The one thing that stood out about Don was how passionate he was about his work. It didn't matter what was happening, Don always made out that he was having the time of his life and while he had to shill some of the most bizarre segments put to man, West never tried to put himself over. It's rare that you ever see the narrative change around a personality, but over time fans really came around on Don and really appreciated his professionalism and enthusiasm. If nothing else, it was wholesome to listen to him and Tenay every week.

RIP to the most energetic voice in wrestling history. Don West's personality was infectious & truly made TNA stand out. Sad day.

(When Will Farrell is doing an impersonation on SNL of you, you've done it right)

Dude has to be the GOAT of these baseball card/home shopping network shows. He really set the bar for guys like Billie Mays to go for broke with his infectious personality. Don West was amazing even before TNA.

TNA he didn't know much about the product but good lord his passion was 2nd to none and he and "The Professor" Mike Tenay made TNA and gave it some personality and originality, especially at a time where announcers were very vanilla & suit/tie. He was full of blooper reels but you could not help but fall in love with the guy. He was consistent entertaining, the idea of bringing someone from HSN and making them one of your two voices of a brand new promotion is some Vince Russo nonsense that should not have worked but it really made Total Nonstop Action standout.


(I still get tears of laughter about this)


(This heel turn was so forced but Don West made this work)


(One of the funniest Don West moments)

And of course

'Rellik is killer spelt backwards ya know'

RIP Don West, beast.

Damn, this is horrible news, I always liked Don West and Mike Tenay as an announce team. My thoughts and prayers to his friends and family.

I THINK I was there live for the heel turn. SHOVE THIS MIC UP YOUR ASS!

RIP, he was my favorite part of TNA 

I liked him. His commentary was a lot of fun.

DID YOU SEE THAT?!

Dude was great but I don't remember if he did anything after that heel turn and trying to get Amazing Red over.

You could always tell he was having so much fun and enjoying the product, what a legend

Sad news. He was only 59. Don West was great. Loved his infectious enthusiasm. His energy made so many bad segments a little more tolerable. Dude was a natural born salesman. Also got a kick out of West as Amazing Red's #1 fan. Just found out he became Red's manager after I stopped watching TNA. That makes perfect sense. I'll always consider West (& Tenay) the voice(s) of TNA.

RIP Don West

No...

No,

No.

I wasn't even a fan of TNA, didn't ever watch. And yet, but even so, I've always fucking LOVED Don.

What a fucking bummer.

I did not know of any of Don's stuff before TNA. I was not a fan of Tenay in WCW. West seemed to bring out best in Tenay. Together were a great duo.

RIP

Can't wait for Jim Cornette to share some more stories on Don West, they were together in TNA in the mid 00's. He's spoken well of both Tenay & West in the past but I know he will probably share a ton more on his next show.

Sad to see Don pass on. While he wasn't a person with much past wrestling experience when being brought into TNA, he did do his best to actually sell what was going on and make it entertaining. Him and Tenay are the voices I think of when it comes to TNA's commentary.

RIP West. May you be rated 10 Gem Mint in the afterlife.

When thinking about Don West, I think of best time in TNA's history. The title scene, sure was full of the double J but it was at least interesting, but that X-Division was something else. Mike Tenay and Don West called some of TNA's best action and I'm glad I was around to witness something truly special (shame how it turned out tho). RIP, you absolute legend.