The Bell To Bell News Report 01.02.10

Posted by Randy Harrison on 01.02.2010

The first Bell To Bell of 2010 is upon us and though everyone is looking forward to January 4th and TNA vs. WWE head-to-head, I'm looking back at the last week of wrestling news including the unfortunate death of Steve Williams, Bret Hart's return to the WWE, Jushin "Thunder" Liger's return to the US and a lot more...




Howdy and Happy New Year to all of you wrestling fans out there and welcome to the first Bell to Bell of 2010! The holiday season is over and it's time for wrestling fans to turn their focus from presents and champagne to one of the biggest nights in wrestling in quite some time, as well as the beginning of the Road To WrestleMania. We'll be getting to all of that this week as well as touching on all of the weekly shows and the news of the past seven days, finishing up with the second biggest story of the Bell to Bell era heading into next week's "historic" fiftieth column. Yes, I just finger-quoted myself. Self-deprication, FTW!

Before we get into the wrestling though, I'm going to touch on one of my absolute favorite things that comes with the holiday season, the World Junior Hockey Championship. Every year starting on Boxing Day (December 26th for all of you non-Canadians out there), the best under-20 hockey players from around the world meet in a championship tournament that features incredible action with hockey's future superstars. I've been a fan of the tournament from way back as a kid, even getting to see some of the tournament games live when they were held in Winnipeg in 1999 and it's one of those things that always means the holidays to me. This year's tournament has been great so far with Sweden, Canada and the US team all looking like solid favorites for the gold medal.

The best game so far happened on New Year's Eve with Canada overcoming a 4-2 deficit in the third period to tie the game before winning in a shoot-out. The win gives Canada a bye into the semifinals as the winner of their pool, while the US team has to face a tough Finland team in the quarterfinals. Last year, the US lost a 3-0 lead to lose in similar fashion to Canada before losing in the quarterfinals in what was surely a letdown game. I hope they can keep it together this year as the game on New Year's Eve was fantastic and a Canada/US final would be a real treat. For anyone that loves hockey that hasn't had the chance to see this tournament yet, make every effort that you can to check out the medal round through TSN, the NHL Network or wherever you can see it. It's a fantastic tournament and a glimpse into the future of the NHL every year.

With that out of the way, let's get to the wrestling news, shall we?


You know the drill...





Ding Ding....









Monday Night Raw Results:

Ted DiBiase vs. Evan Bourne - Winner: Ted DiBiase (pinfall, Dream Street)
Cody Rhodes vs. Mark Henry - Winner: Cody Rhodes (pinfall, DDT)
Kelly Kelly vs. Maryse - Winner: Maryse (pinfall, DDT)
The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston - Winner: Kofi Kingston (pinfall, Trouble in Paradise)
WWE United States Championship: Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz (C) - Winner: Kofi Kingston (disqualification, Orton-ference)
D-Generation X vs. The Big Show and Chavo Guerrero - Winners: D-Generation X (pinfall, HHH's Pedigree on Chavo)
WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Sheamus (C) - Winner: John Cena (disqualification, Sheamus attacks referee)


Monday Night Raw may have been pretty light on the wrestling, but it was definitely high on the intrigue this past week as the DX vs. Chris Jericho feud continued, Sheamus and John Cena met in Cena's rematch for the WWE Championship, Shawn Michaels continued to lobby for a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania and Vince McMahon announced Bret Hart as the guest host for next week, albeit somewhat reluctantly. There was a lot going on for two hours and a lot of angle possibilities were opened up with this show that could prove to make this year's Road to WrestleMania one of the most interesting in recent memory. This week's guest host was Timbaland, but there's not really much to say about him as he was little more than window-dressing for the night, so let's get back into discussing the rest of the big developments from the show.

The Chris Jericho/DX feud kept chugging on strong as Jericho tried to petition his way back onto Raw before being given a ticket into the building by Big Show prior to Show's teaming with Chavo Guerrero to face Michaels and HHH. The match was better than it should have been for having Chavo involved, but the real story was afterwards where Jericho tried to get involved, ate some Sweet Chin Music and then was told that he's got one more shot. If he loses that one, there's no saving him and he's gone from Raw forever. I loved this whole deal, especially Jericho's picketing outside of the building which was extremely entertaining.

