Legendary wrestling broadcaster Don West has passed away after battling cancer. He was 59 years old.
IMPACT Wrestling, where West’s voice became synonymous with the promotion – known at the time as Total Nonstop Action (TNA) – for more than a decade, announced West’s passing Friday afternoon.
“You can’t think of TNA/IMPACT without thinking of Don West,” Scott D’Amore, Executive Vice President of IMPACT Wrestling, said in a statement. “Don and Mike Tenay provided the soundtrack to so many iconic moments in the company’s history. There was no longer a beloved member of the TNA/IMPACT family.”
“Don was truly one of a kind who brightened up every room he entered. He brought out the best in people and was an inspiration to everyone who crossed his path.”
The Illinois native was diagnosed in 2021 with brain lymphoma, a rare and highly aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer. West announced in September 2021 that he was in remission.
West’s cancer, however, back in January which led the broadcaster to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. He updated wrestling fans during treatments and revealed that the tumor doubled in size in May.
West joined IMPACT/TNA in 2002, where he was the promotion’s color commentator. He became an on-screen fixture for wrestling fans in the early 2000s before leaving the company in 2012.
After his wrestling days, he joined the Wenatchee Wild of the British Columbia Hockey League as the team’s director of sales and marketing and launched his own sports talk radio show.
Mike Tenay, West’s former broadcasting partner, mourned West’s death in an emotional post on Twitter.
“We bonded as soon as we met, both as broadcast partners and as friends,” Tanay said. “Years of great moments both on and off camera.”
West is survived by his wife Terri.
“So sorry to hear about the passing of Impact Wrestling Commentator Don West,” wrestler Kurt Angle tweeted. “Don was an incredible man with so much energy. My prayers go to his family.”
Wrestler said Matt Hardy, “I had great experiences every time I interacted with him. Don was one of the good guys, brimming with passion and enthusiasm.”
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