Line #43 Wrestling/MikeAwesome


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mikeawesome_6642.jpg]]
2
3	->"''Awesome is what they say\
4	All his victims feel the pain\
5	Trapped with an Awesome Bomb\
6	You go down and you never come up''"
7
8	Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er from Tampa, UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} known as '''Mike Awesome''' and, in Wrestling/{{FMW}} in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, '''The Gladiator.''' He started in 1989 in Florida and was a masked {{Jobber}} for Wrestling/{{WCW}} as '''The Pro'''. He jumped to FMW in 1991 and became a regular there. He made his Wrestling/{{ECW}} debut defeating Randy Starr at ''ECW Holiday Hell'' on December 26, 1993. He continued to compete in [=FMW=], though he made a few more appearances in [=ECW=] in 1994, including his famous match with JT Smith at ''ECW The Night the Line Was Crossed,'' where Smith surprised everyone by pinning Awesome with a small package ''after'' Awesome had crushed Smith against the guardrail. He returned to ECW in 1998, resuming his big feud with Wrestling/MasatoTanaka to great acclaim. He surprised everyone by making his [=WCW=] debut on the [[ResetButton April 10, 2000]] episode of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' while he was still the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html ECW World Heavyweight Champion]]. He stayed with WCW until it closed and, after Wrestling/{{WWE}} bought out WCW, he was brought in for the [=InVasion=][=/=]Alliance angle, an experience he hated. He was released in September 2002 and would spend time in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, Wrestling/{{MLW}}, Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, and some independents. His last in-ring appearance was his match with Tanaka at ''ECW One Night Stand'' on June 12, 2005. He announced his retirement in 2006 and started a career in real estate. Sadly, he was found dead of suicide on February 12, 2007. (See WouldHitAGirl below.) Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 2x ECW World Heavyweight Champion, a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html ECW World Tag Team Champion]] with Wrestling/{{Raven}}, a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-hc.html WWE Hardcore]] Champion, a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mlw/mlw-h.html MLW World Heavyweight Champion]], and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/fmw/fmw-bk.html FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion]].
9	----
10	!! "Awesome Tropes":
11	* EightiesHair: Why, yes, that is a mullet.
12	* {{Acrofatic}}: He was 6'6" and almost 300lbs, but could fly just as well as most cruiserweights.
13	* ArchEnemy: Masato Tanaka, of course, also El Vampiro in WCW
14	%%* BashBrothers: With Mr. Pogo, Big Titan[[note]]Rick [[TheOtherDarrin "The Fake Razor Ramon"]][=/=]"Ric Titan" Bogner[[/note]], Horace Boulder (Hogan)
15	%%* TheBrute: As a heel.
16	%%* TheBusCameBack: For his match with Masato Tanaka at ''ECW One Night Stand 2005.''
17	* CaptainErsatz: While in WCW he got an ersatz in ''VideoGame/FireProWrestling''. It's possible it was inspired by something earlier but eventually it was confirmed as Mike Awesome.
18	* CatchPhrase: "Because I'm AWESOME!"
19	* DemotedToExtra: He only had one [=PPV=] match during his [=WWE=] run, which was he and Lance Storm losing to [=Edge=] and [=Christian=] at ''[=InVasion=].''
20	** He lost to ''Funaki'' on the September 7, 2002 ''[[{{BShow}} Velocity]]''. The guy who was such a jobber he lost to a nobody called [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Diamondback]] Funaki.
21	* DiscoDan: He was briefly repackaged as "That '70's Guy", wearing polyester suits, driving a ''[[Series/ThePartridgeFamily Patridge Family]]'' bus and hosting [[TalkShowWithFists "The Lava Lamp Lounge"]].
22	* FakeNationality: Had the distinction of being part of two groups called "Team Canada" in both FMW and WCW despite being obviously American (and from Florida, which is as far from Canada as you can get in the contiguous US).
23	%%* FinishingMove: The Awesome Bomb, Awesome Splash
24	* ForeignWrestlingHeel:
25	** In Japan, he played the typical "gaijin brute" that the rival Japanese face must overcome, with Masato Tanaka being said rival in FMW.
26	** In WCW, he was this as part of Team Canada (despite definitely not being Canadian).
27	* GarbageWrestler: Kinda obvious when you come from [=ECW=], but most of his time in WWE was spent fighting for the Hardcore Title. In fact, he won it in his WWE TV debut.
28	* HiredGuns: One of many hired by Ray González to defeat WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion Wrestling/{{Carl\|ito Colon}}y.
29	* LightningBruiser: Joey Styles would negatively contrast Mike Awesome's ability against his supposed inferiors in WCW. WCW announcer Scott Hudson loved to describe him as 'the heavyweight that flies like a cruiserweight.
30	* {{Malaproper}}: He would call WCW interviewer Pamela [=Paulshock=] "Paula [=Pamshock=]".
31	* PowerStable:
32	** (in FMW):
33	** Team Canada (no connection to the WCW group)
34	** [[Wrestling/EdFarhat The Sheik Army]]
35	** The Puerto Rican Army (led by manager/promoter Victor Quiñonez)
36	** Lethal Weapon
37	** [[Wrestling/TerryFunk Funk Masters of Wrestling]]
38	** ZEN (led by Atsushi Onita after his heel turn)
39	** (in WCW):
40	** The New Blood (led by Wrestling/VinceRusso and Wrestling/EricBischoff with Wrestling/JeffJarrett as the focus until the group fell apart)
41	** [[Wrestling/LanceStorm Team Canada]]
42	** (in WWE): The Alliance
43	** (in TNA): [[Wrestling/JamesMitchell The New Church]]
44	** (in AJPW): [=RO&D=]
45	* [[MusclesAreMeaningful Prejudiced For Pecs]]: Unlike most cases in professional wrestling, this worked against him, as some promoters and agents actively discouraged his jumping around, believing it too unbelievable for a guy his size to resort to, which unfortunately made Mike Awesome look more generic, as WWF and WCW were not experiencing a major shortage of guys his size.
46	* TheQuisling: He debuted in WCW on the April 10, 2000 episode of ''Nitro'' while he was still the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html ECW World Heavyweight Champion]]. ECW fans never forgave him.
47	* RedBaron: (in WCW): "That '70's Guy", "The Fat Chick Thrilla". Both as awful as they sound and a clear sign of his VillainDecay from his ECW days. But hey, six figures.
48	* WouldHitAGirl: It was apparently what led to his death. He had had an altercation with his wife and she called the police and he was arrested. While he was in jail, his wife walked out on him. Reportedly, when he got back home he felt he had nothing to live for and he killed himself.
49	** InUniverse: During his title defense against [[Wrestling/TooColdScorpio 2 Cold Scorpio]] (w[=/=][[Wrestling/CarleneMoore [=Jazz=]]]) on the December 10, 1999 ''ECW on TNN'', she got involved and tried punching away at him to no effect. He set her up for the Awesome Bomb but Scorpio came off the top with a clothesline to make the save.
50	*** Also clotheslined Spike Dudley's girlfriend after she hit the Acid Drop DDT on Awesome's manager.
51	* WrestlingFamily: His cousin is [[Characters/NewWorldOrder Horace Hogan]], who is Wrestling/HulkHogan's nephew.

Context Wrestling / MikeAwesome