Former WCW Superstar Ice Train passes away at 56

Former WCW star Ice Train has tragically passed away. Real name Harold Fitzgerald Hogue, the grappler was 56 years old at the time of his death.

Ice Train made his WCW debut on the July 7, 1993, edition of WorldWide, winning a Handicap Match over two enhancement talents. He received a bit of a push before going to work for CWA from mid-1994 until early 1996. Train returned to World Championship Wrestling to form the Fire & Ice tag team with Scott Norton before leaving the promotion again the following year.

He had another brief CWA stint, then returned to WCW as M.I. Smooth in mid-2000. The heavyweight from Atlanta retired soon after WWE bought WCW in 2001.

Diamond Dallas Page has remained friends with Ice Train over the years. The WWE Hall of Famer took to Facebook today to announce Train's passing. He included several never-before-seen photos of the two hanging out.

"It was so Sad to hear, that one of my closest brothers is gone. Harold Houge aka H aka Ice Train aka Smooth was a warrior and one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. Our 30 year relationship was filled with laughter & brotherhood. We were always there for each other. Our families are one family," he wrote.

DDP continued:

"One of my fondest memories was the Christmas the two of us headed into the inner city to help many of the less fortunate families have a better Christmas. As you can see we got on our favorite Christmas outfits and headed out to spread some cheer. I’ve also included one my favorite pictures of H & my mom Sylvia at Payge’s & my wedding. I will put up a tribute video up later next week. I just don’t have the strength to do it yet. RIP my brother! You will be missed but never forgotten!"

Ice Train, who previously discussed Chris Benoit with Sportskeeda, returned to pro wrestling at 52 for one night only. He worked for the European Wrestling Promotion in Hannover, Germany, on December 21, 2019, and fought former WCW star Dave Taylor to a no-contest.

Ice Train on why he turned WWE down after WCW

Ice Train retired shortly after WWE bought their rival WCW in 2001, but he did have offers from Vince McMahon.

Train has given several exclusive interviews to Sportskeeda Wrestling in recent years. He praised a top AEW heel just last year and previously discussed a possible surprise Royal Rumble appearance.

Appearing on Sportskeeda's UnSKripted Live Q&A session with Dr. Chris Featherstone in 2020, the former New Blood member revealed that he turned down a job with WWE.

The former WCW star was asked about his retirement and how a potential WWE career would have gone. He explained that he felt it was in his best interest to retire from the ring as he wanted to preserve his love for the industry.

"I had turned down Vince, twice, right before I retired. ... I had a chance to go to Vince about two months before that, and after that, I just, I felt that it was just good to leave it alone because I didn't want to not ever love the business. Right now, I'm out of the business for 20 years, and I still love it, man. It's a great brotherhood, a great fraternity," he said.

Train noted that he was used to receiving a guaranteed pay figure in WCW, but with WWE, he would've earned an amount based on his work, and he was not ready to lose his guaranteed money on a pipe dream.

The heavyweight grappler was also weary about taking a chance on McMahon and WWE but was open to giving it a shot if they used him right. Ultimately, Train felt like retirement was the best decision. He went on to reveal potential WWE plans for his debut.

We at Sportskeeda extend our condolences to Ice Train's family and friends.

What are your favorite memories of Ice Train? Sound off in the comments below!