The pro wrestling world lost two globally known names last week: Ole Anderson & Virgil. Anderson was a longtime wrestler and booker from the 1960s to 1990s and Virgil became famous overnight in the late 1980s as the muscle-bound on-camera bodyguard of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase.
Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson (real name Alan Rogowski) started wrestling in the late 1960s. Anderson was trained by ring legends of the middle 20th century Vern Gagne and Dick the Bruiser in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) which was the territory that really controlled pro wrestling in the upper Midwest.
Eventually, Anderson headed south to Jim Crockett Promotions which was based in the Carolinas, and met up with Gene and Lars Anderson. They were a well-known tag team called the “Minnesota Wrecking Crew”. He joined the Andersons and adopted the name “Ole Anderson” which he has been known by ever since.
Anderson bounced back and forth between territories for several years but he became best known in 1986-87 when he joined forces with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Arn Anderson (another wrestler who adopted the Anderson name) to create the Four Horsemen. The Horsemen became one of the most dominant and famous pro wrestling stables of all time. They feuded with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, and Sting.
As Old Anderson was finishing up his time actively wrestling, he eventually left the Horsemen and was replaced by other famous wrestlers like Barry Windham and Lex Luger.
@goingringside On #goingringside episode 30 #arnanderson talks about the late #oleanderson and the #fourhorsemen in #nwa #wrestling with #ricflair he says #barrywindham was the best replacement #wcw #80swrestling #oldschoolwrestling #wrestletok
♬ original sound - Going Ringside
Anderson eventually became the booker (the man who produces and runs the wrestling company) of World Championship Wrestling (the name Crockett Promotions took on after it was bought by Ted Turner).
Anderson remained active in wrestling until about 1994 when he finally left the company.
“I Am Forever Thankful To Ole And Gene For Bringing Me In To Crockett Promotions As A Cousin. It Launched My Career. I Will Be Grateful Forever For You Giving Me The Opportunity To Become Who I Am Today. We Didn’t Always Agree With Each Other, But The Honest To God Truth Is You & Gene Started Me. Rest In Peace My Friend,” wrote Ric Flair on social media.
Anderson retired after that and he was still a man often talked about in wrestling circles. He passed away on Feb. 26, 2024, at 81-years-old.
Virgil
Virgil’s real name is Mike Jones. He became known to the world in 1987 when he joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, today it’s WWE) as the bodyguard of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase.
Virgil became instantaneously recognizable with his large arms and menacing look to stop anyone who would mess with Dibiase.
Virgil was at the center of the most viewed pro wrestling TV show in history. That would be “The Main Event” which aired on primetime NBC in 1988. An estimated 33 million people tuned in to watch that show.
In that event, Hulk Hogan faced Andre The Giant in a rematch from WrestleMania III. Andre won due to a controversy with twin referees. In the storyline, Dibiase, who was known to throw his money around, bought off the second referee. And Andre after winning the match awarded the title to Dibiase.
That set up a vacant title and tournament for a new champion. Throughout that whole controversy, Virgil was at the center and became immediately recognizable to fans all over the planet.
Eventually, after several years of doing Dibiase’s bidding, Virgil finally rebelled against his evil boss (of course once again in the storyline) and that set up a match. Virgil mostly languished in the WWF after that but he popped up once again in 1996 in the competing WCW. By this point, Hulk Hogan had switched companies and become a bad guy. He formed the New World Order (NWO) with other stars like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.
Virgil became a member of the group and remained an instantly recognizable figure as he took on a new name “Vincent”. The Virgil name was owned by WWF so “Vincent” was used as a dig at WWF owner Vince McMahon.
He remained with the company for several years until WCW shuttered in 2001.
@goingringside RIP #virgil whose real name is #mikejones he has passed away #milliondollarman #teddibiase #wcw #wrestletok #wwf #hulkhogan #wwe #goingringside
♬ original sound - Going Ringside
Virgil remained in retirement ever since and became a fixture on the convention circuit. He also became somewhat of an internet meme with images of him sitting at conventions with no fans looking for autographs, as fans dubbed him “Lonely Virgil”. He played that up as he continued his celebrity by appearing as a down-on-his-luck former wrestling star.
“I took a few days to process everything but I didn’t want to let too much time pass before I paid my respects to Mike “Virgil” Jones. The Million Dollar Man character was enhanced and improved thanks to Mike and his hard work and I will forever be thankful. More importantly, I will always be thankful for his friendship. God bless you and may you rest in peace, my friend,” wrote Ted Dibiase on social media.
He also became a math teacher after wrestling and utilized a mathematics degree from the University of Virginia.
In the final years of his life, Virgil dealt with several health issues and passed away on Feb. 23, 2024, at the age of 61.