Jeff Miller, the veteran independent wrestler known as Metal Maniac, died over the weekend. He was 66.
The Cauliflower Alley Club announced Miller’s death Friday. A cause of death was not disclosed. Miller had reportedly been ill before his death.
Miller spent much of his career on the Northeast independent wrestling circuit and was perhaps best known for his long association with Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.
The two wrestled each other regularly on independent shows during the latter part of Snuka’s career. Miller also traveled with Snuka and helped make sure he got to his bookings. Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer that Miller “worked everywhere with Snuka.”
Miller began wrestling in the early 1990s after training with Snuka, Don Muraco and Siva Afi. He appeared for Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1992, before the Philadelphia promotion became Extreme Championship Wrestling.
His ECW appearances included a challenge of Muraco for the ECW Heavyweight Championship in 1993 and a match against The Sandman at NWA Bloodfest later that year.
Miller also worked for promotions throughout the Northeast, including East Coast Professional Wrestling, NWA New Jersey, World Xtreme Wrestling and Maryland’s Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, the predecessor to MCW Pro Wrestling. He also appeared at Global Wrestling Federation television tapings in Dallas.
Professional wrestling journalist Bill Apter remembered Miller as a close friend.
“So sad another wrestling close friend of mine has died,” Apter wrote on Facebook. “He was a gem of a person and a dear friend.”
Brian Heffron, better known as The Blue Meanie, also remembered Miller as someone he encountered regularly on the Northeast wrestling circuit.
“A mainstay of wrestling in the northeast,” Heffron wrote. “I got to share many a locker room with him.”
Miller’s Metal Maniac character drew from his background in music. He played bass, and his family owned a recording studio in New Jersey. He incorporated heavy metal music and face paint into his wrestling persona.
He continued making wrestling appearances for decades. Miller was still wrestling for East Coast Professional Wrestling in 2018 and received an Independent Wrestling Lifetime Achievement Award from ISPW promoter Tommy Fierro in 2022.
Miller had lived in Hawaii in recent years.
“Jeff was part of the fabric of our wrestling community,” the Cauliflower Alley Club said in announcing his death.