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Longtime TNA/Impact Wrestling announcer and head of merchandising Don West died at age 59 from cancer.
Impact Wrestling announced West's death Friday on Twitter, calling him "one of the defining voices" in the history of the promotion:
West first announced in June 2021 that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma in his brain and would immediately begin treatment.
Scott D'Amore, who is the executive vice president of Impact Wrestling, remembered West with a statement on ImpactWrestling.com, which partially read:
"You can't think about TNA/Impact without thinking of Don West. Don and Mike Tenay provided the soundtrack to so many iconic moments in company history. There was no more cherished member of the TNA/Impact family.
"Don was truly a one of a kind who brightened every room he walked into. He brought out the best in people and was an inspiration to all who crossed paths with him. He was one of the first people I met upon arriving at the TNA Asylum for the first time, and Don instantly made me feel welcome. His warm heart and legendary sense of humor made every day at work something to look forward to."
West joined TNA when Jeff Jarrett founded it in 2002, after a successful stint on the Shop at Home Network.
He served as the color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Tenay and was known for his trademark enthusiasm. Notably, he was part of the commentary team for the first TNA pay-per-view in June 2002.
West later expanded his role by becoming chiefly responsible for merchandise creation and sales in TNA, which drew from his background on the Shop at Home Network.
While West departed TNA in 2012, he returned in 2017 as part of the merchandise department and did some commentary work on special occasions.
Wrestlers such as AJ Styles, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe are perhaps most synonymous with TNA, but when it comes to non-wrestlers, nobody left a bigger mark on the company than West.
Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner is looking to make it back to the Summer Games at age 51.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Gardner said he's been training with the goal of competing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
"I still wanna give more back to the sport, the sport that I love and that's wrestling. When you have a goal like wrestling it makes you get into shape so I've lost a substantial amount of weight, getting healthy again, getting back after it, and now it's getting on the mat. Every day it hurts like heck but it's so fun to be able to get out there and throw with these young kids. It's crazy 'cause I'm wrestling kids half my age."
Gardner said he's lost about 150 pounds in training, with the goal of being able to show he "can still compete with the top-level wrestlers of the world."
This isn't the first time Gardner has attempted to make an Olympic comeback. He was training for the 2012 Games, but he missed the maximum weight limit allowed before the U.S. Olympic Trials.
It's not unheard of for an athlete over age 50 to compete at the Olympics, though it's often in sports that don't require the same type of physical ability as wrestling.
Laura Kraut, 55, became the oldest U.S. woman to medal since 1904 when she won a silver as part of the equestrian jumping team with Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward at the Tokyo Games.
Sweden's Oscar Swahn is the oldest athlete to compete and medal at the Olympics. He won silver at age 72 as part of the 100-meter running deer shooting team double shots at the 1920 Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
More recently, Dara Torres was 41 years old when she won three silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Chris Campbell is the oldest American wrestler to medal at the Olympics. He won bronze in the freestyle 90-kilogram weight class as a 37-year-old in 1992.
Gardner became an Olympic legend for his performance during the 2000 Games in Sydney. The Wyoming native upset Russia's Aleksandr Karelin, who was the reigning three-time Olympic champion and had a 13-year unbeaten streak, in the finals of the 130-kilogram Greco-Roman event.
Four years later, Gardner won bronze in the 120-kilogram weight class. He will be 53 years old when the Paris Games begin.
The qualification period for wrestling at the 2024 Olympics runs from September 2023 through May 2024.
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