Former WCW, WWE Wrestler Johnny Meadows Dead at 59 Due to Complications With COVID-19

According to The Daily Times out of Tennessee, John Condrone, who was also known as Johnny Meadows in the pro wrestling world, died on Tuesday due to complications of COVID-19. He was 59. The Daily Times reported that Meadows had been battling the virus since September.

“The family is so grateful for each of his cherished friends and the (Blount Memorial Hospital) staff that provided such great care and compassion,” Meadows’ Facebook account stated. Meadows began wrestling in 1981 for Southeastern Championship Wrestling and is known for his time in WCW and he was considered an enhancement talent. He also made appearances in WWF (now WWE), ECW, AWA, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling and the NWA. Once Condrone was done with wrestling, he went on to have success in the music business.

“John is an Award-Winning Dove & Grammy Nominated Songwriter, Performer & Author with over 300 songs in radio, film & TV,” his biography states, per Comicbook.com. “He has had song cuts with SONY, Disney, Lamon Records, and many others. His #1’s include Kimberly Simon’s ‘If You Stole My Heart’ (which was a Top Twenty CMT video), ‘Bubba Claus’, ‘If The Heart Is Right’, ‘But Then’ and “Since I Found You”. He has recorded several albums and had a huge success (over 130,000 views) with his music parody video, ‘The Clintons Went Down To Georgia”‘ He had a Top 10 Latin Salsa hit with ‘Rockin’ That Beat’ plus an R & B single “A Time Ago” with over 47,000,000 streams.”

COVID-19 has been an issue for the pro wrestling industry. Over the summer, WWE had a coronavirus outbreak, and AEW recently had concerns with the virus. It is unknown how many wrestlers in WWE and AEW had tested positive for COVID-19, but a few have publicly announced their diagnosis.

“I also tested positive a couple weeks ago, probably almost a month, I think, ago,” WWE Superstar AJ Styles said in September. “I feel for people who have to deal with this. But I got to say, I didn’t have that many problems with it. Hopefully, the Rock and his family, hopefully everybody is safe…It sucks, it’s not good for anybody.” Styles went on to say that he was “one of the lucky ones” when it comes to his symptoms.