The former Viscera/Big Daddy V/Mabel passed away at the age of 43. PWInsider.com has an excellent recap of his career.
WWE issued a statement on his passing. I figured most people knew him as Viscera, but his Big Daddy V persona is getting top billing.
WWE also posted an interview with him from 2008. Enjoyable read with some good insight to his career.
Read on for my thoughts on the man's career.
To begin, it's very sad to see someone pass away at only 43. I know today we focus a lot on who's "too old" to be an active wrestler, but that's nowhere near a full lifespan.
I didn't experience a lot of Frazier's early career. I'm roughly familiar with Men on A Mission, but I know a little more about his singles run as Mabel. Make no mistake about it, he was a very large man an d that really worked well for him getting a big push in that era. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of experience when they did push him and that worked to his disadvantage.
In addition to the Undertaker injury they mentioned, there's also been flak from a big match between Mabel and Diesel where the behemoth splashed Diesel with all his weight. I can't put the blame fully on Frazier here as the company knew he was really big and inexperienced. I can't say I'm very surprised the company didn't use him as a main eventer for long.
The character that most sticks out in my mind is Viscera. There's a soft spot in my heart for the creepy Ministry of Darkness. It's definitely more interesting than Taker's current run as "guy who defends the streak". But I digress. Viscera's look was really cool I thought at the time, and he was quite the scary individual. I enjoyed the Ministry as a whole and Viscera's presence added to that.
I remember his return alongside Gangrel, which was a nice blast from the past for the JBL/Taker feud. I wish there were more fun characters like the two of them.
The World's Largest Love Machine gimmick was really something. I have no idea who thought it up and I'm not a fan of his finisher in this day and age, but I thought he played the oddball role well. The angle with Lilian was definitely interesting and the ending was fitting I suppose. There was great chemistry between himself and Lilian.
I remember the Big Daddy V run fairly well. Having primarily seen him as Viscera, I didn't expect him to return with such a radically different look. He fit the role of big monster bruiser well. The creative direction of the ECW brand is a whole 'nother issue, but I thought for what they were going for he fit the role.
It's really a shame we'll never see him return as part of an Old School Raw or anything. He'll be really missed.
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