Former WCW Star Steve 'Mongo' McMichael Has Died
The former NFL Super Bowl champion was 67.
Former WCW star Steve 'Mongo' McMichael passed away on April 23, 2025. He was 67 years old.
The news was revealed by Jarrett Payton, the son of the late Walter Payton, alongside whom McMichael won NFL Super Bowl XX with the Chicago Bears in 1986.
McMichael's legacy in the game was huge - he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024 - but pro wrestling fans will remember him as a WCW stalwart in the 1990s.
His second career as a pro wrestler actually began in WWE, where he supported Lawrence Taylor in his quest to defeat Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event of WrestleMania XI. Mongo was interviewed on the pre-show. He instantly took to the showbiz element of the game - which, as one of the most charismatic sports stars ever, was unsurprising. Promising to back Taylor up, Mongo said to Jim Ross "Baby, we ain't a bunch of cream puffs. If they wanna bring it on, bring it on. We'll take them to the mat, babydoll."
A great pro wrestling promo before he even did anything in the business, during that interview, his eyes lit up. "I wanna get in that ring. I wish Bam Bam woulda pushed me, darlin'," he said - hilariously - to Jim Ross.
Brimming with enthusiasm, Mongo did in fact get in that ring.
His second career as a pro wrestler started in earnest for World Championship Wrestling, initially as a commentator, where he made his debut at the booth on the inaugural Monday Nitro on September 4, 1995. As a member of the Four Horsemen, McMichael was part of the fabric of one of wrestling's greatest ever runs of episodic TV. While he was never confused with a supreme wrestling technician, Mongo had the pro wrestling magic in him: he was massively endearing, very funny, and his ring work while idiosyncratic was nonetheless believable. In particular, his early matches, in which he was protected in tags alongside and opposite ring generals, were cracking spectacles. Later in his run, he held the WCW United States Heavyweight title.
In the last few years of his life, McMichael was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which he announced publicly on April 23, 2021. He passed away from complications related to it, following a hell of a fight, after being transferred to hospice care on April 23, 2025.
While 67 is no age at all, and the last years of his life were spent in unimaginable pain, McMichael's friends, family and fans can take solace in the fact that he lived multiple lifetimes in one, leaving an indelible impression on all of them.