The Bell to Bell News Report 04.14.11

Hey folks, welcome to this week’s edition of the Bell to Bell. There’s plenty to get to here and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have started which will drop my productivity greatly in the next two months, so let’s just get into what’s going to get covered this week here in the column. This week, we look at Edge announcing his retirement from wrestling, Sting discussing the Victory Road incident with Jeff Hardy, where Hardy sits with TNA at the moment, an upcoming title tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and lots more including the sad situation involving former ROH star Larry Sweeney.

You’re here, I’m here, so let’s dive in!

You know the drill…

Ding Ding….

— We kick off this week’s report with one of the biggest stories in quite some time as fresh off of a sucessful title defense at WrestleMania XXVII against Alberto Del Rio, Edge shockingly announced his retirement this past Monday night on Raw. There had been rumors prior to WrestleMania that Edge may not have had a lot of time left as part of the active roster, but everyone was stunned to find out that it was such a short time and that it would happen so soon after the biggest show of the year.

The reason given for Edge’s retirement is most certainly a good one as there have been reports that the former eleven-time WWE and World Heavyweight Champion has recently been diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, stemming from his spinal fusion surgery in 2003. Side effects of stenosis include uncontrollable tremors in the hands and numbness and a loss of feeling in the arms and fingers among other things and there was a strong chance that if Edge continued to compete, he would be risking paralysis and possible death by taking bumps in the ring.

First and foremost, I have to commend Edge for making what had to be the most difficult decision of his life and making the right decision to leave the business now and walk away into a bright future rather than risk it all for the cheers of the crowd while possibly ending up in a wheelchair. I can’t imagine what it has to be like for someone who has that kind of adrenaline rush every night they get to compete having to scale it back and say that they’re done when there’s still gas left in the tank. Like I said, not many people get put in that kind of position and Edge handled it with incredible poise and class, only cementing his legacy as one of the best ever.

As one would expect for someone of his caliber, the tributes have been pouring in from wrestlers all over the world from any number of different avenues. Twitter blew up in the past few days with a ton of tributes from current and former WWE stars who wanted to express their appreciation and gratitude to the “Rated-R Superstar” and there have been numerous tribute speeches and a large scale celebration for Edge following the Smackdown taping earlier this week;

What’s next for Edge is unknown as he has previously dabbled in acting and there’s always the chance that he will look to continue on with the WWE in some sort of non-wrestling role. Hopefully, he’s able to take all of the knowledge that he’s gained in the past twenty years in the wrestling business and pass that on to the next generation, either as part of Tough Enough or NXT or even as someone working with the new guys down in FCW. I can imagine it won’t happen right away as there will likely be a lot of hurt that will take time to heal, but Edge would be well-suited to helping the current crop of prospects become even bigger stars than they ever thought possible.

Again, while it was expected, I have to say that this announcement was particularly shocking for me and hit me harder than most of the recent retirements have. I’ve followed Edge for the better part of twenty years through his time on the independent circuit in Canada including the famous “Road Trips from Hell” as part of Tony Condello’s promotions in Winnipeg. Hell, I even remember seeing him as Sexton Hardcastle way back in the day. Even back then, you could see that there was something in him that would take him to the heights in this business if he kept at it and sure enough, he did. Edge was always someone that I enjoyed watching work and enjoyed watching develop into a true main event level talent. Congratulations Adam, on everything that you’ve accomplished in your career to this point and best of luck in whatever avenue you decide to pursue in the future.

— We move from the sad news of Edge’s retirement to a tragedy of another kind as this week saw Alex Whybrow, best known to wrestling fans as “Sweet and Sour” Larry Sweeney, take his own life at the age of 29. Sweeney had recently been plagued with drug issues and suffered through a lifelong battle with bipolar disorder and it appears that the stresses of those battles became too much for the talented former ROH star.

Sweeney broke into the business in 2003 and was trained by a virtual who’s who of stars with Chris Hero, Jorge Rivera and Mike Quackenbush all having a hand in his initial training, while legends “Playboy” Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskoski (Col. DeBeers) trained Sweeney further during a 2004 stint in Orgeon. While many viewed Sweeney as being a middle of the road worker in the ring, there was no denying his natural charisma and after working for various independent promotions including a long stint in Chikara from 2004-2009, he joined the roster of Ring of Honor, where he would go on to found Sweet and Sour Inc. while becoming one of the hottest managers in the sport.

Sweeney was voted as the Best Non-Wrestling Performer by the Wrestling Observer newsletter in both 2007 and 2008 and his stable featured the likes of some of the best that Ring of Honor had to offer like Claudio Castagnoli, Adam Pearce, Sara Del Rey, Brent Albright, Shane Hagadorn and more. Many thought that Sweeney was on his way to a managerial career the likes of legendary WWE Hall of Famer Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, but personal issues began to derail Sweeney in 2009 and late in that year, he quit Ring of Honor citing monetary issues and made just one more appearance for the promotion, a color commentary gig during the company’s first live pay-per-view, Final Battle 2009.

