The Bell To Bell News Report 07.07.11

Welcome to this week’s Bell To Bell wrestling fans! After a long weekend spent out and about and enjoying not only the Fourth of July, but Canada Day as well, we’re back with a fairly light week’s worth of news in the realm of the squared circle. I guess that I wasn’t the only one that took off a couple of extra days through the pair of national birthdays. Anyhow, there are a few things to touch on including CM Punk’s PR disaster in Australia, Smackdown stars getting ripped off in South Africa, TNA spreading their product further across Europe and some fantastic news for one of the Bell To Bell’s favorite wrestlers, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Before we get to the wrestling news though, there are a few things that need to be addressed, both wrestling and non-wrestling related. On the non-wrestling related front, the CFL season kicked off last weekend, bringing a whole new chance for my Winnipeg Blue Bombers to disappoint and frighten. They opened the season last Friday in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats and while it was nowhere near their best, they were still able to scratch out a 24-16 victory. The win came largely on the back of defensive back Alex Suber, who was named the league’s defensive player of the week. Suber did a tremendous job in covering Hamilton’s top reciever Arland Bruce and returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Bombers ahead for good. The victory was a nice way to start things off, but there were some serious problems as the offense sputtered for most of the game, injuries plagued the Bombers throughout the game and Buck Pierce was nearly obliterated while being sacked by Jamall Johnson late in the third quarter. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself….

For someone with Pierce’s history of injuries, I was sure that he was going to be out for at least the rest of the game, but he scraped himself up off the turf and finished things out to help the team pick up a win. This week the Bombers will have their home opener when they face off against Toronto, who squeaked out a 23-21 win over Calgary with a late field goal. I’m heading into this one with a glimmer of hope after the gutsy win last week, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get blown out of the water.

On the NHL front, the Jets have made good with one of their restricted free agents by signing team captain Andrew Ladd to a five-year contract that will pay the two-time Stanley Cup winner an average of $4.4 million a year. A lot of fans criticized Winnipeg for not getting involved in the free agent frenzy that began on July 1st and felt that it meant that Winnipeg was planning on operating on a Value Village budget. I disagree with that sentiment as this year’s crop of free agents was sub-standard outside of Brad Richards and many of the teams that signed players on the 1st grossly overpaid for the guys that they picked up. The few players that were signed by the Jets are gritty character guys or depth signings to help fill out their NHL and AHL rosters as they try to put together an organization in roughly three months. The Ladd signing is a key one though as it shows that players are willing to put down roots in Winnipeg and shows that Winnipeg is serious in keeping their young talent around long-term. Now, the Jets will move on to try and keep young defenseman Zach Bogosian and speedy winger Blake Wheeler, both of whom are RFA’s that could be headed to arbitration if they can’t be signed.

Finally, we move on to the wrestling subject I wanted to touch on, which was last week’s news piece regarding “Nature Boy” Ric Flair’s legal settlement with Highspots.com regarding a debt that Flair owed the company. I was criticized for being a teary-eyed Flair sympathizer after last week’s report and nothing could be further from the truth. I do feel like it’s kind of macabre to have Highspots certifying that Flair’s autograph on certain photos came from the settlement autographs, but when I spoke of them hoping to get a premium on photos streaked with Flair’s tears, that was sarcasm. Maybe I should talk to Sforcina about borrowing one of his Chandler’s next time. That being said, I firmly believe that Highspots deserved to be paid what they were owed and that they have the right to do what they’re doing, I just felt like they might have crossed the line a little bit with the “settlement authentic” autograph initiative.

Alright, enough yapping, let’s make with the news-news…

You know the drill…

Ding Ding….

— The WWE’s recent international tour that has seen them cover New Zealand, Australia and South Africa has hit a few speed bumps with the first coming during a Raw house show in Australia that saw CM Punk get into a verbal altercation with a ringside fan. For the few that haven’t seen it yet, here’s Punk ripping some Aussie’s a new assie with a few unfortunate words thrown in for good measure…

YOU HAVE A VAGINA!!!

He’s right though because to be a man you must have honor! Honor and a peeeeeeeeenis……

Seriously though, that was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while……right up until the part where he used a gay slur against the fans. Unfortunately for Punk, that was what most people noticed, prompting mild outrage from the gay community when the story was picked up by TMZ earlier this week. They ran the video and exposed it to a much wider audience, opening Punk up for some criticism from the GLAAD group, who commented on Punk’s behavior by saying that they are in discussions with the WWE to try to find ways to train their talent to deal with gay and lesbian issues in a better manner.

To his credit, Punk didn’t shy away from the situation, facing the criticism head-on with a statement that he released on his Twitter account….

