2005

2005 would again see Awesome beginning the year on a trek to Japan, competing for Pro Wrestling NOAH for the first few months.

But when talking about 2005, one has to discuss the WWE presentation of ECW One Night Stand on June 12th, 2005, from the Hammerstein Ballroom.  Awesome was brought in for what would, by all accounts, turn out to be his final match, and what a match it was. Once again pitted across the ring from Masato Tanaka, the two would put on an instant classic that reminded the whole world why Mike Awesome was such a unique talent. But the match was not without controversy.

As Awesome had departed ECW years earlier in a controversial fashion, the fans didn’t exactly welcome Awesome into the Ballroom with cheers, instead choosing to give the big man quite a bit of a hard time. While his performance would soon change their minds, even ending the match with a standing ovation for both men and their performance, there was one man not so easily swayed by his opinion, that being Joey Styles.

Throughout the match, Styles obliterated Mike Awesome for his departure from ECW for WCW years earlier, even frankly stating, “It’s a shame he didn’t succeed in taking his own life.” While at the time, this just seemed like very sour grapes on Styles’ behalf, even understandable given his association with the ECW name and brand, it would take on a much darker tone just a few years later.

2006

2006 was a tranquil year for the man formerly known as The Gladiator. In February of that year, he announced that he was retiring from wrestling, partially allegedly stemming from feeling the WWE underpaid him for his performance at One Night Stand, where he and Tanaka put on the match of the night. As it stood, that was his final match, and he went on to become, as many other former wrestlers seem to, a real estate agent in the Tampa area where he was born and raised.

2007

After Mike’s wife noted she was leaving him, there was a confrontation between the two, which led to his arrest for domestic abuse.

Upon his release, Mike Alfonso was found dead by a group of friends in his home, having hung himself. At the time of his death, he was 42 years old, tragically leaving behind his wife, high school sweetheart Delisa, and their two children, Casey and Carissa.

At the time, Mike worked as a realtor at Coldwell Banker in the Tampa area, while it was also noted that he was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and trail bike ridings.

A celebration of Michael’s life took place at 10 a.m. Friday, February 23, 2007, at Serenity Meadows.

Given the dearth of mental health resources that have come to be over the past 15 years since Awesome’s passing, one has to wonder if he had access to those types of options and if things could have been different. Instead, we remember a man taken by his hand at a relatively young age who had much more to offer to his family and friends and the wrestling world.