More recently, Sweeney had returned to Chikara as the masked Vokoder, taking up a feud against members of the BDK including Pinkie Sanchez. One of the best reactions I’ve seen from a Chikara show was the reaction of the crowd during the October 23rd Team Chikara vs. BDK match when Sweeney was unmasked. Sweeney had posted a statement on the official Chikara website that he was planning to return to the company in 2011, but had yet to make another appearance.

Sweeney will be laid to rest in a private service, but there is still a way for his fans to reach out and show their grief as his family ias asking that donations be made in his memory to Thresholds, an organization that assists those with severe mental illnesses, like bipolar disorder. Donations can be sent to the company via their website or by sending to the following address;

Threshholds
4101 N. Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613

There is also a guestbook that can be signed by fans available at this link.

It’s a shame that someone so young and so talented had to go out in this way, especially someone who seemed to be universally loved by everyone he met. Judging from the outpouring of affection from his former colleagues, Sweeney always able to make everyone smile and laugh and was one of the good guys in this business. Unfortunately, it’s usually the ones that are in the most pain that try the hardest to keep the good times going and in this case, the pain was finally too much. God speed and rest in peace, “Sweet and Sour”, you will truly be missed.

— Apparently those who have been clamoring for Kurt Angle to one day return to the WWE will have to put those dreams on hold for the next few years as the former Olympic gold medalist has announced via his Twitter account that he has signed a new contract with TNA. Of course, it still needs to be confirmed that it was Angle who signed the contract and posted the tweet and not one of his cousins or his neighbor from down the street, but here’s what Angle had to say;

“To all my Fans @ Friends, I’m signing a new deal with TNA. We r working out the Kinks but I’m staying. So please tune in every thurs night. I gave it much thought,TNA is the Underdog.I feel I can Help Them go to the next Level.WWE is the top CO. But being the Face of TNA is Great. TNA has so much potential. I Believe in TNA. I Love Dixie Carter and I am staying. TNA wants to help me into Movies and Anglefoods.TNA is IT”

Nice to see that Kurt is still clinging to the thought that he can help take TNA to the next level despite the fact that it’s the exact same thing that he said when he initially joined the company. As much as I love Angle as a wrestler and think that he will always be remembered as one of the best pure wrestlers in the business, there’s no way that he’s going to bring TNA to the next level. The only thing that’s going to do that is for TNA to start putting on a better show every week that makes people want to see what happens next and draws in people from outside TNA’s fanbase. Angle can be a cog in that machine, but he won’t be the only cog and hopefully he can realize that soon before his obsession to single-handedly drag TNA to the top gets too far out of control.

— The WWE’s latest international excursion is expected to take place when they tape episodes of Raw and Smackdown in Mexico City this October. The promotion is expected to confirm this news during their upcoming house show tour of Mexico later this month with the taped shows likely coming from the Palacio de Los Deportes. With how popular the product is in Mexico and with the roster of stars like Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara, it seems like this move was not a matter of if, but of when. Being a bit of a fan of Lucha Libre myself, I have seen how rabid the crowds in Mexico can get for the shows and if they bring even half of that energy to the Raw and Smackdown shows, it should be an incredibly entertaining weekend that leads into an incredibly entertaining week of television. I have to admit, it will look a little odd seeing wrestling from Mexico without a huge Corona logo in the middle of the ring, but it should be exciting regardless.

— Showing the class that has made him a legend in this business and has people clamoring for him to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame every year prior to WrestleMania, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Sting recently spoke to the Daily Star about the situation with Jeff Hardy at Victory Road and let everyone in on a bit of what he was feeling as it took place.

“I don’t want to do anything to harm him. He has personal issues, everyone knows that. But some things are true and some are not. What is true is that it all came to a head that week and hit really big that night. I hated what happened because I wanted to give fans a great match. But I realize it had to happen the way it did.”

Sting also added that he made sure as soon as he came through the curtain following the match that Hardy was ok and that he has been in contact with people close to Hardy to make sure that he is alright.

Now given what happened, even in his position as the top guy in the company, Sting could have been plenty hot and just buried Hardy here, but instead he took the high road and there’s something about that that needs to be commended. Sting is the ultimate company man, no matter what company he is in and he’s also one of the good guys in this sport that doesn’t want to see anyone go down the tubes, even if they kind of screwed him over in front of a pay-per-view audience. Sting is what’s right about this business and he is one of the true class acts that is worthy of all of the respect that he is given.

