Don West, former commentator for TNA/Impact Wrestling has passed away. He along with Ed Ferrara were the commentators for the inaugural TNA wrestling PPV, which at the time was a weekly show. Later, he would be the broadcast partner alongside Mike Tenay.
He was famous for pushing merch, and from what Prichard would say, people would always leave with merch handy. This no doubt helped TNA’s bottom line in the tough earlier years. Don West was a major asset to the company.
This is what Mike Tenay tweeted, “Just heard from wife Terri that our brother @DonWestDeals will be spending New Years in heaven. Terri said D-Dub finally had to tap out from his match with lymphoma. We bonded as soon as we met, both as broadcast partners and friends. Years of great moments both on and off camera.”
Don West left TNA in 2012 and stayed out of the wrestling business for several years. However, he returned in 2017, to lend commentary on Slammiversary XV 2017 and would work in TNA as part of the Merchandizing Division.
Don West was an early figure in TNA history and an alternative to the style of color commentary as seen by Jerry Lawler in WWE. He will be missed by fans around the wrestling world, and by Impact Wrestling themselves.
Don was 59. May he rest in peace.
