In a pre-recorded video message to his friends, family and fans, George "The Animal" Steele walks through his life as a globe-trotting wrestler, and Metro Detroit high school teacher and coach.
Steele starts the video with the message of, "if you're watching this, I am dead and I am with Jesus. Bye-bye." Steele, real name William James Myers, died at the age of 79 Friday morning, Feb. 17.
In the video below, "The Animal" talks about his Metro Detroit upbringing, being bullied as a kid, teaching and coaching, getting into wrestling and much more.
Steele was a Detroit native and Madison Heights High School teacher who coached wrestling, football and track in Madison Heights and held a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a master's from Central Michigan University.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995, and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2012, Madison Heights named its football field Jim Myers Stadium for his 25 years of coaching football, track and wrestling at the school.
Steele first appeared in Detroit-area wrestling promotions in the late 1960s while still teaching high school.
Steele first appeared in Detroit-area wrestling promotions in the late 1960s while still teaching high school. He wrestled with a mask under the ring name "The Student" to protect his real identity.
To kick off its "Monday Night Raw" after his death, WWE dedicated the three-hour long show to Steele and opened with a video tribute. See that video below:
His first taste of the WWE -- then the WWWF -- came in 1967, when he locked up with then-champion Bruno Sammartino. While he never tasted the WWE's top championship, Steele had his fair share of memorable sports entertainment moments.
Wrestling fans of the 1980s will have a hard time forgetting watching Steele lumber around the ring with his famous green tongue and "taste" for turnbuckles.
As a villain, Steele came close to beating the likes of Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backland for the championship. While his in-ring accomplishments with the WWE are nothing to scoff at, Steele might be most remembered for his role in the WrestleMania III match between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome.
Steele, at that point seen by fans as a hero rather than a villain, helped Steamboat win the WWE Intercontinental Championship by pushing Savage off the ropes and stealing the ring bell from the hands of the Macho Man.
During his more comical days as "The Animal" in the 1980s, Steele would go to zoos and reconnect with his fellow creatures. Check out Steele and legendary wrestling figure Mean Gene Okerlund's trip to the Detroit Zoo in 1985 below:
He chronicled his career from his time fighting the legendary Sheik in Detroit to his days battling the biggest names in sports entertainment on his website. Steele had crippling Crohn's disease and dyslexia, and writes about his life inside and outside the ring in depth on his website and autobiography "The Animal."
In May 2016, Steele sent out a series of tweets saying that he was facing some "serious health challenges." He received well-wishes from the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ted DiBiase, and longtime pro-wrestling announcer Jim Ross.
"His transformation was remarkable, as one of the most hated men in the sport became one of its most loveable figures," WWE reports on its website. "Long after his in-ring retirement and WWE Hall of Fame induction, George "The Animal" Steele's name still evoked terror for one generation of WWE fans and warm smiles for another.
"WWE extends its condolences to Steele's family, friends and fans."