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WWE announced plans to honor late wrestler Shad Gaspard during this year's Hall of Fame ceremony next Friday (April 1).
Gaspard will posthumously receive the 2022 Warrior Award -- named after WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior -- which is annually presented to "an individual who has exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance and who lives life with the courage and compassion."
Gaspard died on May 17, 2020 after getting caught in a strong current while swimming with his son in Venice Beach, California and heroically instructing responding lifeguards to save his son before himself.
The former wrestler disappeared soon after and was later found dead by first responders after several days of searching.
"Shad’s bravery and selflessness will be honored next Friday with the 2022 Warrior Award as part of the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony," WWE wrote in a news release shared on its official website.
Last week, Gaspard's longtime friend and 'Cryme Tyme' tag-team partner, Jayson 'JTG' Paul, called on WWE to honor Gaspard with the Warrior Award, noting other past examples of his heroism.
“It would definitely have to be the Warrior Award,” Paul said during an interview with Muscle Man Malcolm. “You know, Shad did a heroic act, sacrificing his life for his son. But if it wasn’t his son, if it was somebody else out there, he would have probably done the same act. Shoot, if it was me, he would have probably done that for me. Shad has always had this hero mindset, years before that, he stopped a burglary at a gas station.
“Shad has always done something where he’s rescuing or saving somebody. I remember at a club, some guy was getting into his girl’s face and Shad put an end to that guy and threw the guy. ‘You don’t put no hand on no lady,’ cleaned that up real quick.”
The 2022 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place during WrestleMania weekend in Dallas, Texas and be headlined by the induction of The Undertaker.