The Bell To Bell News Report 05.12.11

Welcome to the Bell to Bell, I am your knight of the squared circle, Randy Harrison and I’m exhausted. Who knew that building an extension on a house virtually from scratch would be so tiring? I’m not exactly Mr. Handyman so everything is not only twice as hard, but it’s taking twice as long, which has left me a quivering pile of goop at the end of the day more often than not. Anyhow, I’m physically and mentally beat, so the intro is likely going to be a little on the short side this week. There’s plenty going on inside this week’s B2B as I give my thoughts on Kurt Angle’s new TNA contract, the WWE’s first quarter report, a sad update on the condition of former WWF and WCW star Scott Hall, news on Shane Helms’ recent motorcycle accident, a cool opportunity for wrestling fans in Georgia to experience some of the history of the sport and a whole lot more. As I always, say, there’s only one way for this to get kicked off right, so let’s jump into it with both feet!

You know the drill…

Ding Ding….

— After a couple of weeks of quiet on the Scott Hall front, things have taken yet another turn for the worse this past week as it appears that Hall may be very close to pushing his body to mortal limits. Hall’s ex-wife Dana has reportedly washed her hands of the situation and told her story in a recent newspaper column. According to Dana, Hall called her in an attempt to make amends for his prior faults, but when she arrived at his home, EMTs were already on the scene and Hall spat at her while yelling obscenities and began to attempt to physically assault the EMTs. She added that her attempts to try to mend their relationship are finished and that while she is hurt by Hall’s actions, she feels the worst for their two children, who will likely not see Hall again any time soon.

Also in the column, Dana stated that she had reached out to the WWE in an attempt to get Hall into their rehab program with Kevin Nash likely serving as the bridge between the two sides as Hall has had very limited interaction with his friends outside of Nash. Given that Nash is in pretty good standing with the WWE after his return to the company earlier this year as well as his friendship with two of the company’s heavy political hitters in Shawn Michaels and Triple H, it seems like it might be Hall’s only hope at this point. Whether he ends up able to be in the program or not is anyone’s guess, but one can only hope that he’s able to begin to get things sorted out before it’s too late and his body gives out on him.

The chance of his body giving out on him is exactly the thing that Nash spoke of during a recent interview with The LAW program, during which Nash provided the latest update on the situation and how serious things have gotten and how dire things are for Hall at the moment;

“These people will say things like ‘you need to have an intervention’ or someone said ‘you need to take Scott fishing without alcohol’ and no one grasps the severity of what this situation is. This is someone that has been to rehab nine times and probably walked out three to four times. He’s been in and out of hospitals for the last year and a couple of times – in Providence (for a recent independent show) – what happened was Scott took a really bad fall in his house and hurt his hip really badly and of course the promoter said Hall got off the plane in a wheelchair blah, blah, blah. I talked to Scott and Scott said ‘I never miss a shot and I’m going to make this shot’ and I told him he sounded horrible and he said ‘yeah’. Somas are the worst thing for wrestlers and I think they’ve killed more wrestlers than anything. He took some of those and hadn’t taken those in a long time and had a really bad reaction…they put him up there for 72-hours and the thing is Scott has been through so many hospitals, so many psych wards, evaluations and so many rehab centers that Scott knows every catch phrase and he knows exactly what the psychologist wants to hear and we’re all workers – that’s what we are and in 72-hours Scott is gone.

He’s at a place right now where the peaks and valleys are so incredibly high and low and the last week he’s been at a level spot, his health is bad. I think he went in and saw some doctors and he’s not going to walk in and get a gold label of health and when you get news from doctors that your heart isn’t functioning so well, this isn’t functioning well and this isn’t functioning well and to get all that news all in one day he went into a semi bender.

I can’t make Scott Hall want to live, I can’t make Scott Hall want to get better, I can’t make Scott want to repair his relationship with his children, I can’t make any of those things happen and the only one who can is Scott. When and if he does I will be the happiest person on earth. He always knows no matter what, day or night, if he needs me and really needs me or needs anything or anything of me or for him I will be there in an hour and he knows that. I can’t be his therapist, I can’t be his wife, I can’t be his rehabilitation specialist but I can be his friend. I think he needs friends more than he needs people telling him what he has to do or not to do. Lately it’s like the ninth inning, two out, a full count and they’ve walked into the baseball game and sitting in their seat and telling us what’s been going on in the game – I’ve been doing this for 17-years with Scott, you don’t just jump into the game and tell me what he needs to do because you haven’t been here, you haven’t lived it, you haven’t done that and Dana (Hall) has. A lot of people think she’s a crack pot but people forget she has two children with the man, that’s real flesh and blood and Cassidy and Cody are great kids and they deserve better but at the same time Scott – people think Scott’s problem is he likes to get drunk and likes to take drugs and he’s an addict and he’s not – he has post traumatic stress and had several incredibly horrible incidents happen in his early youth going on to his adolescence and early adulthood and he has had things happen to him that he cannot get through.

