American professional wrestler Mike "Bastion Booger" Shaw dies aged 53
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Former professional wrestler Mike Shaw has died at the age of 53. His death was announced by a family friend. Shaw was most famously known for his time with the the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), as Bastion Booger. The cause of death was announced as a heart attack.
During the course of Shaw's wrestling career he had several gimmicks including Makhan Singh, Friar Ferguson, and Norman the Lunatic, although Shaw is most famously remembered for his gimmick of the Bastion Booger, an overweight man with bad hygiene. After working for local wrestling promotions and World Championship Wrestling, Shaw joined the WWF. Bastion Booger was one of his gimmicks while wrestling for the WWF.
In an interview with wrestling journalist Scott Teal in 1998, Shaw said "I think the Booger character would have worked if it got over as a heel, but my heart wasn't into it. I didn't like the character. I didn't like the outfit. Don't get me wrong. I was happy to be in the WWF. It was something I wanted to do my whole career. I made a good living there."
After leaving the WWF, Shaw retired from active wrestling. Thereafter he ran his own wrestling school. He made an appearance on WWE Raw on December 10, 2007 to take part in the show's fifteenth anniversary.
Shaw is survived by his wife and two children.
Sources
- "Multi-gimmicked Mike Shaw -- Norman, Makhan Singh, Bastion Booger -- dead at 53" — Slam! Canoe, September 12, 2010
- "Mike Shaw dies at age 53, played 1990s WWF wrestler Bastion Booger" — PWTorch, September 12, 2010
- "Former WWE Superstar Bastion Booger Dead Aged 53" — Wrestling Radio, September 12, 2010
