It's barely day, yet I've probably reached the peak of my creativity today.sad. This week has been a very draining, yet joyfull experience for me. About 3 years ago or so, I was just starting out on the internet, working for any site that would give me the url to post news on there newsboard. It was a new and exciting world for me. I had the attention of 50 to 100 people a day, that wanted to know what was going on In the world of professional wrestling. Sure, I wasn't getting paid, but damn, I was doing something I loved to do, and that was talk wrestling! Now, writing this weekly column, give's me the oppurtunity to touch base with my six or seven readers that enjoy reading more then one or two paragraphs at a time ? I think deep down inside though, I write it for the anti-fan. Those who still claim wrestling is fake. SHUTUP ? We all know it's fake, but that there movie of Armageddon, where the blow up the asteroid, that's real...

People that arent fans of the sport have common reaction to the words pro-wrestling , and It usually involves a gag or laugh. Those who don't take time to understand the sport, the work behind it, the art of the performance, will never understand why wrestling fans are that of the most loyal of all fans. I can't claim to know all the in's and out's of the ring. I'm not a big "work rate" guy. If the match is entertaining, I'm usually entertained. If the match sucks, if it's a bore filled, unemotional time filler, or a Hulk Hogan match, I usually take a trip to the kitchen, and grab another beer. I do, however, understand how much work each individual puts into there performance..atleast those that still care about the business. One man that really cared about the business was Brian Pillman. Pillman not only lived for wrestling, he also died for it. Last Thursday, Brian Pillman was honoured by the sport he died for.

To know the story of Brian Pillman, you must first trace back to the earliest of his existence. Brian Pillman was born on May 22, 1962. Right from the beginning, Pillman would be tested , having been born with polyps, a cancerous growth on his throat. To fend off the chances of cancer, Brian went through 12 surgerys to remove the polyps which effected his speech, creating the legendary Pillman Rasp. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that the majority of these surgery's took place before Pillmans 14th birthday. Without a doubt, Brian was no doubt a man in a boys body.

Growing up, Pillman had two loves. Football and wrestling. But another roadblock would attempt to halt his dream at starting in the National Football League. But as in the past, Brian refused to listen to the critics and doubters, and pushed forward to reach his goals in life.

In 1984, Pillman was again the victor in the world of dreams come true. In 84, Pillman played for hometown Cincinatti Bengals, In 1985 he played for the Buffalo Bills. He may have achieved his goal of playing in the NFL, but Brian really never achieved the success he wanted. Soon, he found himself playing for the Calgary Stampede of the Canadian Football League. He lasted all of one season, and was released. Yet another roadblock on the way to success for Brian.

Most men, at this point would have packed there bags, and returned to the saw mill, but not Brian Pillman. No way, infact, days after being released by Stampede, he contacted former teamate Stu Laird. Laird was a friend of canadian wrestling legends, The Hart family. Laird introduced Pillman to the Hart family, and the rest is history.

Pillman would eventually debut in World Championship Wrestling, under the moniker "Flyin" Brian Pillman. He would capture the hearts of thousands, if not millions of fans with his high flying, hard hitting, super octane performance's. Those perfomances would catapult him into one of the most respected workers in the industry. Pro Wrestling Illustrated released an annual "Who's who" of wrestlers in there annual PWI 500, Pillman would finish #44 in 91, #32 in 92, #18 in 93, #53 in 94, #61 in 95, and #106 in 97. At the peak of his career in 1993, Pillman would tag with Steve Austin in one of the most popular tag teams of the past 10 years, "The Hollywood Blondes". Through that partnership, a freindship developed that would last the rest of Pillmans life. In 1994 Pillman suffered an ankle injury which almost completely destroyed his mobility and high-flying ability, and it became necessary to find a new gimmick which required a minimum of actual wrestling. Thus was born the "Loose Cannon," which basically consisted of him running from the ring like a coward and attacking Paul Orndorff from behind. He further refined the gimmick in ECW. His most notable effort as the "Loose Cannon" was a match with booker Kevin Sullivan at Superbrawl VI, in which the winner was supposed to make his opponent say "I respect you." In a carefully orchestrated work, Pillman said "I respect you, bookerman" after about two minutes of action and then ran out. It was intended to look like a shoot, but was in fact completely planned out to make Pillman look nuts. At the time of the "worked shoot" the sport of Professional wrestling was way different the what it is today. With the advent of "Internet Dirt Sheets", prowrestling was still a very secretive business. What the fans saw that night was a forshadowing of the future. What we see on Raw and Nitro today, very well could be thanks to Brian Pillman and Kevin Sullivan.

On April 17th, 1996 Brian forshadowed that of another wrestling phenomnon, of which this one we all could do with out. On the evening of April 17th, 1996 Brian Pillman was thrown from his jeep, barely escaping with his life. The accident would end up leaving him with another crippling injury which fused his ankle and essentially ended his wrestling career before he signed with the WWF.

He attempted to continue the "Loose Cannon" character, but was soon lost in the shuffle of the WWF roster. On October 5th, 1997 Brian Pillman, age 35 was dead.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Pillman, a professional wrestler and former linebacker with Cincinnati Bengals, was found dead Sunday in a suburban motel, authorities said. He was 35.

The Hennepin County medical examiners office said Pillman, of Walton, Ky., was found dead at 1:09 p.m. at the Budgetel Inn in Bloomington. The manner and cause of death were not immediately known, and an autopsy was to be conducted Monday.

The office said Pillman was last seen at the motel at 10:45 p.m. Saturday. No other details were released.

Pillman, who played collegiately at Miami, Ohio, was signed as a free agent by the Bengals and played with them in the 1984 season.

As a professional wrestler, he was known as "Flyin' Brian" and "The Loose Cannon." - From a Minnesota Newspaper

As a fan of the sport for most of my 23 years of life, nothing hurt as much as that cold day in October. As many, I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was an angle..the loose cannon has really done it this time, he's faked his own death, that crazy bastard.And until I'd seen the PPV re-play, I kept believing that our Brian was still alive, he was still leaping from the top turnbuckle, still making Marlena's life a living hell, and aggravating the bejesus out of Goldust.

They say Brian had a diseased heart. He'd been hooked on prescription pills for over 10 years. They say he killed himself. In reality, that is true, but not the way they paint it. He killed himself everynight of the week, regardless if it was Nitro, Raw, PPV or local house show. He was a pro wrestler. He was an entertainer. He was a family man. Everything he did, he did for ALL of us. He killed himself to please us. He is the definition of hero.

A diseased heart? No way....unless love is a disease.