When you are trying to numb a memory that’s when you have a problem and you’re trying to forget something – that’s a problem. He’s not out being a rock star, he’s making things in his mind go away because he cannot shut it off and does it for days at a time and then when he does think about it he realizes the problem is still there.”

This sounds like a very deeply disturbing situation for Hall and there’s a very good chance that he may never fully recover from whatever trauma happened to him while he was younger. It’s sad to type and surely incredibly painful for his family and his friends, but it’s starting to sound more and more like instead of being able to survive with what happened to him in his past, it could ultimately drag him down to the depths, never to be seen or heard from again.

— Some unfortunate news for one of the WWE’s stars came down this week as after being peripherally involved in the main event scene on Raw for the past couple of months and starting a bit of a mini-program with R-Truth, John Morrison will find himself on the sidelines for the next six to eight weeks after undergoing a minor surgery on his neck. Morrison suffered a pinched nerve in his neck and underwent the procedure to alleviate the symptoms and keep them from getting any worse. While neck surgery usually means something extremely serious, it’s nice to hear that this is relatively minor and that Morrison will be able to get back into action quickly. That’s a good thing for Morrison as he is in his highest profile slot for a long time on Raw and appears to be on the cusp of being bumped into the main event picture, at least on a short-term basis. Now, I’m still not 100% sold on Morrison as a main eventer in terms of his promo work, but he at least deserves a shot at it and it’s nice to see that he’ll hopefully be able to get it when he comes back.

— Kurt Angle has been in the news recently for his claims that he is going to take a break from wrestling to train and compete in the 2012 Olympic wrestling trials in an attempt to return to the stage where he earned a gold medal back in 1996, but he made more news with a Twitter post about his contract status this week. According to Angle, he’s about to sign a new three-and-a-half year guaranteed contract with TNA, turning down an offer from the WWE. Given that Angle is one of the only TNA wrestlers that is worth a damn in the ring, I wouldn’t be surprised if the WWE went after him, but this is Angle we’re talking about and he’s been a little loose with the facts in the past few months. Of course, he made sure to note that he will make more than he would if he accepted an offer from the WWE, perhaps as a dig at his former employer, which doesn’t seem like the smartest of moves….

If I had to guess, WWE’s offer was probably somewhere in the $0,000,000 per year range for 0 years, so TNA probably didn’t have too tough a task to match or surpass it. Like I said before, it’s possible that WWE might attempt to hurt TNA’s roster by sweeping in and stealing Angle, but I just don’t see it happening. WWE and Angle didn’t exactly part on the best terms after Angle refused rehab and was released and it hasn’t seemed like he has solved those problems during his time in TNA, so I can’t see the WWE wanting to get back into business with Angle, even if it would be a crippling blow to TNA’s morale. WWE doesn’t really view TNA as competition to them, so while they would love to stick it to them just to show them how far behind they really are, I doubt that the WWE would take on the risk of Angle failing the Wellness Policy after a highly-publicized return.

— The WWE held their first quarter conference call for investors and stockholders this past week and while the news wasn’t anywhere near as rosy as Vince and his suits had hoped for, there does appear to be some hope on the horizon. Here’s some of the highlights:

The first quarter saw the company post an overall loss, but Vince was quick to note that last year saw WrestleMania fall in the first quarter and that this year’s show will not be counted until the second quarter. Pay-per-view buyrates either fell or flattened, but McMahon noted that the current TV ratings and the return of the Tough Enough show was one of the ways that the WWE showed their power as a brand. It was also noted that increased costs in film and live events cut into the company’s profits without having the WrestleMania bump to help soften the blow.

Though pay-per-view buyrates are down, the WWE’s decision to go PG appears to be paying dividends in other ways as the company saw their revenue from toys rose 86% after their deal with Mattel kicked in and their videogame revenues were up $2 million, with the videogame revenue not including any of the sales for their WWE All Stars videogame, which came out earlier this Spring and will end up being counted in the second quarter report. It may not bode well for the current TV product on occasion (sanitized PPV and TV matches, trainers checking cuts during matches), but it’s managed to help the company make a lot of money in other avenues by allowing children back into their product.

