Michael Sharrer, a wrestler who was once signed to a developmental contract with WWE, has passed away at the age of 47. Sharrer’s passing was shared publicly by former WWE star Mike Mondo, who stated the following on Facebook.

“This one isn’t easy. Still doing my best to process this. Mike Taylor was the first friend I made in OVW which carried over into a close friendship/brotherhood for the next 20+ years. We were just texting a couple weeks ago. You always looked and treated me like your younger brother. You’ve always had a huge heart. I’m grateful for all the great times we had in Louisville & of course the countless shoots on the west coast doing mocap. Those memories will last forever. I pray for Mikes family during this difficult time especially his kids Isaiah & Mina. I love you Big Mike. A-team for life. RIP buddy.”

A former marine, Sharrer joined the world of wrestling in 2003 and signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2006. Assigned to OVW and Deep South Wrestling, Sharrer was named Micah Taylor and worked with future big names including MVP and Jake Hager. The peak of this run came in May 2006 when he and Tony Santarelli captured the DSW Tag Team Championships. Their five-month reign ended with them losing the gold to Deuce and Domino.

On-screen, Sharrer competed on the October 21, 2003, edition of WWE Velocity where he teamed with Rob Begley in a losing effort to Paul London and Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick. He also lost a tag-team match in a dark match before the February 6, 2006, edition of WWE Heat.

On Twitter, WWE Raw General Manager paid tribute to Sharrer and recalled performing motion capture with him for WWE video games.