Former WCW Wrestler Johnny Meadows Dead at 59 After Battle With COVID-19

John Condrone, better known in the professional wrestling world as Johnny Meadows, passed away on Tuesday after complications with COVID-19. He was 59, and according to Tennessee outlet The Daily Times, he had been battling the virus since September. Condrone had been keeping fans and friends updated on his condition via his Facebook page.

“The family is so grateful for each of his cherished friends and the (Blount Memorial Hospital) staff that provided such great care and compassion,” the last post read.

Meadows began wrestling in 1981 for Southeastern Championship Wrestling and is best known for being an enhancement talent for WCW. He went on to make appearances in various promotions such as ECW, AWA, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling and the NWA. He portrayed a number of characters as the years went on in tag teams like The Stingers, The Dream Team, The Paradise City Rockers and The Cruisers.

Outside of wrestling, Condrone went on to find success in the music business, earning Grammy and Dove Award nominations. According to his website’s biography, Condrone continued to perform more than 150 live shows a year up until his death.

The biography partially reads — “John is an Award-Winning Dove & Grammy Nominated Songwriter, Performer & Author with over 300 songs in radio, film & TV. He has had song cuts with SONY, Disney, Lamon Records, and many others. His #1’s include Kimberly Simon’s ‘If You Stole My Heart’ (which was a Top Twenty CMT video), ‘Bubba Claus’, ‘If The Heart Is Right’, ‘But Then’ and “Since I Found You”. He has recorded several albums and had a huge success (over 130,000 views) with his music parody video, ‘The Clintons Went Down To Georgia”‘ He had a Top 10 Latin Salsa hit with ‘Rockin’ That Beat’ plus an R & B single “A Time Ago” with over 47,000,000 streams. He has had songs recorded by such amazing artists as Selena Gomez, Julie Reeves, Joshua Creek, Blue Water Cowboys, Queen of Hearts, David Carter, Thunder Express, and many others.