AEW pays respects to wrestling legend Steve McMichael after his passing

Modified Apr 24, 2025 03:56 GMT

Football and wrestling legend Steve McMichael passed away recently [Image Credits: AEW's website, WWE's YouTube channel]

AEW has taken to social media to pay tribute to football legend and former pro-wrestling personality, Steve McMichael, after news broke of his passing. The 67-year-old had been battling a major neurodegenerative disorder for several years now.

McMichael, also popularly known as Mongo and Ming the Merciless, is perhaps best-known for his accomplished professional football career, having played for such teams as the New England Patriots, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. His 15-season stint in the NFL has earned him a range of accolades. Interestingly, like many others from his sport, McMichael has spent quite some time in the squared circle as well.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer was diagnosed with ALS, a rare neurodegenerative disorder, in 2021. It was revealed this Wednesday, April 23, that McMichael had tragically passed away from complications stemming from the disease. The official X/Twitter profile of All Elite Wrestling has now shared a post paying tribute to Mongo and acknowledging his loss, writing:

"AEW and the wrestling world mourns the passing of pro wrestler and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Steve “Mongo” McMichael. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans." - said the company's post.

Check out the tweet below:

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While the Texas-native made multiple appearances on WWE programming, it was WCW where McMichael truly explored pro-wrestling as a form. Initially debuting as a color commentator, the former defensive tackle eventually joined forces with The Four Horsemen. He worked alongside several huge names in the promotion, including Dean Malenko, Curt Hennig, Ric Flair and AEW's Jeff Jarrett, whom McMichael had defeated to become WCW US Champion in 1997.

Sportskeeda Wrestling extends its deepest condolences to Steve McMichael's kin, family and peers for his passing.

Match results for this week's AEW Dynamite

AEW set up shop in the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans for this week's edition of Dynamite. The show featured many of the company's top names, and presented a number of action-packed matches as well. Check out the results from this Wednesday below:

Mark Briscoe defeats Ricochet
The Young Bucks defeat "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight
Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander defeat Brody King and Will Ospreay
Jamie Hayter defeats Kris Statlander [Women's 2025 Owen Hart Cup semifinal]

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The Tony Khan-led company is also gearing up for its next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing 2025.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee