WWE Remembers Matt Cappotelli; Tributes From Stephanie McMahon, The Miz, John Morrison And Others

By Marc Middleton

As noted, former WWE Tough Enough winner Matt Cappotelli passed away today at the age of 38 after his second battle with brain cancer. You can read the Facebook announcement from his wife at this link.

Below is WWE's statement on Cappotelli's passing along with Twitter & Instagram tributes from around the wrestling world, including comments from Stephanie McMahon, The Miz, John Morrison, Shad Gaspard, Kevin Owens, Bill DeMott and many others:

Matt Cappotelli passes away

WWE is saddened to learn that Matt Cappotelli, a promising Superstar who was a co-winner of WWE Tough Enough III, passed away Friday at age 38.

His death was first announced by his wife, Lindsay Cappotelli, on her Facebook page.

"Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus exactly one year after his brain surgery," Cappotelli wrote in her post.

Matt Cappotelli, who previously proved his athletic prowess as a member of the Western Michigan University football team, quickly made a name for himself in sports-entertainment as a co-winner of WWE Tough Enough III.

He shared the victory in 2003 with John Hennigan, who later came to be known as John Morrison. After coming out on top of the WWE reality competition, the duo quickly started their training in Ohio Valley Wrestling to become future Superstars.

Cappotelli's OVW training was cut short in 2006 due to an initial brain cancer diagnosis that was treated one year later. Ten years after surviving the first battle, his cancer resurfaced in 2017 and worsened later in the year.

In 2017, Cappotelli spoke with WWE.com about his second bout with cancer. Despite the troubling outlook, he continued to publicly fight his illness in hopes his story might help others find the strength to keep fighting their battles, too.

"Life is the most precious gift we're given," Capotelli said in 2017. "If I can inspire others to not give up on the life they've been blessed to have, that's what I'm trying to spread ? hope."

WWE extends its condolences to Matt Cappotelli's family, friends and fans.

Life is not f–king fair. I'm not the best man I know, For every good quality I have there is an equal negative one. That is common for most people, but for Matt that was not true. . Out of all the thousands of people I've met in my lifetime he was the only person whose faith in God made me believe, Whos generous heart made me want to give more. Whos positive words echoed not only through my ears but my spirit. He never judged nor try to pass judgment on anyone for there beliefs or actions. He was true to his faith while respecting others. Making sure that they knew he respected them, and chose to find friendship in their similarities rather than separation in their differences. #MattCappotelli was honestly the Purest and most honest man I ever met in my life, and for all his goodness he should have outlive an asshole like myself a thousand lifetimes over. But today after years of struggle he passed away. . Life's not f–king fair, and if there's any justice or God or anything he deserves to be in the kingdom of Heaven, Giving angels pointers on what it means to be Faithful and pure. . Rest in peace my brother. #MattCappotelli #OVW #Wwe #ChildOfGod #ServantOfTheLord

A post shared by Shad Gaspard (@shadbeast13) on

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