The Tragic Death Of Wrestler Nelson Frazier Jr.

In all of his in-ring iterations, Nelson Frazier Jr. was an undeniably larger-than-life presence in professional wrestling. Whether he was rocking a spandex onesie or silk pajamas, the formidable 6'9" WWE Superstar struck fear in the hearts of his opponents and excited his throngs of loyal fans. According to his official WWE bio, he weighed in at a whopping 487 pounds. Frazier started with the promotion in 1993, making his debut as Mabel. At that time, he and Robert Horne, aka Mo, took on all challengers as an intimidating tag team named Men on a Mission. In 1994, they took the World Tag Team Championship, and then Mabel set off on a solo career that would culminate in his King of the Ring win in 1995. King Mabel would have some serious runs for the WWE Championship, taking on tough opponents like Diesel and The Undertaker, but he was never able to pull off the big win.

Frazier took a short break from the WWE, and when he returned he joined The Undertaker's terrifying stable Ministry. Now fighting under the name Viscera, the giant tormented his opponents with bright, all-white eyes and a fiery yellow mohawk. After another break, he came back in silk pajamas, a beautiful woman on each arm, and the moniker "The World's Largest Love Machine." Frazier would finish out his WWE career as Big Daddy V, then hit the independent circuits and wrestled in Japan before finally retiring in 2011.

In 2008, Nelson Frazier Jr. spoke with WWE Magazine about the ups and downs of his 15-year run with the world's biggest wrestling promotion. When asked if it was tough to jump into a roster lined with veterans as a young, 21-year-old newbie, Frazier said that wasn't the only challenge at the time. "There was tremendous pressure," he said. "Not only being a big young guy, but also being a young black guy. There are more black Superstars in WWE today than there were when I came up. It was pretty difficult, but it was an experience." No doubt racism was a challenge during his career. Although it is common for fans to boo the heels (bad guys), there is something rather telling about his official King of the Ring coronation, in which an arena full of white people can be seen booing him and throwing beer cans at his head.

He then went on to discuss his greatest accomplishment: He was the first wrestler to pin The Undertaker all on his own. "It once took 20 guys to put him in a casket, but I pinned him by myself, and that was the thrill of a lifetime." His favorite character iteration was surely The World's Largest Love Machine. "Just to be in the ring with beautiful women like Trish Stratus and Lilian Garcia, and being able to kiss them ... it was great, man. How many guys can say that?"

On February 8, 2014, Frazier's agent posted to Facebook that the gargantuan wrestler had passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. He was only 43 years old. His official WWE obituary didn't go into the specifics of the cause of his death, but rather focused on the highlights of his time in the promotion, stating that his "colorful personality made him a memorable competitor throughout the Attitude Era."

Although his monumental size was good for business while he was in the ring, it was detrimental to his health, and so he was trying to get a handle on it toward the end of his life. TMZ reported that Big Daddy V had lost around 100 pounds in the last six months before that fatal heart attack. According to his wife Cassandra, he had cut sugar and salt from his diet, and his doctors had recently told him that he had lowered his blood pressure to a healthy level. But with TMZ, nothing is sacred, and the gossip outlet treated the man's death rather trivially: "Obviously, the weight loss came too late ... or it was too much too quickly." Fansided called the comment "disrespectful" and "tasteless," and we're sure that Nelson's family, friends, and fans would agree. One of those fans, former ESPN anchor Todd Grisham, tweeted, "Loved this guy. Never met anyone nicer in my 8 years @WWE." RIP Big Daddy V.