Wednesday, February 19, 2014

RIP Nelson Frazier

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WrestleChat

Nelson Frazier, Jr., the man who was known as Big Daddy V, Viscera, Mabel, Big Daddy Voodoo, and King V during his career, passed away last night of an apparent heart attack. He was 43 years of age. While he was an alumnus of the USWA, All-Japan Pro Wrestling, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, Frazier was most known for his multiple stints in WWE spanning nearly 15 years. He is survived by his wife, who broke the news of his death to his agent Eric Simms.

Frazier began his career in the independents in 1993, but he was quickly signed by the then-World Wrestling Federation. He and his tag team partner were christened Mabel and Mo, Men on a Mission, and were pushed as positive influences within the urban (read, black) community. That run came to an end when the team attacked their manager Oscar and turned heel. Mo transitioned to a more managerial role, while Mabel went on to win the 1995 King of the Ring tournament. He would receive a title shot at Diesel at SummerSlam that year which proved unsuccessful. After a feud with the Undertaker, he left the company for a short period and wrestled mostly in Puerto Rico and Tennessee.

He would return in 1999 as Viscera, a member of the Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. His stint was primarily marked by being the Ministry's enforcer, a tag team partner to Mideon, and a bastion of the Hardcore Division. He would leave in 2000 and floated around various independents with a short stint in TNA in the interim. He would return in 2004, wrestling as a gross sexual glutton who made disgusting overtures to various women on the roster. Thankfully, he was repackaged as Matt Striker's hired muscle in the WWE version of ECW, where he would remain basically until the end of his career in WWE. Afterwards, he would wrestle primarily for the indies, although he had a stint in AJPW in 2010 and 2011.

I won't lie and say how big a fan I was of Frazier's when he was alive, but outside of his stint as a borderline sexual predator (which was probably more Creative/Vince McMahon than him anyway), he was never really an offensive performer to me. Regardless, 43 is far too young to die, and many of his peers say he was one of the sweetest, most genuine men who ever graced a locker room. May he rest in peace, and may everyone whose lives he touched find solace and comfort.