Former WWE star Mike Rotunda in hospice care

Former pro wrestler Mike Rotunda, whose characters in the WWE included the notorious Irwin R. Shyster, or IRS, has been placed in hospice care, according to his family.

Rotunda, 67, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024 as a member of the U.S. Express tag team with his brother-in-law, fellow wrestler Barry Windham.

Windham revealed Rotunda’s condition during an interview with longtime wrestling reporter Bill Apter during the Glory Days Grapple Con fan convention on Oct. 25 in Lutz, a suburb of Tampa, Florida.

“It’s kind of tough right now. Mike is in hospice right now,” Windham told Apter. “So anyway, that family, I love that family, but you know, it just is so tragic.

“He was just a good boy. He was such a good person, never got in trouble at all his whole life. He’s a good boy.”

Rotunda is the father of the late wrestler Windham Rotunda, known professionally as Bray Wyatt, who died of a heart heart attack in 2023. He was 36. Another one of Rotunda’s sons wrestles professionally as Bo Dallas.

Rotunda competed during the 1980s and ‘90s, with stints in Florida Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) and World Championship. During his career, he would be referred to as Mike Rotunda or Mike Rotundo; the WWE Encyclopedia, for example, uses the latter spelling in its profile of him and Windham.

He was versatile and performed both as a babyface (good guy) and heel (bad guy).

The WWE Encyclopedia notes that Rotunda and Windham “teamed up in 1984 and quickly became America’s sweethearts.”

But Rotunda’s best character was the devious, sneering heel known as IRS. Wearing a white button-down shirt, tie and suspenders, Rotunda would taunt his opponents, calling them tax cheaters.

He would demand that his opponents pay their “fair share.” In addition to Windham, Rotunda’s tag team partners included Ted DiBiase; the pair formed the Money Inc. tag team and were three-time champions.

WWE women’s wrestling legend Leilani Kai spoke about Rotunda, sharing his condition on her X account.

“It breaks my heart to share that my friend Mike Rotunda has been placed under hospice care,” she wrote, adding a photograph of her hugging Rotunda. “This photo was from earlier this year — a moment I’ll treasure. Please keep Mike and the Rotunda family in your prayers. We love you, Mike.”

Earlier this year, Rotunda reminded fans that his stage name was still active.

“I’m back on X and the books are still open,” he wrote on X in February. “Some of you may have forgotten how this business really works … but I haven’t. The numbers never lie. The debts are still outstanding.

“And trust me, I ALWAYS collect.”

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