.
The tragic news of Jones’ passing comes just days after original Four Horsemen member Ole Anderson passed away at age 81.
