Former WWE Star Mantaur Passes Away Aged 55

In some sad news, Mike Malac has died at the age of 55. Halac was best known to pro wrestling fans as Mantaur in the then-WWF in the '90s.

Mike's daughter Demi has today posted on his Facebook page to reveal that her father passed away in his sleep last night.

"It's Michael's daughter Demi, I'm sorry to break the bad news that my dad has passed away. He went peacefully in his sleep. He's no longer in pain. This really hit home to lose my father, he will forever be in my heart and many others. I love you dad. Make the skies beautiful for me."

Just yesterday, Mike himself posted on Facebook to note how he'd broken his back and was in the Emergency Room, waiting to discover whether he required surgery or whether he'd be sent home with a back brace.

Working under the name Bruiser Mastino - not to be confused with the enhancement talent of the same name portrayed by Glenn Jacobs in WCW - Halac made his in-ring debut in 1991. He would spend the majority of his early career competing for the Catch Wrestling Association in Germany, before Mike joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1994.

Given the half-man, half-bull Mantaur gimmick, Halac would make his TV debut for the promotion on the 15 January '95 episode of WWF Superstars. Mantaur would briefly be managed by Jim Cornette, and the powerhouse got to have TV bouts against major names such as Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, and Bam Bam Bigelow. The Mantaur run would only be a short one, though, and the Omaha native would depart the company by that summer.

Returning to the Bruiser Mastino moniker, that WWF stint would be followed by a short spell in ECW and a return to the CWA, but the big man would wind up back in WWF for a cup of coffee in 1996. There, he served as the unnamed bodyguard of Goldust. Halac would then compete for the USWA, where he became Tank as part of the Truth Commission; defeating Jerry Lawler to have a seven-day reign as the USWA Heavyweight Champion. Tank and the Truth Commission headed to the WWF in the summer of '97, but that was again only a short run for Halac before he exited the company.

Following that, Halac worked for the CWA and independent promotions through until 2001, and he'd work occasional dates through until the final match of his career in 2019. That final in-ring outing saw Mike - as Mantaur - compete in the Clusterf**k Battle Royal at GCW Joey Janela's Spring Brink 3 Part 2.

From all of us here at WhatCulture Wrestling, our thoughts and condolences go out to the family, friends, and fans of Mike Halac. May he rest in peace