When news broke that Michael “Virgil” Jones had unfortunately passed away at 61 amid a battle with stage II colon cancer – the exact cause of death remains unlisted – it generated well-wishes and goodbyes from fans, wrestlers, and promotions alike.

Though Virgil hasn't been particularly active as of late, working his final match at Talk ‘N Shop A Mania 2 for the Good Brothers all the way back in 2020, fans have remained engaged in his story, from being diagnosed with cancer to reports that he was soliciting paid autographs on a table set up on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

With his passing initially being reported by Mark Charles III, who shared that the former WWE/WCW star had “passed away peacefully at the hospital” before asking that fans pray for him, folks from all walks of life took to social media to discuss their experiences with Virgil too, including Joey Janela, who played a big role in the final decade of his career. Discussing his personal experience with Virgil, Janela put him over one final time, both as a performer and as a person.

Sad way to wake up this morning to find out my friend Michael “Virgil” Jones passed on to the great Olive Garden in the sky.

I met Virgil when I was 11 at an indie wrestling show, I walked up and said hello and he tried to finagle me for $20 a picture. I did not have any money but instead he said “Kid, hold my bag” fast forward 2 years later I walked into the Super Mega show toy convention and my friends dad went “Joey, that guy over there is calling your name. Too much confusion and surprise it was “WWF Superstar” Virgil some how he remembered me.

Many years later when we came up with the Spring Break show the first name that came to mind that we needed to get for this show was Virgil himself, which permanently cemented himself as a part of the Janelaverse forever!

I had many great times with Michael, he was one of the funniest characters I’ve ever met in the business and always meant well. From getting the promoter in England to fly him out on 2 days notice because we were drunk and I wanted to hang out with him which would be his last time across the pond, to bringing him to the AEW hotel to rib and annoy the boys. Virgil was always a team player and brought smiles to peoples faces.

But let’s not his contributions to the business back in the day as his act with the million dollar man Ted Dibiase and massive babyface turn is something very memorable and still talked about today. If you were in the business then or if you ran into Virgil in the last 20 years you had a story that you’d remember forever.

I looked forward to seeing him this year in Philadelphia, but that sadly that won’t happen, but I have many memories with the Meatsauce god that will last a lifetime!

RIP VIRGIL!

With Virgil already being promoted for a few events at WrestleMania weekend, it's tough to know wrestling fans won't be afforded one final chance to see Ted DiBiase‘s former second one final time. Still, as Janela pointed out, in the decades since Virgil initially debuted, he's become something of a legend, and it's hard to imagine that will diminish even now that he's gone.

WWE, TNA, and AEW say goodbye to Virgil.

While plenty of wrestlers and fans have commented on Virgil's passing, so too have multiple promotions, including the company he's most well known for his career, WWE, who posted a kind tribute to him on social media.

TNA wrestling said goodbye to Virgil, too, even though he never technically wrestled a match for the promotion during his 35-year career in the business.

Though AEW didn't share a graphic for Virgil on social media, Tony Schiavone did send his condolences to the man AEW fans know as Soul Train Jones, who made some appearances early on with Chris Jericho culminating in 2019. Though he and Ole Anderson, another wrestler from last century who passed away this week, weren't staples of AEW or a big part of the promotion's history, Schiavone pointed out their importance to the history of the business to younger fans who maybe weren't as familiar with their work in the hopes of getting folks interested in what they brought to the table. All things considered a nice way to send the duo off, even if a graphic wouldn't have hurt.