On-Topic RIP

[FUM]

2 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Is this for real? If so that definitely warrants a separate thread. 

Yep. TMZ have reported it. I went to start a thread but didn’t care for a potential reaction to saying it deserved one.

[BomberPat]

Robbie Ellis has passed away.

Probably not a name that means much to anyone aside from the likes of me, who saw him as a semi-regular act in CHIKARA in the late '00s, but he was a fascinating guy. 

He was 82 years old, and allegedly debuted in 1966, though I haven't been able to find anything about him wrestling before the early '80s. That's not necessarily surprising, as he was never much of a star, more of a journeyman who made the odd TV appearance - he was an occasional job guy in Mid-South and the UWF, where he wrestled the likes of Sting, Steve Williams, and Ted DiBiase, before popping up a few times for Jim Crockett Promotions.

He kept plugging away on the independent scene intermittently through the '90s and into the early '00s, when he began to get the odd novelty booking as an old man wrestler, similar to how Action Mike Jackson has popped up in GCW and TNA from time to time in that role. When he retired, in 2012, he was 69 years old.

He was the subject of a documentary - Canvasman - in 2010, because of his "double life"; outside of wrestling, he ran an art gallery and auction house, and was a fairly well known and respected fine art dealer and collector. 

He's the kind of wrestler I love; a bloke who never really found stardom, but just kept plugging away at it well into pensionable age out of love of the game. I've been to too many seminars where wrestlers tell you that if you're not in to become World Champion and make a ton of money, you're doing it for the wrong reasons, when I think I'd like wrestling a whole lot more if there were more Robbie Ellises in it.

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

Indy wrestler from the US that seems to be very well known 'Jaka' died after having a heart attack 

 

https://www.sescoops.com/news/indie-wrestler-jaka-dead-heart-attack/

[Statto]

Bobby Horne, better known as (Sir) Mo from Men on a Mission has passed away aged 61.

I thought that was all 3 of them gone but it appears Oscar is still alive, could have sworn he went a few years ago. I think perhaps I'm confusing it with my older brother's amazement when they first turned up that the young guy was the manager and the old looking dude (Mo) was in the ring.

[Chico Torres]

I feel bad, Sir Mo at least deserves a reply. Happy to be corrected but I believe MOM were the first team to ever win the tag titles in the UK in what may have been an inadvertent shoot when Mabel squished a Quebecer and they lost them 2 days later in Sheffield. Not sure if it is officially recognized.

I am almost certain I once witnessed Sir Mo do a moonsault. We live in an age of unprecedented access to information yet I can find no evidence of this. Can anyone confirm the Sir Mo Moonsault?

RIP Sir Mo

[TV Time Remaining]

I was there when the title changed hands, it didn't seem like an accident but who knows. Its possible I have one of the only pictures in existence of MOM with the titles. 

RIP Sir Mo

Edited October 20, 2025 by TV Time Remaining

[TV Time Remaining]

1 hour ago, Chico Torres said:

I feel bad, Sir Mo at least deserves a reply. Happy to be corrected but I believe MOM were the first team to ever win the tag titles in the UK in what may have been an inadvertent shoot when Mabel squished a Quebecer and they lost them 2 days later in Sheffield. Not sure if it is officially recognized.

I am almost certain I once witnessed Sir Mo do a moonsault. We live in an age of unprecedented access to information yet I can find no evidence of this. Can anyone confirm the Sir Mo Moonsault?

RIP Sir Mo

I remember him missing a moonsault at an In Your House and Jerry Lawler yelled "don't do that no 'Mo!"

Edit

I think it was against Razor and Savio.

Edited October 20, 2025 by TV Time Remaining

[davertfnewman]

It was against Razor and Savio in a shockingly good match where Mabel also took a slam off the top rope.

I always thought his finest moment was the coronation of King Mabel - "Come on, chico!".

[JNLister]

5 hours ago, Chico Torres said:

I feel bad, Sir Mo at least deserves a reply. Happy to be corrected but I believe MOM were the first team to ever win the tag titles in the UK in what may have been an inadvertent shoot when Mabel squished a Quebecer and they lost them 2 days later in Sheffield. Not sure if it is officially recognized.

 

There's an "investigation" into it by Maffew of Botchamania a few years back: 

I have got a horrible feeling that the earliest mention of it in print is a throwaway line I wrote in the Suckerpunch fanzine in 1997 or 98. It was definitely a known "true" story at the time, rather than something I made up, but it's possible that's where it ultimately stems from.

Worth noting on the video that the Wrestling Title Histories book doesn't address it at all. It's the cited reference in the article, but that's simply for the title change rather than the circumstances.

[SaitoRyo]

The good folks at the WWE Vault have uploaded one of Men on a Mission's dark/tryout matches. They were obviously quite green but did some impressive things for their size. 

ut 

[davertfnewman]

They didn't kill Bell or DeVito, so that's a plus. Definitely needed Oscar for the crowd interaction, though.

[simonworden]

The previously mentioned moonsault match. Head to the 10 min 10 sec mark for the spot. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5y9o9

Edited October 22, 2025 by simonworden

[kidzero]

I seen men on a mission on a house show in 1995 just before Mabel won king of the ring glad I got to see them wrestle in there prime for the WWF...I have a soft spot for WWF wrestlers from 1995 it was the height of my fandom.

[FLips]

Not to jump the gun or anything but there’s not really anywhere else to discuss it, but there’s reports Mike “IRS” Rotunda is in Hospice Care now. 67 years old, just a fuckin’ kid.

[mim731]

13 minutes ago, FLips said:

Not to jump the gun or anything but there’s not really anywhere else to discuss it, but there’s reports Mike “IRS” Rotunda is in Hospice Care now. 67 years old, just a fuckin’ kid.

I always liked IRS, weirdly. I think its because I his Hasbro figure from a well meaning relative as a kid. So I'm sad tp hear he's in a bad way. That family has truly had a rough ride of things.

Not that it's even remotely important, but this might well explain why Bo Dallas has been off TV for a bit while the rest of his group continued.