Some sad news came out of Venice Beach, California, Wednesday. The body of 39-year-old Shad Gaspard was found early Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Gaspard and his son were caught in a rip current on Sunday, and he called out to rescuers to rescue his son. Soon after his son was rescued, rescuers attempted to save Gaspard, but he submerged and wasn’t seen again until Wednesday morning by a person walking along the beach.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gaspard’s family, friends, and fans. Rather than go into more details about his death, let’s remember him for the terrific athlete he was.
Gaspard began to train in boxing by his dad at age five. He also trained in Judo, Jeet Kune Do, Kickboxing, and Muay Tai. At the age of sixteen, Gaspard began competing in several competitions in bar fighting tournaments. In high school, he played track, basketball and was a wrestler. He continued playing basketball at Georgia Perimeter College. After college, he went on to become a bodyguard for Mike Tyson, Brittany Spears, Puff Daddy, and more.
In 2002, Gaspard was a contestant in WWE Tough Enough 2, a competition where the winners received a WWE contract. Unfortunately for Gaspard, he was disqualified for failing a physical; however, his wrestling career was not over yet. He trained with former WCW wrestler Sgt. Dewayne Bruce in the old WCW Power Plant. In 2003, he debuted for WWE’s developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling as Dr. Beast and was part of several tag teams. After the Dr. Beast character ended, he went on to use his real name. He would later team up with JTG to form The Gang Stars and feud with CM Punk before getting called up to the main roster in 2006.
The team was rebranded at Cryme Tyme, a gimmick that included stealing other wrestlers’ stuff and selling them or giving them away to the crowd. In the middle of their feud with Cade and Murdoch, both men were released in September 2007 and competed in the indie circuit for the rest of the year. Cryme Tyme would return in 2008 to resume their feud with Cade and Murdoch. After their feud with Cade and Murdoch, they would go to feud with Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes before heading to Smackdown.
Like many tag-teams that ended in the past, WWE broke up Cryme Tyme by having Gaspard turn heel and feud with JTG. He would briefly have a singles run before WWE released him the second time in 2010. He would take a break from wrestling to become an actor. In his new career, he had several roles in movies and television shows, including Think Like A Man Too, The Game, Get Hard, and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. He would also appear in the video game God of War as a motion cap for Kratos new body and performed hand to hand combat for the video game in 2018. Gaspard would return to wrestling in 2012 for several indie promotions and continued to wrestle reuniting with his tag team partner JTG.
While fans will remember him for his in-ring and acting work, Gaspard was more behind the scenes. In 2016, he stopped an attempted arm robbery in Coral Springs, FL, where he took the gun away and restrained the man until police arrived. Gaspard’s colleagues from the wrestling world paid tribute to him.
"Don’t worry about being a big star, just focus on knowing your craft so you can be the best you can be, everything else will just fall into place" – Shad Gaspard pic.twitter.com/pui1Candmm — Brian Pillman Jr. (@FlyinBrianJr) May 20, 2020
I will never forget your smile my brother! You were a Superman Father to your son in your final moment. Now your son has countless “fathers” in your brothers from this Biz. We will protect him for you as you watch down on us all. ❤️ 🙏🏻 God Rest @Shadbeast pic.twitter.com/CKbROyAMo7 — The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) May 20, 2020
I’ll miss you my friend. I’ll never forget how much we laughed during this segment. ❤️ #RIPSHADGASPARD pic.twitter.com/t9pDSDgaUZ — DOMINO Cliff Compton (@CliffCompton) May 20, 2020
Always enjoyed every minute being around and working with @Shadbeast and Cryme Tyme. Always happy, always funny, always positive. You will be missed by many. #RIPShadGaspard https://t.co/k0CuEKEOWy — Jerry Lawler (@JerryLawler) May 20, 2020
All that is left to say is thank you, Shad Gaspard, for entertaining the fans, and your work will live on for a long time. What are your favorite memories of Shad Gaspard? Comment below or on the BGMSportsTrax Facebook and Twitter pages.
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