Professional wrestler Michael Jones, best known as Virgil (Ted DiBiase's bodyguard) in the WWF in the late 1980s into the early 1990s, has passed at age 61.
It's the second in a matter of days among professional wrestlers, shortly after Ole Anderson's passing. (See earlier post.)
Virgil was usually the one who took the beatings for DiBiase, as well as acting as his stooge in many memorable storylines. He was usually silent during his first years, only heard in a few early vignettes for the then-debuting DiBiase (at a local swimming pool, Virgil yelled at kids to hurry up and get out of the pool so that DiBiase could have the whole place to himself, the skit itself part of a series of vignettes to help push DiBiase as a man whose vast wealth could get him anything he wanted and that "everybody has a price"). Virgil was later a key player in a legendary storyline that saw Andre the Giant defeat Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Championship in early 1988; he and DiBiase would team up at least once to battle Hogan and Bam Bam Bigelow.
Virgil later broke away from DiBiase, became a face (good guy) when he turned his back on "the Million Dollar Man," and defeated his former boss for the "Million Dollar Championship" at the 1991 SummerSlam. (A storyline was started earlier in the year to have DiBiase become more and more abusive toward Virgil, until Roddy Piper convinced Virgil to stand up for himself.) His later time in the WWF saw him compete mainly as a jobber (the guy who almost always loses against more established wrestlers) before eventually wrapping up his run in the organization in 1995.
Jones also competed for Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, where he became "Vincent" (a jab at the now-former WWF owner), and rejoined DiBiase and his bad guy status.
https://www.wwe.com/article/mike-virgil-jones-passes-awayBrian
