William Regal Announces Death of Mark “Rollerball” Rocco

William Regal announced on Twitter today that Japanese and British wrestling star Mark “Rollerball” Rocco has passed away.

“I’ve woken to the terrible news that my friend and colleague Mark “ Rollerball” Rocco has passed away. Mark was so ahead of his time and wether as himself or the original “Black Tiger” in @njpwglobal, he, along with Marty Jones were the…”

“.. true originators of the fast paced, hard hitting Jr Heavyweight style we see today. In 1978 I saw a match of theirs and it took my Wrestling fandom to a different world. Becoming a friend and getting to Wrestle Mark at 18 a dream come true…..”

“..Mark had an unbeilable work ethic in and out of the ring and my life was better for knowing him. There aren’t enough words for me to explain how much it means to me to be fortunate enough to have know him, wrestled him and explain how much he meant….”

“… to the British and World wide wrestling scene and I just wished I could have one more of the hundreds of car rides I had with him “hold court” with his wonderful stories. My deepest condolences to all of Marks family.”

I’ve woken to the terrible news that my friend and colleague Mark “ Rollerball” Rocco has passed away. Mark was so ahead of his time and wether as himself or the original “Black Tiger” in @njpwglobal, he, along with Marty Jones were the…

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) July 31, 2020

.. true originators of the fast paced, hard hitting Jr Heavyweight style we see today. In 1978 I saw a match of theirs and it took my Wrestling fandom to a different world. Becoming a friend and getting to Wrestle Mark at 18 a dream come true…..

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) July 31, 2020

..Mark had an unbeilable work ethic in and out of the ring and my life was better for knowing him. There aren’t enough words for me to explain how much it means to me to be fortunate enough to have know him, wrestled him and explain how much he meant….

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) July 31, 2020

… to the British and World wide wrestling scene and I just wished I could have one more of the hundreds of car rides I had with him “hold court” with his wonderful stories. My deepest condolences to all of Marks family.

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) July 31, 2020