Randy Orton's mentoring of Legacy seemed as though it could come to an end this week as he forced Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase into singles matches with the promise that if they lost, they'd be out and get an ass-kicking to boot. Rhodes and DiBiase both won their matches and avoided being beaten by Orton, but there is still some tension there that could lead to a split down the road. There's been rumors of a face turn for DiBiase, Rhodes or both and I could easily see this kind of tension continuing for weeks until it's either paid off with a match at WrestleMania or the turn taking place at WrestleMania. Either way, things should be getting more interesting in the weeks ahead. This is of course keeping in mind that Orton and Kofi Kignston seem to still be having their problems, that don't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

The Sheamus/John Cena angle continued as well with Cena getting his title rematch after losing the belt at the TLC pay-per-view. They opened up the show with Cena and Sheamus in an interview segment and Cena delivering an Attitude Adjustment through a table on Sheamus, seemingly setting the tone for the main event match. When it came to the match, there was pretty much nothing there worth noting as they're obviously trying to save something for a PPV rematch, Sheamus pulled a fast one by attacking the referee and costing Cena the match via DQ. I hate this finish, especially when it was just done a couple of weeks ago with DX against Jericho and Big Show, but it's understandable when they're not wanting to give much away for free. We'll see what happens here, but I'd be shocked if they don't fight for the title at the Royal Rumble.

The focal point of the entire show though was Mr. McMahon's segment that saw him tease the return of Bret Hart, snuff out the rumors and confirm them by announcing Hart as the guest host all in one fell swoop. Added into the mix was Shawn Michaels, who personally pleaded with Vince to make the rematch at WrestleMania between himself and The Undertaker, while pushing for Hart to make his return. This had a bit of everything as it was surreal to see Michaels pushing for Hart against McMahon, but it was also silly to see him looking so serious in this segment and then flipping the coin to look like a goof in the DX stuff. If they want to do Michaels/Taker II, they need to get him out of DX somehow, at least during the build, to keep the match from becoming a cariacature of what their WrestleMania XXV classic was.

Regarding Hart, it's painfully apparent that the money angle for his run is going to be with Vince McMahon as the history is obvious and if they decide to finish it in the ring, they can do a streetfight without a lot of bumping having to go on. Vince nearly kills himself in every WrestleMania streetfight and will do the same thing again if need be, meaning that it wouldn't be a classic technical match, but it'd probably be a hell of a fight. The thing that I also like with all of this is that it set up to where Michaels said to McMahon that good things will come if Hart returns. That's the world of story possibilities opening up that I referenced earlier as this could lead to Hart taking the piss out of McMahon, McMahon "punishing" Michaels by giving him a match with Taker and McMahon and Hart finally settling their grudge. That doesn't sound good? There's probably about a dozen other options that they have going for them now and Michaels' line was delivered perfectly to where the fans' interest will be piqued on Monday and after months and months of being able to see the booking miles away, there's finally some question and intrigue. Great segment and it should be a hell of a Raw come Monday night.





ECW on SyFy Results:

Matt Hardy vs. Finlay - Winner: Matt Hardy (pinfall, Twist of Fate)
Evan Bourne vs. Mike Knox - Winner: Evan Bourne (pinfall, Shooting Star Press)
Tommy Dreamer vs. Zack Ryder - Winner: Zack Ryder (pinfall, suplex reversal)


ECW's Homecoming tournament continued this week with Matt Hardy and Evan Bourne coming back to the show to try to earn a shot at Christian's ECW Championship. First things first, it was nice to see ECW actually get a year-end show that was a show instead of just a clip show from all three brands full of highlights from the past year. I think it's funny that they decide to do it now when there's talk of killing the ECW brand instead of during the years when the ECW brand was still new and fresh, but that may just be me. The Hardy/Finlay match that started the show was not too bad, outside of the somewhat random finish, but it just felt like they were a step off. We've seen better from these two and this wasn't it, which was a bit of a disappointment. By the by, I don't care how long he has worn them or how long he'll continue to wear them, Matt Hardy still looks weird in full tights and always will.

