Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and in World Wrestling Entertainment and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling under the name The Gladiator

Career
Alfonso moved on to Japan, joining Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in late 1990 and using the name The Gladiator.
In 1993, Alfonso appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period (as "Awesome" Mike Awesome") before returning to FMW. In 1994, the Gladiator finally captured his first title, teaming with Big Titan to defeat Atsushi Onita & Katsutoshi Niyama in the finals of the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship Tournament. before returning to ECW. Almost immediately upon arriving in ECW for his third stint, he shocked the wrestling world by winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship at Anarchy Rulz by defeating the reigning champion Tazz and arch nemesis Masato Tanaka in a three-way dance, which was (kayfabe) signed on the spot.

1990-2000
Awesome continued to be a major factor in ECW early in 2000, including teaming with Raven to beat Tanaka & Tommy Dreamer for the ECW World Tag Team Championship. During this time, he had a feud with Vampiro, which created many brawls between Awesome & Vampiro's allies in the Insane Clown Posse. At one point, Awesome battled Shaggy 2 Dope & Violent J in a Handicap match, which led to Awesome Powerbombing 2 Dope on top of his van (who then slid off, injuring himself).

2000-2001
Going into 2001, Awesome was involved in a memorable moment during which he threw Chris Kanyon off the top of the first level of a triple cage onto the entrance ramp. He dropped the '70s gimmick in favor of a "Career Killer" and later "Canadian Career Killer" gimmick and joined the Team Canada stable with Lance Storm and Elix Skipper. A feud with the Filthy Animals led to Awesome challenging Billy Kidman to a Hair-vs-Hair match, however before the bout could take place, Team Canada attacked Kidman backstage leaving him unable to compete. Konnan (who had no hair) took his place, and got the win, giving the Animals the right to cut off Awesome's long-time mullet

2001-2005
Awesome made an appearance at the WWE's 2005 ECW One Night Stand reunion pay-per-view, again facing Masato Tanaka. Throughout the match, Joey Styles (who was doing commentary) frequently made references to the way Awesome left ECW in 2000, calling him a "Judas" and making somewhat disparaging comments about him and even going as far as to say he should have committed suicide (after performing a suicide dive), but also handing out praise for his in-ring work. The crowd also greeted Awesome with jeers at the beginning of the match, but by the end -- which Awesome won after Awesome Bombing Tanaka to the outside of the ring and through a table and following that up with a slingshot splash -- were chanting "This match rules!" and gave both men a standing ovation

In wrestling

• ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)


• ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Raven

• FMW Independent World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


• FMW World Brass Knuckles Championship (2 times)


• FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Big Titan (1) and Mr. Pogo (1)


• FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Horace Boulder & Hisakatsu Oya

• JAPW Championship (1 time)

• MLW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

Extreme Championship Wrestling
ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Raven
Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
FMW Independent World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
FMW World Brass Knuckles Championship (2 times)
FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Big Titan (1) and Mr. Pogo (1)
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Horace Boulder & Hisakatsu Oya
Jersey All Pro Wrestling
JAPW Championship (1 time)
Major League Wrestling
MLW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
World Wrestling Federation
WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)