Mike “Mantaur” Halac Dies: WWE Wrestler Who Donned Bull Costume Was 55

Mike Halac, the former WWE wrestler known as “Mantaur” who during his 1990s heyday took on a minotaur persona by wearing a huge bull head as he entered the ring, died Monday in Florida. He was 55.

His death was confirmed by WWE (known as WWF during Halac’s era).

“WWE is saddened to learn that Mike Halac, better known to WWE fans as Mantaur, has passed away,” the company said in a statement. “Halac’s combination of size and charisma immediately captivated fans worldwide as he took to the ring in a giant bull head to highlight his half-man, half-minotaur persona.

“Halac spent time in both WWE and ECW where he faced some of the biggest stars of his generation like Bam Bam Bigelow, Razor Ramon, and Bret Hart,” WWE continued. “WWE extends its condolences to Mike Halac’s family, friends and fans.”

Halac’s death was first disclosed in a private Facebook post by his daughter Demi, who wrote only that he died peacefully in his sleep last night. Earlier in the day, Halac posted on social media that he had fallen and injured his back.

Halac began his professional wrestling career in the early 1990s in various circuits and under various names and personae – “Bruiser Mastino” was one – but his greatest success came in 1995 when he debuted the “Mantaur” character with the World Wrestling Federation. As part of his act, Mantaur would enter an arena and the ring wearing a horned bull’s head and then, after removing the mask, mooing and charging at his opponents as if they were matadors.

Although relatively short-lived — Halac’s Mantaur run with WWE last just a year — the character would prove his most memorable, and Halac, who also went under the ring name Tank, would occasionally return to the half-man/half-beast character for wrestling exhibitions. He last performed as Mantaur in 2019.

In 2016, Halac was among the more than 50 professional wrestlers who filed an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against the WWE for covering up incidents of neurological injuries.

In a 2015 video interview, Halac, who during his wrestling days claimed to weigh in at more than 400 pounds, also revealed a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.