Independent Wrestler Jaysin Strife Passes Away

Following a lengthy battle with an undisclosed illness, independent wrestler Jaysin Strife passed away yesterday evening at the age of 37, as revealed by his brother Jason (via GoFundMe). Strife, whose real name was Nathan Blodgett, was the promoter of Magnum Wrestling, an independent promotion based out of Omaha, Nebraska. In addition to his work as Strife, Blodgett also sometimes wrestled under a mask as The Yellow Dog, a persona that has been adopted by numerous performers over the years, including Barry Windham and Brian Pillman.

After first making his professional wrestling debut in 2005, Blodgett shared the ring with the likes of Seth Rollins (as Tyler Black), Claudio Castagnoli, Jay Lethal, Nick Aldis, Chris Hero, Matt Sydal, and many more throughout his career. In the aftermath of his untimely passing, Blodgett has received an outpouring of support from both wrestlers and fans on social media, with performers such as Sonjay Dutt, Mike Bennett, Adam Pearce, and Ethan Page sharing their remembrances.

"As a naive [and] wide eyed 16 year old, I'd travel to the USA trying to break out," Page said. "It's not common to find guys like Jaysin Strife, who welcome you into their world so easily [and with] a smile. He treated me well when nobody knew who I was, even myself. Led by example [and] I [n]ever forgot it."

Blodgett had previously made an appearance on "WWE Raw" in 2014 as a soldier who was attacked by the villainous Rusev, and competed on "205 Live" against Akira Tozawa a few years later. The independent performer also wrestled for the likes of AEW on "AEW Dark" and Impact Wrestling, among many other independent promotions.