In what was possibly one of the bigger announcements that went somewhat unnoticed, McMahon stated that the company will have two new live event programs that will take place in the not too distant future. He also added that finding a home for the two new properties won’t be a problem. Considering that they’re already trying to find new stations to air Superstars and NXT, it’s surprising that they will be having no problem with this live event programs, whatever they end up being. Keep an eye on this for the next few months as it’s starting to seem as though there may be an increased WWE presence on TV coming soon.

All in all, it was pretty much what was to be expected from the call as many financial types had suggested that the WWE’s numbers would likely be down due to the shift of the WrestleMania revenues from the first quarter to the second. Expect to see a big jump for the company when their second quarter call takes place as not only will they have the increased toy and videogame revenue along with the WrestleMania money, but they will also likely have to two new live event programs bringing money in as well.

— Sticking with TNA news, it appears that the promotion is working with the AAA promotion in Mexico to run an angle where TNA stars attempt to “invade” and “take over” the AAA promotion in concert with Konnan’s La Sociedad. Here’s video featuring Jeff Jarrett hyping their future appearances while preparing AAA for the coming storm…

AAA is preparing for their huge TripleMania event and with the likes of Jarrett, Anderson, Styles, Beer Money Inc., Foley and more ready to shake things up South of the Border, this could be an incredibly exciting time for fans of TNA and AAA. I tend to think that the invasion angles have been played out, but this one actually looks like it has some promise as the TNA guys are really selling how much they hate AAA. The only thing I have to ask is why TNA would waste a video and promo this cool for a “rival” promotion when the backstage promos that they shoot for their Impact show look like a bad UPN teen dramedy from the late-90’s. Best single camera, single-shot promo I’ve seen in a long, long time. Shame they can’t make Impact that interesting though.

— Former WCW and WWE star Shane “Hurricane” Helms and his girlfriend are both recuperating in hospital in Raleigh, NC after a motorcyle accident late last week that left Helms with various injuries including a broken jaw, nose and ankle and over 200 stitches while his girlfriend suffered a broken neck in the mishap. Thankfully, despite the severity of their injuries, both appear to be on their way towards making full recoveries. Unfortunately, the cause of the accident is unknown at this time as the investigation continues, but TMZ has reported that Helms is currently under suspicion for driving under the influence, which authorities believe may have contributed to the crash. Blood was drawn from Helms soon after he arrived at the hospital and is currently being tested with the results said to be coming in several months. Oh, come on!! CSI has their test results about ten minutes after they receive the evidence, so I don’t understand what the hold-up is here.

Perhaps more disturbing than the fact that Helms is being investigated in the way that he is is the fact that there are numerous eyewitness reports that have been filed with police that state that Helms had been in a local restaurant moments before the crash and that they “were sure” that Helms had been drinking in the establishment. Also worth noting is that the eyewitnesses state that Helms failed to stop at a stop sign, lost control of the motorcycle and drove through a chain link fence. While there is not enough evidence to go on to damn Helms for making the poor choice to drink and drive while we wait for the results of the blood testing, it doesn’t look good. Helms has had numerous problems with alcohol in the past couple of years as it was his house that Christopher Daniels had been drinking at prior to his 2009 DUI arrest and it was Helms who was arrested later that year, along with Chris Jericho, on public intoxication charges stemming from a play fight in the back of a taxi that got too physical in the suburbs of Cincinnati.

Here’s to hoping that in this instance it was more of a case of some type of mechanical or driver error rather than Helms choosing to put his own life and the life of someone he loves in danger. Best wishes to the both of them on a speedy and full recovery and let’s cross our fingers that if alcohol was involved, this is the wake-up call that keeps Helms from becoming another sad wrestling statistic.

