The alternate name of this piece could be named “As the Grave Turns,” because in all honestly that’s probably what Mike Lockwood was doing considering all the drama involved after his tragic passing. His death was indeed a tragedy, but it was what happened after that, which was just as tragic.
Mike Lockwood made a name for himself under the gimmick name of Crash Holly in the World Wrestling Federation. Despite his lack of size that was indeed craved by Vince McMahon and upper management, Crash won the WWF Hardcore title over 22 times. He and his kayfabe “cousin” Hardcore Bob Holly also won the WWF tag team titles. It was his antics defending the Hardcore championship under 24/7 rules that really put Crash on the wrestling map. He elevated that title like no other wrestler who held it before or after him.
Despite the success, Crash had his personal demons. He was considered a very heavy drinker. So much so, his friends and colleagues within the business were generally concerned for him. There were also some fans that felt Crash resented them, as he acted very aloof and in some cases confrontational with his own fanbase. Mike Lockwood was eventually released from the WWF in June of 2003. While the sting of being let go from a major company like WWE certainly bothered him, it was also a relief. He was no longer being utilized the way he wanted and in many situations was miserable.
After his release, Lockwood turned up in the upstart promotion TNA wrestling under the new moniker of Mad Mikey. He also wrestled on the independent circuit, with his final match taking place on November 1st, 2003. It was a tag team match with Mike teaming up with Rory Fox to defeat the team of Quiten Lee and The Human Time Bomb with Ricky Steamboat as the special guest referee. He was also planning on moving back closer to his family in California and had booked himself a tour of Japan for NOAH. Lockwood was in the middle of a very bitter divorce from his wife Christeena and was kicked out of his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was forced to move in with his good friend Stevie Richards down in Florida.
Lockwood and Richards formed a close bond with one another during their time wrestling for the WWF. The two became frequent travelling buddies during that time and forged a close friendship. While Richards was on the road, he called up his buddy Lockwood to check up on him. Lockwood told Stevie everything was okay, and thanked him for his friendship. That was on November 5, the very next day, Richards called Lockwood again to check up on him and got no answer. After repeated calls, Stevie became worried and contacted the police down in Florida from where he was in Connecticut.
Police arrived at Richards home and rang the doorbell to no answer. Richards contacted his realtor, who still possessed a spare key to the house and she allowed the police to enter the home. They discovered Mike Lockwood face down on the kitchen table in a pool of his own vomit. Next to him was an empty pill bottle and a half empty bottle of Southern Comfort. Lockwood had ingested over 90 capsules of the prescription drug carisoprodol. It was believed Lockwood passed out and choked to death on his own vomit. His death was ruled a suicide. Mike Lockwood was just 32 years old.
Friends and family had stated that the pending divorce had put Lockwood into a severe depression. He and his wife were on very bad terms prior to his death. With that said, since he and Christeena were not yet officially divorced and still considered married, she was legally in charge of all of his arrangements after death. His parents were planning to have his body shipped back home to be buried in California, but was denied by his wife. She insisted he be buried in North Carolina. This caused even more tension between Mike’s parents and his wife, which wasn’t very good to begin with.
Mike was a Roman Catholic, but instead of getting him a catholic priest to preform the service, his wife (who was a practicing Baptist) gave him a Baptist service instead. Several wrestlers attended the wake and funeral including Stevie Richards, Matt and Jeff Hardy and some wrestlers from California including Donovan Morgan. They were witnesses to the tension between Lockwood’s family and his wife’s family. So much so a few physical altercations broke out at his funeral and police had to be called. Mike’s mother had to be escorted out from her own son’s funeral. She ended up returning to California before Mike was buried.
After the funeral services ended and Mike was buried in North Carolina, his mother decided to have her own service to memorialize her son back in California. Neither WWE or TNA sent official representation to either service and was not acknowledged on WWE television. Word was that Vince McMahon wanted to distance himself from all the deaths involving drugs to various wrestlers during that time. A truly sad ending to an even sadder story.
