Mark Hildreth, the professional wrestler who thrilled World Championship Wrestling audiences in the 1990s under the name Van Hammer, has died at 66.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound performer’s death was announced on April 19, 2026, by wrestling veteran Marc Mero, who shared the news during WrestleMania weekend. An autopsy is pending, and the cause of death has not been disclosed.
Hildreth was born on November 1, 1959, in Hebron, Maryland. Following high school, he enlisted in the Navy before pursuing a wrestling career, training in Tampa, Florida, under Boris Malenko and Dan Spivey. He entered professional wrestling in 1991.
His “Heavy Metal” Van Hammer character became a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) mainstay from 1991 to 1995, marked by his iconic entrance with a guitar slung around his neck that he would spin theatrically as heavy metal music blared through arenas.
WCW gave Hammer a significant push immediately upon his arrival. At Clash of the Champions XVI in September 1991, he defeated Terrance Taylor in 39 seconds in his debut. He then racked up a 42-0 record across house shows and television before Cactus Jack defeated him at Clash of the Champions XVII. During that undefeated run, Hammer scored wins over future stars including Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, wrestling as Vinnie Vegas at the time — and “Stunning” Steve Austin, who held the WCW Television Championship.
The World Wrestling Federation brought Hammer to New York in July 1993 for a two-night tryout, where he wrestled dark matches against Virgil and Damien Demento. However, no contract materialized.
WCW welcomed Hammer back in November 1997, when he joined Raven’s Flock stable. He later became part of the Misfits in Action, adopting the name Major Stash. During his tenure, he competed for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against top-tier opponents including Goldberg, Sid Vicious and Diamond Dallas Page. His last WCW match took place in July 2000, and he made sporadic independent wrestling appearances before a final one-night return at Maryland Championship Wrestling in 2009.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of our dear friend, Mark Hildreth, known to so many as Van Hammer,” Mero wrote. “Mark was a fighter in every sense of the word. Life threw its share of challenges his way, but he had a resilience about him. He always found a way to rise, to push forward, to keep going.”
They initially met when Hammer was vacationing in Venice, Florida, and working out at a gym there. When wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes called Mero to his office the following day, Hammer drove him eight hours to sign his first WCW contract without hesitation.
“That’s the kind of person he was — loyal, selfless, and always there when it mattered most,” Mero wrote.
The pair trained together under Malenko and eventually became roommates in Atlanta. WCW selected both wrestlers to promote the company’s United Kingdom tour, where they made personal appearances and completed promotional work with music icon Gladys Knight.
Diamond Dallas Page remembered Hammer as part of a tight “band of brothers” from their WCW years. In his social media tribute, Page revealed that Hammer had struggled with addiction later in life but had gotten clean and was employed as a salesman for a windows-and-doors company in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Mick Foley reflected on their friendship in a 2024 social media post after reuniting with Hammer in West Palm Beach. He recalled Hammer babysitting his children, Dewey and Noelle, and attending Dewey’s first birthday party in 1993. Foley highlighted their in-ring chemistry, particularly a Falls Count Anywhere match in Topeka, Kansas, that spilled into an actual bullpen with real bulls.
“Anytime a guy comes in without a lot of experience and gets pushed right away, he is going to face a certain amount of cynicism from fans and fellow wrestlers alike,” Foley wrote. “But I really enjoyed wrestling Van Hammer.”
Foley also noted in that post that Hammer had lost his trademark long blonde hair but maintained exceptional physical condition for someone in his early 60s, underscoring his lifelong commitment to fitness.
The timing of Hammer’s death added a somber note to WrestleMania 42 weekend, which ran April 18–19 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Wrestling fans flooded social media with tributes, remembering him as an integral part of WCW’s heyday and expressing appreciation for the memorable moments he created during his nearly two-decade wrestling career.
“My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and the fans who supported him throughout his journey,” Mero concluded. “Rest easy, my friend. You will always be remembered.”