— In some awesome news for Bell to Bell fans in the state of Georgia, WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be appearing at this year’s NWA Legends Fanfest in Atlanta on August 5th and 6th and judging from the press release, there will be some very cool opportunities to those who are lucky enough to attend. Piper will be taking photographs with fellow legend Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in what is being billed as a “dog collar” photo-op, which will feature both men and the actual dog collars and chain used in their classic bout at Starrcade ’83. As if that weren’t enough, the original United States Championship belt that they battled over in the early 1980’s in the Mid-Atlantic promotion will also be able to be used for pictures with “Hot Rod”. It’s not very often that fans get to meet legends and see some of the pieces of history that are most associated with them as well and this is an incredible opportunity for the fans who will be checking this one out. I know that I’m personally jealous of the fact that I won’t be able to be there and see it, but if any of you out there are heading to the convention, feel free to drop me an e-mail with your experience and any photos and I’ll post them in the following week’s column.

— More information has been released on the upcoming CHIKARA tournament to crown the promotion’s first-ever Heavyweight Champion, the “12 Large: Summit” (named in honor of the late Larry Sweeney), and things look to be heating up for the indy promotion through the summer and fall. The twelve men participating in the tournament have been broken into Block A and Block B and here’s how things break down…

BLOCK A

Amasis
Claudio Castagnoli
Hallowicked
Icarus
Mike Quackenbush
Sara Del Rey

BLOCK B

Fire Ant
Vin Gerard
Jigsaw
Eddie Kingston
Brodie Lee
UltraMantis Black

According to a recent press release from the company, each bout in the tournament will have a sixty-minute time limit with the winner of the bout earning two points, a time limit draw or no contest giving each competitor one point and a loss earning no points. After the round-robin portion of the tournament takes place with all six wrestlers in each block facing each other once, the leaders in points in Group A and Group B will battle for the belt on November 13th. The tournament will kick off on May 21st in Easton, PA as Mike Quackenbush will take on Hallowicked in a Block A match-up.

— For those fans who feel like they need to be liquored up to understand TNA’s booking decisions from week to week, you’re now in luck as Eric Bischoff has announced that he will launch a new Buffalo Bill Cody craft beer that will be produced by the Eric Bischoff Family Brewing company. The company already has a website up and the beer is expected to be carried in the Cody, MT area where Bischoff lives and throughout the state in the next few months, with the plan being for the brand to branch out to other states if the interest is there. Say what you will about the man’s contributions to the wrestling business after his scorching, white-hot run with the nWo from 1996-1998, but Bischoff is a smart businessman and has diversified himself a lot in the past few years. His production company is booming and has had numerous shows on TV in the past couple of years and now with the brewing company, he’s got another project that he can draw money from in addition to his TNA salary. It’s refreshing to see a guy that has spent nearly twenty-five years in the wrestling business (counting his time behind the scenes in the AWA as well as his time as an on-air personality for the promotion) and yet has still given himself options outside of the business and I wish Bischoff the best of luck in his latest venture.

— We end this week’s Bell to Bell with a fun story out of Anaheim as this week saw the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim working to set a world record for the “largest gathering of people wearing costume masks”. All fans in attendance for Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox received a free Angels lucha mask and during the fifth inning, the crowd wore the masks for ten minutes after an announcement on the scoreboard prompted them and sure enough, the Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator who was in attendance verified that they had in fact set the record. The previous record was 250 and the Angels blew that one out of the water by a mile, with a crowd of 40,128 taking in the game last night. The Angels have really embraced the lucha concept this season and earlier in the season, the team’s announcers donned the masks as a rally for their team to win an extra inning game against the Red Sox earlier this month. With how popular the lucha culture is in Southern California, it makes a lot of sense for the team to run with it and they’re actually fairly sharp-looking masks.

This isn’t the first attempt by the Angels to set a record during their season as last year, they unsuccessfully attempted to break a world record for largest gathering of people wearing a blanket, which is currently held by the Cleveland Cavaliers. This year however, they found success and have set a new standard that will likely not be broken for quite some time, if ever. You know, if the WWE wasn’t so embarassed about being a “rasslin’ company”, they could easily break that mark at next year’s WrestleMania and be in the Guinness Book of Records, probably forever. That being said, I can’t think of a situation where they would go along with it, no matter how much positive publicity it would help them get because it would be too closely associated with that dirty nine-letter word that is taboo in the company.

Alright folks, that’s it for me for this week. I’m off to hammer, saw, sand and paint my way into a coma. DeMarco will be bringing the boobies and the knowledge with his Wrestling 5 & 1 over the weekend so be sure to check that out as he’s got a great thing going there. In the meantime and in between time, I’ll see you all back here next time for another brand new edition of the Bell to Bell! Chocolate Giddy-uuuuuuuuuuuuuup!!

If you’re a fan of MMA, be sure to check out Nokaut.com for more of my work.