Longtime WWE wrestler 'Iron' Mike Sharpe passes away at 64

As first reported by Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com, longtime WWF Superstar "Iron" Mike Sharpe was found dead in his apartment in Hamilton, Ontario over the weekend. He was 64 years old. The cause of death has not been made public at this time, although PWInsider notes that he has been "dealing with a number of health issues in recent years."

The Hamilton native was a second-generation wrestler who first broke into the business in 1977. Sharpe first came to the WWF in 1983, initially as a challenger for Bob Backlund's world title, but never made it back to the main event again. To the majority of WWE and WWF fans who were familiar with him, he was one of the most well-known "jobbers" in the history of the company, perhaps rivaled only by Barry Horowitz.

His character was a blowhard who would run his mouth constantly during matches, and would cheat to win by using a loaded leather band that he wore on his forearm. As he memorably hollered when called out for cheating on a 1984 episode of Piper's Pit, "The only thing I've got in [this brace] is 20 inches!"

While he rarely made it past the midcard in the WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling era, the man who proclaimed himself "Canada's Greatest Athlete" was always entertaining in the ring and on the few occasions he managed to get some microphone time.

Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com has a very in-depth history of Sharpe's career that is worth your time.