Former WWE star Nelson Frazier Jr. passes

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 21, 2014 1:47 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

A gentle giant to his friends and well-known star in the professional wrestling world, Nelson Frazier Jr., passed away at his home Tuesday.

He was 43.

Wrestling agent Eric Simms shared the news on his Facebook page.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I just got off the phone with Big Daddy V's wife," Simms wrote. "He had a massive heart attack and passed away today. My thoughts and prayers are with his family right now."

Frazier grew up in Goldsboro and attended Eastern Wayne High School. The 1989 alum never got involved in organized sports, much to the dismay of the Warriors' football staff who wanted the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder to suit up on Friday nights.

"He just wasn't interested in it," classmate Gus McDowell said. "He wasn't a bully or anything like that. Everybody who knew him, he was like a gentle giant."

However, there was one passion that brewed within his soul -- amateur wrestling. Frazier idolized Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff. He told a reporter with the Poughkeepsie Journal in 2008 that felt like he could succeed on the professional wrestling circuit.

Frazier did.

A career that spanned two-plus decades began in the Tar Heel State. Frazier and long-time friend Robert Horne made their debut as "The Harlem Knights" in the Carolinas-based Pro Wrestling Federation. George South managed the duo, which claimed a pair of PWF tag-team championships.

Horne and Frazier, who was one of the two youngest wrestlers in the business at the time along with the 1-2-3 Kid, moved up to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the early 1990s. Their gimmick changed (Frazier became "Mabel") and the ring announcer introduced the tandem as "Men on a Mission" each time they stepped into the squared. The gig lasted about two years until Mabel -- who also developed the characters of Big Daddy V, World's Largest Love Machine and Viscera -- ventured out on his own.

Frazier spent two years on the independent circuit and returned to WWF in 1998. He adopted a gothic look that included white-out contact lenses, a bleached mohawk and a black bodysuit. WWF officials released him from his contract in August 2000.

"I developed and got five characters over in WWE and WWF," Frazier said during the Poughkeepsie interview. "My favorite one of all is the Love Machine. I had fun with that one."

Four years later Frazier, who revived his Nelson Knight character, surfaced on TNA and stayed another year in the independent ranks. He joined World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2004 and got released in 2008. before getting released from his contract in 2008.

Frazier made his film debut in 2009, playing Ginormous in National Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. He also appeared as Animal in Wrong Side of Town.

McDowell described Frazier's death as shocking.

Other classmates who knew Frazier left messages on the Eastern Wayne High School Memorial Page on Facebook.

"Nelson Frazier Junior will be missed!" wrote Matthew Panza. "He was a legend in school as well as a legend in Professional Wrestling! Ring the bell!"