Matt Cappotelli dies at 38; WWE 'Tough Enough' winner battled brain cancer

Tom Gatto

Matt Cappotelli dies at 38; WWE 'Tough Enough' winner battled brain cancer image

Former WWE wrestler Matt Cappotelli, who earned a spot in the promotion by winning its "Tough Enough" reality competition in 2003, died Friday after a second bout with brain cancer. He was 38.

Cappotelli's wife, Lindsay, announced her husband's death on Instagram.

WWE later made its own announcement.

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Matt Cappotelli began wrestling in the early 2000s after playing football at Western Michigan University. He and John Hennigan (later known as John Morrison) were co-winners of the "Tough Enough III" competition in 2003.

The pair began training with Ohio Valley Wrestling. In 2005, Cappotelli defeated Johnny Jeter for the OVW heavyweight championship. Three months later, while on track to being paired with The Miz, Cappotelli relinquished the belt after receiving his first cancer diagnosis. 

The cancer was declared in remission in 2007 following surgery and treatments. Cappotelli stayed on with OVW as a trainer. The disease returned last year.

The New York state native (he was born in Caledonia, outside Rochester) played linebacker for Western Michigan in 1999, though he did not letter.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.