— Sticking with the TNA/Jeff Hardy incident, apparently Hardy has become a distant memory backstage in a real hurry as there has been little to no discussion about Hardy since he left the company and there is no talk of bringing him back anytime soon. According to some reports, the situation is much the same as it was for Jeff Jarrett when he and Kurt Angle were having their very real personal issues surrounding Jarrett and Angle’s ex-wife Karen. Given that Jarrett has eventually returned and is even working with Angle right now in an angle based on that previous heat, it’s likely that Hardy will be brought back to the company. That being said, we know how serious the Jarrett situation was and this shows how serious the situation is between Hardy and TNA right now. As I’ve said numerous times, here’s to hoping that Hardy is using this incident and the time off to get himself together and get himself right, rather than using it as an excuse too just party it up and fall further down the hole.

— Following the WWE’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this month that saw international superstar Abdullah the Butcher honored, former WWF Champion Superstar Billy Graham has spoken out about Butcher’s induction. Graham has decided that since Abby did not compete under a WWE contract, that he no longer wants to be associated with the Hall of Fame and has asked that his name be removed from the index of wrestlers inducted into the Hall. He even called Abdullah a “bloodthirsty animal” as if that was some kind of insult when that was EXACTLY what the man’s gimmick was from day one. It’s funny that Graham has issue with Abdullah being inducted despite never working for the WWF when I believe that another of this year’s inductees, “Bullet” Bob Armstrong falls under the same category. I don’t hear any outrage from Graham about Armstrong’s inclusion as an inductee and frankly, I think that it’s merely some sort of personal issue between Graham and Abby that Graham has decided to air out at he worst possible time. Graham has had a lot of problems in his past and is currently dealing with a lot of health issues, but he’s always had a penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth and this seems like another one of those occasions.

— Let the Rio de Janeiro and Pat Patterson jokes commence!! New Japan Pro Wrestling has released details on their upcoming IWGP Intercontinental Championship including the eight men who will be involved in the tournament and the matches in the first round bracket, which will take place on May 13th. The eight men involved will be Yujiro Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito of Team No Limit, MVP, Hideo Saito, Tama Tonga (who is the son of WWF and WCW star Haku), Dan Maff, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano. Here are the first round matches that will take place in Rahway, NJ;

MVP vs. Okada
Saito vs. Takahashi
Naito vs. Tonga
Maff vs. Yano

The tournament will conclude with the finals on May 15th in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia where the first-ever titleholder will be crowned. Heading in, it looks like MVP may be positioned to be the favorite as he seems to be gaining some momentum with New Japan and he would be able to defend the belt in both the US and Japan with regularity, but the tournament seems to be fairly up in the air. If you’re on the East Coast and looking for great wrestling action next month, it looks like you can’t go wrong with the New Japan tour and I urge you all to check it out.

— From the “Color me not shocked” department, it appears that the plans that were rumored earlier this year that would have seen TNA begin the launch of a film production and distribution company similar to WWE Films have been put on hold. Not only that, but apparently there were not plans for such a venture to begin with and the whole thing may have been nothing more than an exaggeration from our favorite TNA Twittee, Kurt Angle. I have to say that this is a smart move for TNA as the last thing they need to be doing is spreading themselves thinner and branching out while their foundation is still not very strong. The one thing that seems to doom companies faster than anything is when they try to grow too fast to meet the competition and can’t handle the extra demands of both the time and money involved. TNA should be focused on nothing more than bringing the TV show to a 2.0 rating and the buyrates to somewhere in the 20,000-30,000 range. That’s it. Anything beyond that is just asking for trouble as the company needs to solidify itself and their future before they even begin to think about looking outside the company to new ventures.

— In some crappy news for me, it appears that the Lucha Libre USA show that aired in the summer on MTV 2 may not be returning for that second season that they’re currently taping as the channel seems to think that they’ve got combat sports covered for the time being. Between the recent deal to bring TNA Impact to MTV Tres and the weekly Bellator MMA shows airing every Saturday night on MTV2, the channel doesn’t seem terribly interested in bringing back LLUSA, which is a shame. I get that they don’t want to turn themselves into a channel that airs nothing but combat sports programming, but I was actually enjoying the LLUSA show and it was something that was different and very well booked as they ran the show. Hopefully, they can find a way for it to be picked up somewhere else and their second season can finally air as I was a big fan of the show and enjoyed getting to review it.

Alright folks, that’s it for me this week. Time to turn into a bit of a slug while watching hour after hour after hour of awesome playoff hockey. DeMarco will have you all wrapped up this weekend with his Wrestling 6 & 1 (hell, it could be up to the 8 & 1 by now), and I’ll be back in seven days with hopefully a lot better news on the world of professional wrestling than there was this week. In the mean time and in between time, I’ll see you all back here next time for another all-new edition of the Bell to Bell.

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