Jerry Tuite

Jerry Tuite
Birth name	Michael Jerome Tuite
Born	(1966-12-27)December 27, 1966[1] Ocean Grove, New Jersey, US[2]
Died	December 6, 2003(2003-12-06) (aged 36)[3][4] Tokyo, Japan[3]
Cause of death	Heart attack
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Big John[1] Gigantes[1] Hell Raiser[1] Sgt. A.W.O.L.[1][3] Malice[1][3][4] Sgt. A-Wall[2] Snuff[1] The Wall[1][3][4]
Billed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)[2]
Billed weight	340 lb (150 kg)[2]
Trained by	Mike Sharpe[4] Bam Bam Bigelow[1]
Debut	1994[2]

Michael Jerome "Jerry" Tuite^[5][3][4] (December 27, 1966 – December 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1999 to 2001 under the ring names The Wall and Sgt. A.W.O.L., as well as his appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002 and 2003 as Malice.^[3][4]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1994-1999)

Born in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, Tuite broke into the wrestling business in 1994 after learning the ropes under veteran Mike Sharpe at his training school in New Jersey.^[3] Tuite trained at the WCW Power Plant before he wrestled full-time as The Wall in WCW.^[1] He was also a protégé of Bam Bam Bigelow.^[1]

World Championship Wrestling (1999-2001)

The Wall (1999-2000)

Tuite debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1999 as a bodyguard for Berlyn, then later moved to the singles division.^[3] The Wall and Berlyn had a feud with Vampiro and Jerry Only of the Misfits.^[6] The feud led to WCW Mayhem where Berlyn and Vampiro fought in a chain match, which Berlyn lost after The Wall walked out.^[7]

Then The Wall vanished for a while until returning to Souled Out where he defeated Billy Kidman in a cage match.^[6] For a while The Wall had an ongoing feud with Kidman and Vampiro. The Wall took on The Demon at Superbrawl where The Wall beat The Demon.^[8] The Wall then feuded with Bam Bam Bigelow, who was angry after The Wall developed a sadistic streak and attacked younger wrestlers, including David Flair and Crowbar.^[6] This led to Uncensored where Wall and Bigelow fought in a match where The Wall put Bigelow through a table.^[9] Crowbar and Flair tried to get revenge on The Wall, but he gave Crowbar a chokeslam off a 20 foot high platform, sending Crowbar through the stage.^[9]

In April 2000 Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo restarted WCW and vacated all of the titles.^[6] The Wall entered the WCW United States Championship tournament, and at Spring Stampede he faced Scott Steiner. He lost, however, when he accidentally chokeslamed a referee through a table and another referee came and disqualified The Wall.^[10] He entered into a short feud with Shane Douglas that led to a tables match between them at The Great American Bash, which Douglas won.^[11]

Sgt A.W.O.L. (2000-2001)

The Wall then disappeared again for a while until returning with a new look. Joining the stable The Misfits in Action, a military group that was led by Hugh Morrus, Chavo Guerrero, Lash LeRoux and Major Gunns, he was renamed Sgt. A.W.O.L. (occasionally spelled "Sgt. A-Wall").^[3] The group had various stable feuds with 3 Count, The Natural Born Thrillers and Team Canada.^[3]

At the start of 2001 The MIA had issues involving Morrus and Guerrero, and they led the group to break up. Then Sgt. A.W.O.L. went back to his old character The Wall. The Wall and Hugh Morrus then had a short feud which led into Superbrawl:Revenge where Morrus defeated The Wall.^[12] After the feud with Morrus, The Wall appeared sporadically in WCW, and wasn't involved in the final episode of Nitro.

After WCW was bought out by Vince McMahon, Tuite signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001. He was later given his release so he could deal with personal issues.^[4]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002, 2003)

In 2002, Tuite began wrestling in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), performing under the moniker of Malice in 2002.^[3] He appeared on the first TNA show, competing in a Gauntlet for the Gold match, lasting to the end until he was defeated by Ken Shamrock.^[1][6] He was a member of James Mitchell's Disciples of the New Church and on numerous occasions nearly won the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. His last TNA appearance was on November 20, 2002 when he beat Kory Williams.^[3] He came back on March 19, 2003, to help Slash and Brian Lee to combat Triple X in an even 3 on 3 battle. However, Slash and Lee were disqualified.

Tuite began wrestling on the independent circuit after leaving TNA, appearing for promotions such as XPW as Snuff, and also held the NWA New Jersey Hardcore Championship.^[3][13] He also won the AAW Heavyweight Championship Tournament in November 2002.^[6]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003)

In 2003, Tuite wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling as Gigantes, and was a regular performer for most of 2003. In his final match on December 5, 2003 Tuite teamed with Bull Buchanan and Justin Credible to defeat Nobutaka Araya, Tomoaki Honma and Kazushi Miyamoto in Tokyo.^[3][4]

Death

On December 6, 2003, Tuite was found unconscious in his hotel room by All Japan Pro Wrestling management and several wrestlers, including NOSAWA and La Parka.^[3][4] He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.^[4] The cause of death was later identified as an apparent heart attack.^[3] Although no drugs were found in his hotel room and there was no evidence of drug use by physical examination, his history of drug use is thought to have been a contributing factor in his death.^[4]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Chokeslam^[2] often through a table^[14][15]
  • Diving knee drop^[16] - TNA
  • Powerbomb,^[2][17][18] usually through a table

• Signature moves
  • Backbreaker^[16]
  • Belly to belly suplex^[16]
  • Big boot^{[14][15][16][18][19]}
  • Corner clothesline^[14]
  • Diving leg drop^[17]
  • Front powerslam
  • Lariat^[14][16][18]
  • Military press slam^[15]
  • Short arm clothesline^[14]
  • Snake Eyes^[15][16]
  • Spin-out powerbomb,^[15] sometimes through a table^[19]
  • Super belly to back suplex, sometimes through a table^[18]
  • Superplex^[17]
  • Two-handed chokelift^[15]
  • Uppercut, sometimes to the opponent's throat^[15]

• Managers
  • Major Gunns
  • James Mitchell^[20]

Championships and accomplishments

• All Access Wrestling
  • AAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA New Jersey
  • NWA New Jersey Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[13]

• Phoenix Championship Wrestling
  • PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #126 of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000^[21]

References

External links

• Jerry Tuite at the Internet Movie Database