The Bourne/Knox match was the same kind of big man/little man template that the WWE follows for matches with guys like these two and it was a pretty good match. I kind of feel for Knox as he lost to Bourne, who has been losing to everyone lately, even as he's showing flashes of athleticism and in-ring ability that are surprising for a man of his size. I don't ever see him being a guy that can carry a brand, but Knox could fit into the type of mold of a guy like Kane that has decent upper mid-card feuds if they give him the chance. That being said, it was nice to see Bourne get a win since he's been losing for what feels like forever and I'm hoping that he and Knox avoid the usual post-New Year's, pre-WrestleMania housecleaning as they both have things to offer the company if they're given the opportunity.

The main focus of this show though was Tommy Dreamer and his match with Zack Ryder that also featured an angle with Ryder challenging Dreamer and Dreamer putting his ECW career on the line. I talked last week about how underwhelming the send-off was for Dreamer when everyone thought it was his last appearance. I liked this week's official send-off a lot better as not only was there the mini-angle leading up to it, but Tommy got the chance to really say goodbye to the fans and ECW in a dramatic and emotional moment that was a tremendous way for Dreamer to go. I got called out a little bit last week for saying that Dreamer should have left on top in the summer, but it wasn't about Dreamer leaving the company on his back. I know he did the job gladly because it was for the good of the business and he's an old-school guy. My problem was with it getting little to no hype as Dreamer deserved more. This week he got it and it was a special moment for Dreamer as well as his fans and fans of wrestling period. Thank you Tommy. That pretty much says it all.





WWE Superstars Results:

Melina vs. Alicia Fox - Winner: Melina (pinfall, Last Call)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer - Winner: Shelton Benjamin (disqualification, Archer not breaking on five count)
Cryme Tyme vs Mike Knox and Charlie Haas - Winners: Cryme Tyme (pinfall, JTG's Shout Out on Haas)
MVP and Chris Masters vs. Carlito and Jack Swagger - Winners: Carlito and Jack Swagger (pinfall, Carlito's backstabber on Masters)


Superstars was somewhat dwarfed this week with the four hour Impact as well as the New Year's Eve festivities that left very few people at home to watch the show. It kind of showed in the product as while the show was decent, it was fairly uninspired and felt a lot like guys (and gals) phoning it in if I'm being completely honest. The show started with Melina taking on Alicia Fox and after a couple of minutes of action, Melina picked up the win with the Last Call, keeping her momentum going for her current program on Raw. That being said, there's a lot of other things going on there to where the Women's Title feud is somewhere between Hornswoggle and Chris Masters in terms of importance.

Shelton Benjamin and Vance Archer met next in ECW's contribution to the show and the match was alright, but the ending was the thing that really turned me off of it. Archer and Benjamin are trying to find their way in the midcard of the brand and while it was nice to see Archer facing someone that wasn't a jobber, it was a shame that he had to beat up Shelton, who has a bit more potential if I'm being completely honest. As I said before, the finish with Archer getting disqualified for beating on Shelton in the corner past the five count was silly and did little to help either guy. Shelton gets his ass kicked and Archer looks like an idiot that doesn't know how to count rather than the "uncaring badass fighting machine" thing that they were surely going for. I appreciate the effort Benjamin put in, but this one just didn't do it for me at all.

The main event of the show saw MVP and Chris Masters taking on Carlito and Jack Swagger in a match that just screamed indifference as it looked like the booking team just clicked on four random profile pages on WWE.com to make the match. Yeah, there was the face/heel dynamic, but there's no real reason for any of these four to be teaming, which took a little steam out of the match for me. In terms of the finish, what does it say for Masters' face turn if he's getting beaten by Carlito? Seriously. I actually found myself wishing that it was just Masters vs. Carlito rather than the tag match as MVP and Swagger kind of deserved better than being add-ons in the main event of the D show on a New Year's Eve where no one probably cared.





TNA Impact Results:

Madison Rayne vs. Hamada - Winner: Hamada (pinfall, Hamada Driver)
Traci Brooks vs. ODB - Winner: ODB (pinfall, TKO)
Roxxi vs. Velvet Sky - Winner: Roxxi (pinfall, Barbie Crusher)
Daphne vs. Awesome Kong - Winner: Awesome Kong (pinfall, Implant Buster)
Sarita and Taylor Wilde vs. April Hunter and Lorelei - Winners: Sarita and Taylor Wilde (pinfall, moonsaultplex)
Hamada vs. Roxxi - Winner: Hamada (pinfall, roll-up)
ODB vs. Awesome Kong - Winner: ODB (pinfall, bottle shot on Kong)
Hamada vs. ODB - Winner: ODB (pinfall, TKO)


