Tag: Del Wilkes

WOR: eYada memories, Del Wilkes, AEW ratings

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Photo via Eyada Alumni Facebook Page

Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio.

We discuss the AEW ratings from last Saturday and this past Wednesday night. We look at three young babyfaces in AEW who delivered in big moments over their last two shows. We also talk about Del Wilkes, who passed away on July 1. 

There’s also discussion on Mike Tyson and Triller as well as the person who looks to be the successor to Ariel Helwani at ESPN. And then we have a fun discussion on eYada as it is almost 20 years since it shut down. We talk about favorite guests, how Dave did the show when Bryan Alvarez came along, and how that show relates to the current website. The eYada conversation starts at about the 52-minute mark.

Check out our new Facebook Group for those of you interested in attending any F4W meetups, including the 2022 F4W Convention.

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July 5, 2021 Observer Newsletter: More WWE cuts, Del Wilkes passes away

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

WWE cut another 14 wrestlers this past week, with many who had been regulars on 205 Live, plus former main roster performers Tyler Breeze & Fandango, the Bollywood Boyz and Killian Dain, the husband of Nikki Cross.

It’s obvious that the names were not decided as recently as two weeks ago since on the 6/8 episode of NXT, Breeze & Fandango got a win over Imperium, and shot an angle where Breeze was buried underneath the Imperium flag, which appeared to be a way to revive that program.

Also on the list of cuts were 205 Live regulars Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari and August Gray, along with the tag team of Ever Rise, which had been getting TV time of late with NXT, Curt Stallion, who got a few week push on NXT and then was forgotten about and did some 205 Live dates, Arturo Ruas, a Brazilian amateur wrestler, Marina Shafir, who former high-level judoka who was part of the Ronda Rousey led Four Horsewomen, Tino Sabbatelli, a former legitimate NFL player noted for a great physique who would have been a major star had he come along in the 70s, and Killian Dain, the husband of Nikki Cross.

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‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes passes away at 59 due to heart attack

Posted on by Josh Nason

Del Wilkes, best known to wrestling fans as “The Patriot,” passed away Thursday at 59 years old due to what was described as a massive heart attack.

He had been retired from wrestling since 1997 and moved into car sales post-retirement.

A former University of South Carolina offensive lineman and one of only four All-Americans in school history, Wilkes’ wrestling career began in 1988 after a failed attempt at making the NFL. He worked in the AWA under both his real name and later The Trooper, a policeman character that would write tickets for his opponents. He held the Tag Team titles one time with D.J. Peterson.

Adorned in a mask with a bald eagle and sporting the colors of the American flag, Wilkes started the Patriot character while in Global Wrestling in 1991 — a character that would become his trademark. While in a short stint there, he held both their North American and TV titles.

He wrestled a handful of matches in the then-WWF in 1991-92 before heading to overseas to work with All Japan Pro Wrestling. After a short stint, he came back stateside to work in WCW from 1994-95, holding the Tag Team titles with Marcus Alexander Bagwell. He then returned to All Japan for three more years before returning to the WWF to oppose Bret Hart’s anti-American character as part of another short run.

Wilkes’ post-wrestling career included a painkiller addiction and nine months in prison for forging a prescription. Wilkes said he had used both steroids and cocaine during both his college football career and pro wrestling career.

Our Antonio Thomas talked with Wilkes in 2019 about his college football career.

Left My Wallet: ‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes

Posted on by Antonio Garza

We’re in the heart of college football season and “Left My Wallet” returns with “The Patriot” Del Wilkes, one of four consensus All-Americans in the history of South Carolina football.

We talk about the outstanding recruiting class his alma mater has coming in, national college football signing day and how it was for him, the differences in recruiting from when he played to today, and what it’s going to take for South Carolina to return atop the SEC standings.

Del then gives his predictions for the BCS playoffs and which team he begrudgingly thinks will win. He also talks about the difference in skill it takes to go from high school to college and college to the pros, some of the toughest defensive players to guard, and what it was like to line up against Lawrence Taylor.

He also talks about his time as a consensus All-American, what it meant for him to appear on Bob Hope’s Christmas Special, meeting the man himself, and which players weren’t too thrilled to be bothered by being on the show. 

We all know The Patriot from Global, WCW, All Japan, and WWF, but now get to know the side of the man who was a dominating force for South Carolina football in the early 80s.

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