Michael Lee Alfonso, a renowned American professional wrestler, made a lasting impact on the industry under the ring names Mike Awesome and The Gladiator. His illustrious career spanned across prominent promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, as well as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan.
As The Gladiator in FMW, Alfonso achieved unparalleled success, claiming the world championship on three occasions. Notably, his second Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship reign from 1996 to 1997 remains the longest in the title's history, lasting a remarkable 489 days. During this period, he defeated W*ING Kanemura to unify the title with the Independent Heavyweight Championship at the 1996 Year End Spectacular.
Following his success in FMW, Alfonso went on to tour with ECW, where he won the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. He was also a part of two distinct stables, Team Canada, in both FMW and WCW, solidifying his reputation as a formidable wrestler.