TNA Impact got four hours this year from Spike TV on New Year's Eve to help hype their live Monday night show next week and put on a tournament for the Knockouts, while focusing on the top three PPV matches in TNA for 2009. I'm always a fan of TNA's year-end shows because they usually mean that we're going to see some great wrestling from the pay-per-view shows on Spike and that's not all bad, but this year we actually got to see some great work from the ladies as well. The show was pretty much split into two hour blocks with the majority of the tournament and two matches from TNA's top three in the first block and the semifinals and finals of the Knockouts tournament and the top TNA match of 2009 in the second block and the two shows were kind of like night and day.

The first two hours were kind of jammed as they had to stick two TNA PPV matches of roughly twenty minutes as well as five matches featuring the Knockouts and as such, things were just a little bit too quick for my liking. The first round matches in the eight-woman tournament were all really short, as was the Knockout tag match, while the end of the second two hour block felt like TNA was stalling for time a little with only three Knockout matches and one match from TNA PPV. It would have been easy to have one of the TNA PPV matches moved to the second block, which would have given the first round matches more time, while not feeling like TNA was trying to fill time towards the end of the show.

That being said, it was fun to see the Knockouts get featured and the first round of the tournament went pretty much as you'd expect in terms of the winners with Hamada, Kong, Roxxi and ODB moving on to the semifinals, while Taylor Wilde and Sarita defeated the debuting April Hunter and Lorelei. The matches were alright, but as I said, were all a little too short for my liking. I did enjoy the work from Hunter and Lorelei in what was essentially a tryout match for them and I hope they get picked up as TNA is starting to rebuild their ladies division and adding two more bodies that can work surely can't hurt. In terms of the PPV offerings, we got to see the top two matches from Turning Point, which was not much of a surprise as those were two of the best matches of the year, TNA or otherwise. I wasn't upset with the first two hours, but I was left wishing that the live matches got more time.

As I said before, the second block of programming was much different as we got longer matches from the ladies and the top TNA match of the year from their PPV broadcasts, meaning that the live matches got ten to fifteen minutes each, which was a real treat considering the ladies that were left in the tournament. The semifinals were solid matches and left Hamada and ODB standing as the last ladies fighting for the number one contender's slot. The final match was fifteen minutes of really good action that really showcased Hamada as the future of the division in TNA, while giving the natural ODB/Tara match for next week's live show. I spoke earlier about the pacing of the show and that really came to bear in the main event as we got commercial breaks about a minute apart, which absolutely killed the match for me in terms of the flow of things. It's a shame too because this one was really good and deserved better.

Outside of the Knockouts stuff, there was some angle stuff heading into next week's live show as well as we not only got plenty of hype for Hulk Hogan, but the top TNA match from pay-per-view featured AJ Styles defeating Sting at Bound For Glory while pushing whether Sting will return on Monday night. I like that they were using angles to help push their show next week even as it was focused solely on the Knockouts, but I also think that they're shooting themselves in the foot a little bit by only having the Knockouts Title match and Knockouts Tag Title match announced for the show. This was their last chance to get their audience psyched for a live Monday show and they have no idea what they'll be seeing outside of Hogan, possibly Sting and the two ladies' matches. For as much as they did right with the four hours to publicize their special, there were some instances where TNA dropped the ball on chances to give an even bigger push.





Friday Night Smackdown Results:

Beat The Clock: CM Punk vs. Matt Hardy - Winner: CM Punk (pinfall, Go 2 Sleep - 7:20)
Beat The Clock: Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler - Winner: None (time limit elapsed)
The Carolina Panther vs. The Great Khali - Winner: The Great Khali (pinfall, Punjabi Plunge)
WWE Intercontinental Championship: John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre (C) - Winner: Drew McIntyre (disqualification, McIntyre shoves Morrison into the referee)
Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix - Winner: Mickie James (pinfall, roll-up)
Beat The Clock: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho - Winner: Rey Mysterio (pinfall, inside cradle - 7:19)
Beat The Clock: R-Truth vs. Batista - Winner: None (time limit expires due Mysterio-ference)



Unfortunately, I was on the road on my way to visit family through Friday afternoon and evening, all the way past the deadline, which means that Smackdown is going to be forced to be a casualty. I'll be making sure to see next week's show, and I'll throw any comments from this week's show into my thoughts on next week's episode. Apologies for missing the show, but I had to make this trip so my hands were tied.

