Former WWE & WCW Referee Mickie Jay Dead At 59

The long-time WCW ref had been battling pneumonia related to COVID-19.

by Andrew Pollard
Mickey Jay Mickie Henson
WWE.com

In some sad news, referee Mickie Henson - better known to wrestling fans as Mickie Jay - has passed away at the age of 59.

Mike Mooneyham was the first to report this tragic news, with PWInsider since adding that Henson was taken off life support last night following a battle with pneumonia due to complications from COVID-19.

Beginning his pro wrestling refereeing career in 1987, Henson became a mainstay of WCW from the early '90s through until when the company was purchased by the then-WWF in 2001. Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut would later hire Mickie in 2005, where he'd serve as one of the head referees on the SmackDown and ECW brands. It's also worth noting that he was the referee as Kevin Nash defeating Goldberg at Starrcade 1998 to end Da Man's legendary undefeated streak.

2008 saw Henson step away from the ring after being diagnosed with Mantle cell lymphoma, and he would officially exit WWE in 2009. Mickie would defeat this disease, and he would also later be extremely complimentary of WWE for paying him for the eight months after he first learned of his condition; a condition from which he was at one point told he only had months left to live.

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In addition to his career as a referee, Henson - again as Mickie Jay - had a brief spell as a WWF enhancement talent in 1992 and early '93, where he competed against the likes of the Undertaker, Sid Justice, Rick Martel, and the Nasty Boys. He would also compete on the Florida independent scene until the end of 1993.

The thoughts of all of us here at WhatCulture Wrestling go out to the family and friends of Mickie Henson at this time.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.