FORMER WWF, WCW AND SMW STAR DAVID 'JIMMY DEL REY' FERRIER PASSES AWAY

David Ferrier, professionally known to pro wrestling fans as Jimmy Backlund in the Florida independent scene, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Rey to WWF and Smoky Mountain Wrestling fans, and Jimmy Graffiti to WCW fans, passed away last night following what is believed to have been a heart attack, PWInsider.com has confirmed. He was only 52 years old.

Originally from Grove City, PA, Ferrier first broke into the wrestling world after being trained in Florida by the Mighty Yankee. He began working the Florida independent scene as Jumo Kenya, teaming with Brett Wayne Sawyer before settling on Jimmy Backlund as his official ring name.

In the early 1990s, Jim Cornette was promoting Smoky Mountain Wrestling. His top heel team was The Heavenly Bodies, Tom Prichard and Stan Lane. Lane gave notice to leave the promotion, pretty much retiring and began announcing for WWF en route to calling professional boat races for a living.

Needing a new partner for Prichard, Cornette tapped Backlund, giving him the "Gigolo" nickname and re-christening him Jimmy Del Rey. The new Heavenly Bodies were immediately the top duo in the promotion, feuding with the ever-present Rock N' Roll Express.

In a history making move at the time, WWF came calling to Cornette in the summer of 1993 and brought him in, breaking down the doors to allowing a working agreement where they acknowledged SMW and SMW regulars worked for WWF.

The Heavenly Bodies were the first act to do so, challenging the then-WWF Tag Team champions The Steiners at that year's Summerslam. Atthe 1993 Survivor Series, they worked the Express in the first-ever WWF PPV bout for a championship recognized by another promotion, the SMW Tag Team belts, in Boston, MA, far outside the Smoky Mountain region.

The Bodies worked both promotions until WWF offered them a full-time contract at which point, with Cornette's blessing, they gave notice and moved on after losing a Loser Leaves Town match that saw Cornette give one of the most emotional interviews of his career upon "learning" that he wasn't going to be able to get the decision overturned.

The team was used as an undercard heel tandem, putting over babyface combinations and having good matches on house shows. They did return at times to SMW for angles and storylines, most notably against The Thrillseekers of Lance Storm and Chris Jericho.

The team was released by WWF at the end of 1995 following rumors of Del Rey being involved in an incident with a fan in a hotel. They debuted for Extreme Championship Wrestling as minions for Raven, feuding with The Public Enemy but almost immediately, Prichard was back with WWF as the often-forgotten Zip of the Body Donnas. Del Rey worked some singles bouts for ECW but never found his groove there and soon moved on.

This was during the craziness of the Monday Night War and there was a nuclear arms race going at the time for talent with just about everyone who had some sort of name getting a deal somewhere. Del Rey signed with WCW and worked an undercard role as Jimmy Graffiti for the next several years. He officially retired in 1997 following a knee injury.

After retiring, he helped train wrestlers at a school operated in Florida by Steve Keirn and would occasionally pop up in the area at independents, including christening a new Heavenly Bodies tag team ("Vivacious" Vito DeNucci and "Casanova" Chris Nelson) he would manage, but for the most part, had moved on from the business by the early 2000s and was running a wood flooring company in Florida.

This past summer, he had his final wrestling-related appearance, reuniting with Cornette and Prichard for autographs and photos at the Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest.

On behalf of everyone associated with PWInsider.com, I'd like to express our deepest condolences to Del Rey's family, friends and fans.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!