That being said I was able to see the final two segments of the show through some string-pulling. I kind of enjoyed the show-ending angle with Mysterio setting the new Beat the Clock record before pulling out the referee to keep him from beating R-Truth and beating his time. That was pretty cool and I really got a kick out of that one. Of course, it leads to Batista vs. Mysterio for next week for the title shot and my guess is that it'll be a schmozz finish so that we see both guys moving on to face Taker at the Rumble.







-- Some unfortunately sad news tops this week's stories as longtime Mid-South Wrestling and Japanese wrestling staple "Dr. Death" Steve Williams passed away on Tuesday night at age 49 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Williams was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004 and beat it in that instance, but the cancer returned earlier this year and after fighting it for most of the year, ultimately succumbed to the illness. As would be expected, tributes have poured in from a variety of sources including longtime friend Jim Ross and former Mid-South Wrestling boss "Cowboy" Bill Watts, who both wrote poignant pieces on the life and times of Williams.

Here's some of Ross' moving words regarding Williams;

"Losing Steve, which came as no major surprise knowing how sick he was in the final days of his life, has affected me in ways that words cannot adequately describe.

I grew up an only child and somehow from a rural, eastern Oklahoma background made my way into the unique and challenge business of professional wrestling.

Then in the late 70's, I inherited a "younger brother" by the name of Doctor Death. That began a 30+ year relationship that was challenged at times but it never failed us because of the foundation upon which it was constructed.

Like Steve, that foundation was rock solid, strong, and seemingly indestructible.

However, as strong as Doc was, as quick as he was, and as generally athletic as he was, he had a heart of gold and was blessed with a kind, gentle spirit and a loving heart.

These are rare traits in a business not known for its tender side.

Thanks, Doc. I love you and will never forget you."

To read JR's full blog on the subject, click here.


Williams is best known in the South for his run in the Mid-South promotion (later known as the UWF), but he also had runs in the NWA (as a member of the Varsity Club) and in Japan (where he teamed with former Fabulous Freebird Terry Gordy as part of the Miracle Violence Connection), where he was incredibly successful. Williams and Gordy even translated their success in Japan to success in the United States where they won the WCW World Tag Team Championships and feuded with The Steiners in some of the stiffest matches seen on this continent. Despite fighting cancer, Williams was still active as late as this year, with his last American match happening in August and his last match in Japan taking place this past October.

Unfortunately, Williams wasn't able to take advantage of the lucrative opportunities of the wrestling boom in the late-90's as a run in the WWF fizzled out after a loss in the ill-fated Brawl for All tournament to Bart Gunn and a stint in WCW garnered little more than a midcard run. That being said, Williams was incredibly succesful both inside and outside of the ring, earning numerous awards for his in-ring work including a Match of the Year award for 1996 for his legendary tag match with Johnny Ace against Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama. I know that in my eyes, Williams will be best remembered for his believable, hard-hitting style that earned him a reputation as one of the best wrestlers in the world. My condolences as well as the condolences of the entire 411 staff go out to Williams' friends, family and fans during this difficult time. RIP Dr. Death, you will truly be missed.



-- Former TNA Knockouts Champion (it pains me to even have to type that) Cody Deaner has been released by TNA after one of the stranger stints in a professional wrestling company I've seen in some time. Deaner was brought in as part of a Let's Make a Date style of angle with ODB and played it up to the hilt as ODB's boyfriend and later as her rival, but there just wasn't anywhere for the character to go, making this a good move for TNA as they attempt to move forward and try to compete with the WWE. All of this is nothing against Deaner, who I'm sure tried his best with what he was given, but I'm glad to see him go as there was nothing else he could offer. Deaner is accepting independent bookings through his website apparently, so I'm sure he'll be back on his feet soon enough, but the days of seeing him cluttering up TNA TV are done, thank goodness.