“I’m glad TMZ posted that video because everybody needs to be held accountable for their bullsh**, me included. What I said was bullsh**. ..I’m embarrassed. I own up to being a total douche in this situation and I offer a sincere apology to anybody I hurt with careless words.”

While I agree with Punk that he needs to be called on his BS when the time comes for it, there have been far worse incidents in the wrestling business when it comes to insensitivity. Does JBL’s Excellent German Adventure ring any bells? Warrior claiming that “queering don’t make the world work”? Yeah, Punk shouldn’t have said what he said and it was a dumb thing to do in the heat of the moment, but it’s probably the least offensive of the gay slurs and I’m sure the fan thought it was the greatest thing in the world to get that kind of reaction out of him. Words are just words and honestly, I’m of the opinion that so long as the person you’re saying it to isn’t offended that you should be able to say whatever you damn well please. People are WAYYYYYY too touchy about everything these days and it’s starting to get sad that some people have nothing better to do with their time than analyze what other people say.

Kudos to Punk for owning up to it and trying to make it right, but this was more blown up than it really needed to be. If anything, the real outrage should be directed at Punk for rocking that awful ‘stache during the international trip. He looked like George Clooney in Ocean’s Thirteen when he’s in disguise at the casino. Just hideous.

— The second snag for the company during its tour of the world came in South Africa when Randy Orton posted on his Twitter account that half of the wrestlers on the Smackdown tour found that items had been stolen from their checked luggage when they arrived. According to Orton, his luggage was not messed with, but the ones that were had had their locks cut. South Africa has a bit of a spotty reputation in terms of their ability to uphold the law and this incident certainly won’t help them in that regard. As more information comes out about this incident, it will be interesting to see what items were stolen. One could assume that it was high-end electronics or things of that nature that could easily be re-sold for profit and a new report suggests that the bags that had locks on them were intentionally targeted and that the items taken ranged from watches to GPS units and included many sentimental items as well. Having your luggage tampered with is a terrible thing to happen to anyone while traveling and hopefully the people affected will be able to have their items returned or replaced before the trip is out.

— With a successful tryout under his belt and rumors running rampant that a jump to the WWE could be coming in the very near future, Claudio Castagnoli spoke about the possibility of jumping to the promotion during an interview this past week. Castagnoli talked about preferring to go into the WWE as part of a team with Chris Hero and how they could hopefully be the beginning of a change in how the WWE views the tag team division. “Very European” also hopes that based on their success, the WWE would look to bring in more tag teams rather than just making tag teams by lumping two single wrestlers together. I talked before about how bringing in Hero and Castagnoli as a team would be a mistake and hearing Claudio talk almost convinced me otherwise, but I’m still thinking that he and Hero need to move into the company as single wrestlers. I applaud Claudio for recognizing the importance of tag team wrestling and for wanting to expose it to a larger audience, but the WWE has viewed tag teams as an afterthought for a very long time now and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Hell, bring in Hero and Castagnoli as allies that wrestle singularly but can team up on occasion because of their alliance. We would get to see them team together, which would be awesome, but it would keep them from being dragged down by the anchor the WWE’s tag team division has become. Either way, I hope that both guys are given the chance as I am huge fans of both and they both deserve this opportunity to shine.

— Just a few short weeks after running afoul of the law in an incident that left two policemen seriously injured in Mexico, Charly Manson is back in jail after having his bail revoked by the judge presiding over the case. Manson, who was charged with aggravated assault and attacking authority figures in an April brawl that left one police officer with a fractured skull and another with a broken nose, was arrested after a AAA TV taping on June 30th in Tizayuca, Mexico with no indication given as to why the judge decided to pull Manson’s bail. The bail issue had gone back and forth previously with Manson initially being denied bail due to the severity of the charges, which hold a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison, but he was eventually released on bond in early-May. Manson is currently being held in a prison in Mexico City and is expected to remain there until his trial begins, though no date has been set for the court proceedings. I’m not what you would call a world traveler, but if my understanding of Mexican prisons is accurate, I’d expect Manson’s mouth to be filled by more than his own fingers soon enough so I would think he’d want a trial ASAP.

— Great news for Ring of Honor fans in Richmond, VA and Charlotte, NC this weekend as new Ring of Honor World Champion Davey Richards and former titleholder Eddie Edwards will reunite as The American Wolves for appearances at both shows. The Wolves will face Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin at the July 8th show in Richmond before taking on rising stars Adam Cole and Kyle O’ Reilly on the 9th in Charlotte. When it comes to Ring of Honor, it’s always been neck and neck between the Wolves and the Kings of Wrestling as to who my favorite tag team is, so it’s exciting to see that the Wolves will be reuniting for these events. Given that Richards is going to be defending the title soon, the chances of seeing them teaming together are going to get a whole lot slimmer in the future, so fans in the area should take advantage and get out to see one of pro wrestling’s great tag teams for what could be the final time for a while.

