Former WWE star Tony Jones passes away
Veteran pro wrestler Tony Jones has passed away at the age of 53. The Shooter had several matches for WWE and worked with some of your favorite wrestlers in the Indies.
Shooter was a champion amateur wrestler from San Francisco State University. He began training with All Pro Wrestling in 1996, which led to an appearance on the hit documentary Beyond The Mat, with Michael Modest. Jones ended up losing to Modest in a WWE tryout match held before Heat on September 15, 1998.
He was brought back for a loss to Raven on Jakked in May 2001, and then had two more Heat losses in 2007 - against Eugene, then Snitsky. Jones also had matches with WCW, XPW, and BattleArts in Japan, among others.
Jones' home promotion was APW, one of the longest-running indie promotions in the world. He held its Tag Team Championship on five occasions, and the Universal Heavyweight Championship once. APW took to Instagram on Saturday to announce Tony's passing.
"All Pro Wrestling is extremely saddened to learn of the passing of former APW Universal Heavyweight Champion, 'Shooter' Tony Jones.... We at APW salute Tony Jones for all of his accolades not just in the ring but 'Beyond The Mat'. A loving friend, brother, son and father," APW wrote.
APW's full statement can be seen in the Instagram post below:
Jones worked with several of today's top stars while working in California. He had UPW matches with Samoa Joe, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, and even The Prototype aka John Cena. Jones lost to the rookie Cena on June 22, 2000, at a UPW in San Diego, CA.
WWE and TNA stars pay tribute to Tony Jones
The wrestling world is paying tribute to longtime indie star Tony Jones after he passed away at the age of 53 this weekend.
Frankie Kazarian took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tribute to Jones. He included a photo from one of their matches and praised Shooter for what he did in and out of the ring.
"RIP 'Shooter' Tony Jones. Tony was a mainstay in the Cali Bay Area for years. I had many wars with him in NorCal and SoCal, and a lot of good times. Always a great, humble and driven man. Very sad news. Godspeed sir," Frankie Kazarian wrote.
WWE RAW General Manager Adam Pearce also remembered Shooter on X today. Pearce revealed that he and Jones recently reconnected and appreciated their time together.
You can see Adam Pearce's post below:
There has been no announcement on the cause of his passing. We at Sportskeeda Wrestling send our condolences to Tony Jones' family and friends. RIP Shooter!