-- Ring Of Honor has announced that as part of their event that will take place at the end of January in conjunction with the WrestleReunion event in Los Angeles, CA, Japanese legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger will take on current Ring of Honor champion Austin Aries in what will surely be one of the top independent matches of 2010. The thing I like about this the most is that they've gone ahead and made it a non-title match, meaning that the whole deal of Aries winning to defend his belt as a foregone conclusion is not in play. This will end up being a straight-up one-on-one bout without any of the title stuff forcing ROH into booking a screwy finish to try to protect Aries or the belt. I'm somewhat near the area and if I can manage to make my way down there for that match, I'm definitely going to check it out as this one could be an instant classic given Liger and Aries' body of work.



-- Of course, this Monday will see TNA taking on WWE in a head-to-head showdown of live wrestling, marking the first time in eight years that there will be competing shows on Monday night. In all of the talk of Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan, one name that hasn't been mentioned very often is the guy that was the catalyst for the original Monday Night Wars, Eric Bischoff. Bischoff is coming along with Hogan to TNA to work behind the scenes and has weighed in on what the battle between the two shows this Monday means;

"Based on the mind-numbingly stupid Raw I had the misfortune of dropping in on last week, perhaps the fact that TNA stepped up and is at least taking a swing at the bully was enough to make McMahon realize that he could not afford to take his audience for granted and continue to shove tripe down the throats of his Goliath "universe" while David was reaching for a stone.

This Monday Night...win, lose, or draw I have to give credit to the folks at TNA and Spike. They could have taken the easy path and put their best foot forward un-opposed. That would make the most sense to many people. But by at least getting into the fight, TNA is most likely going to gain the awareness and respect of a completely different audience.

And wrestling fans are not only going to have a choice this Monday night, they will most likely see a higher quality product all the way around. And for that they should thank TNA."

For all the talk of Bischoff being one of the reasons that WCW died and how he's all flash and no substance and this and that, the man makes a lot of sense there. WWE has run unopposed for so long, they are fairly secure in knowing that they can throw any old crap up on Monday nights and get a 3-4 rating. If TNA moving to Monday for one week gives them even a little bit of a push to start putting on better programming, we all win. Even if TNA's show flops, the fact that they're pressing the WWE while trying something ambitious to grow their brand should be commended. There's more buzz heading into this Monday night than there has been in a very long time in the wrestling business and a lot of that is owed to TNA.


The Top Three Stories of The Bell To Bell Era



This week it's time for the second biggest story of the Bell to Bell era as decided by me and me alone and with the news of the unfortunate passing of Steve Williams, perhaps it's fitting that the story we're focusing on this week is the in-ring death of Williams' longtime rival, Mitsuhara Misawa in June.

Misawa was one of the legends of Japanese pro-wrestling, starring as the second generation of Tiger Mask for most of the 80's before branching out under his own name to become one of the biggest stars in the history of All Japan Pro Wrestling. He changed the landscape of Japanese wrestling even further when he left AJPW and formed his own company, Pro Wrestling Noah in the year 2000 featuring numerous stars who had also left All-Japan. Misawa was the main star in Noah for the rest of his life, making tours of the United States as part of Ring of Honor, as well as making a pair of return appearances for AJPW.

Misawa's death rocked the world of Japanese pro-wrestling and is still being felt today as there is a lot of work being done by several Japanese promotions to move toward stronger regulations in professional wrestling. Many of those regulations likely stem from the fact that unlike early reports that had Misawa dying of a heart attack in the ring, he died of a cervical spinal cord injury following a back suplex.

This story is on the list, not only because of the fact that one of the biggest stars in the sport in Japan died in the ring, but also because of the fact that his death will likely do a great deal to prevent such an occurence from happening again in the future. As I said before, his death further pushed Japanese wrestling promotions into looking at the practice of dangerous bumps and risky moves that had seemingly become the norm in puroresu. A licensing system, as well as a system of mandatory retirement and health maintenance were talked about soon after Misawa's untimely death and while there will be a legacy of great matches in his wake, perhaps a system that prevents such a tragedy from happening again will be his greatest legacy.


That does it for me this week folks. I apologize for the hasty exit, but as I said, I'll already be out of town by the time this posts and my mind and body are both going in about a million places at once. I'll be back next week with all of the fallout from the potential rebirth of the Monday Night Wars, as well as all of the top stories from the past week and the number one story of the Bell to Bell era as I put up my fiftieth news column with a bang. In the meantime and in between time, I'll see you all back here next time for an extra-special edition of the Bell to Bell! Happy New Year everyone!


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