— Usually, I’m not the biggest fan of internet campaigns for anything as they tend to go without notice and are often unsuccessful, but this week saw one in particular catch my eye. In a blitz that I can get behind 1000%, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and William Regal took to their respective Twitter accounts to extol the virtues of NWA/WCW legend Arn Anderson in an attempt to get “The Enforcer” into the WWE’s Hall of Fame. Orton started the ball rolling early in the week with a post that lauded Anderson and his accomplisments and Regal and Jericho followed suit with Jericho claiming that Anderson should be inducted on his personality alone while Regal went the other way and spoke about how “Double-A” was a mentor of his and that it’s likely that everyone in the business today has probably learned something from Anderson. Although he was always a featured player in the Four Horsemen during the huge run the NWA had in the 80’s, Anderson is sometimes forgotten when it comes to being regarded as one of the best because he never had a major singles run. Mutliple reigns as NWA Tag Team Champion and TV Champion made sure that Arn was still a factor, but he was always viewed as a “supporting player” in the grand scheme of things and that’s a shame. Anderson came up with the name for the Four Horsemen (albeit inadvertantly) and started the juggernaut that the faction would eventually become. He also cut tremendous promos by talking instead of screaming and slobbering and was one of the best technicians that has ever set foot into a wrestling ring. The WWE missed out on the opportunity to induct Anderson during last year’s WrestleMania in Atlanta, the city that WCW called home for many years, but hopefully they’ll correct that next year in Miami, another former NWA hotspot.

— Take these with a HUGE shaker of salt, but there are already some rumors making the rounds for what fans can expect to see at WrestleMania 28 in Miami and it’s intriguing to say the least. Of course, the big focus is still on the main event between The Rock and John Cena with the rumors adding that the match will likely be for the WWE Championship. When it comes to the other featured matches on the card, a singles bout between Triple H and The Miz is expected, The Big Show is rumored to have his annual “celebrity bout” against recently retired NBA legend Shaquille O’ Neal, and Chris Jericho is set to be the latest to take on The Streak as he battles The Undertaker. While the build to WrestleMania was actually pretty well done, the show itself turned out to be a bit of a letdown because the card just didn’t feel very strong. Looking at a line-up like this, if it comes to fruition, it looks like it has more of the big event feel that you come to expect from WrestleMania, something that was lacking in Atlanta. Jericho/Undertaker is a fresh match-up that will likely have an excellent build with Jericho’s promo skills, O’ Neal vs. Big Show will provide some excitement for the mainstream media and some of the SportsCenter moments that Vince love and Triple H and The Miz could be a passing of the torch from the old guard to the new breed as Triple H continues to phase himself out of the ring and into the front office. Granted, all of this could change on a moment’s notice and it’s all just speculation at this point, but this latest batch of rumors have certainly piqued my interest in what could end up happening when the WWE hits South Beach next April.

— Continuing their efforts in spreading the TNA brand abroad, the company has announced that they will be making their first-ever trip to Belgium in January of 2012. The event will be held at the Forest National in Brussels and tickets are currently on sale for the show, which will feature TNA superstars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson and many more. For all of the flack that TNA has received for being unable to break through the proverbial glass ceiling in terms of TV ratings and PPV buyrates domestically, they have proven to be very capable when it comes to marketing themselves internationally. They have a very strong TV presence across the world and some of their biggest house show tours have come when the company tours overseas. Now we just need to see TNA be able to translate that kind of excitement into the product that they put on here in North America and all would be right with the world.

— Finally in a piece of business that I wasn’t able to get to in last week’s column, WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has announced on his Twiter account that he has beaten cancer for a second time. The 57-year old legend first battled the disease in late-2006 and early-2007 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after an appearance at the WWE Cyber Sunday pay-per-view where he teamed with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Unfortunately, Hodgkin’s is one of the types of cancer that, while easily treated, is also prone to relapse and Piper was diagnosed with the disease for a second time. Though he has been undergoing treatment, Piper has maintained a rather full schedule including winning the legends battle royal at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s event at WrestleReunion in January and it’s tremendous news to hear that “Hot Rod” is cancer-free once again. Congratulations to Piper on the terrific news and here’s wishing him the best of health in the future.

Alright folks, you know how it goes, we’ve run out of news so that’s it for me for this week. DeMarco is up next with the Wrestling 5 & 1 over the weekend and his Versus Summer League is really starting to heat up. Get it? Heat u…..ah forget it. In the mean time and in between time, I’ll see you all back here next time for another brand-new edition of the Bell to Bell News Report!

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