One Final Virgil Secret Revealed

Following the sad passing of Michael Jones - best known to wrestling fans as Virgil - last week at the age of 61, it's been revealed that the one-time Million Dollar Champion was working us all for the longest time.

As initially discovered by the guys at OSW Review, and later backed up by Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Virgil was actually 72 years of age at the time of his passing.

I just found out i got worked by Virgil!
He told everyone his birthday is June 13, 1962 but his REAL birthday is April 7, 1951! Hastily re-editing the next OSW.

Even after passing, he's still working. God bless you Virgil pic.twitter.com/M3C8nPVW1o

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— OSW review (@OSWreview) March 2, 2024

I confirmed with Virgil's management team that this is accurate. Virgil was actually 40 when he won the Million Dollar Title in 1991.

What a worker. Rest in Peace https://t.co/p4kv4mna57

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 3, 2024

For those who may have missed it, Michael Jones passed away peacefully in hospital last Thursday. Prior to that, Jones had suffered a couple of strokes and was battling early stage dementia.

In the days since his death, a GoFundMe has been set up to assist with funeral costs. As of this writing, that campaign has raised over $14,000 of its $20,000 target.

The pro wrestling career of Michael Jones began back in 1985, where he worked in Memphis under his Soul Train Jones moniker. By the following year, he'd be in the then-WWF as an enhancement talent by the name of Lucius Brown, and 1987 saw him repackaged as Virgil, the bodyguard of Ted DiBiase.

Virgil would be at DiBiase's side through until the 1991 Royal Rumble, helping the Million Dollar Man to score many an underhand win. Of course, that '91 Rumble saw the two split when Virgil fought back against the increasingly-abusive behaviour of DiBiase. For a spell there, Virgil received some of the loudest pops in the company, such was the want to see him finally dish out some just deserts to the nefarious Ted DiBiase - culminating in Virgil, under the tutelage of Roddy Piper, defeating DiBiase for the Million Dollar Title at that year's SummerSlam.

That tenure with the WWF would last until August 1995 for Virgil, although his final 18 months or so with the market leader would largely see him working house show loops. By 1996, though, he'd head to WCW and take on the Vincent name as the nWo's Head of Security. That WCW run lasted until 2000, with Vincent becoming Shane, then Curly Bill, then Mr. Jones, to finally just going by the Mike Jones name during his final months with the promotion. In more recent years, Jones had a couple of outings in AEW during Chris Jericho's time as the company's inaugural World Champion.

Forever one of the business' true characters, you can't help but raise a smile at the thought that Michael Jones, aka Virgil, aka Vincent, had one last work that he'd managed to pull over basically the entire wrestling industry for all of these years.