Mike Bell Passes Away

[Black Widow]

"Mad Dog" Mike Bell, a Northeastern independent talent best known for enhancement work in the WWF and a regular performer during the latter end of ECW's run, passed away this afternoon at the age of 37, according to several who were contacted by his brother, former WWE creative team member Chris Bell.

Bell broke into the business in the early 1990s, often teaming with future ECW Baldies and ROH Carnage crew team member Tony Devito doing jobs during Northeastern WWF TV tapings and a lot of the early Monday Night Raws at the Manhattan Center. Bell usually worked as a heel, so he was in the ring with a lot of the top babyfaces of the period.

Bell regularly worked the Northeastern independents and later earned a regular roster spot with the original ECW, in a lower card position, during that company's run on TNN. I don't believe he ever worked any PPV bouts for the company but worked a number of house shows and TV tapings.

At one point, Bell relocated to the West Coast and worked for Rick Bassman's UPW as both a wrestler and trainer (including working with a very young John Cena and one-time WWE talent turned actor Nathan Jones) while also appearing for Dave Marquez' New Japan satellite events in the Los Angeles area and other California-based companies.

Despite all the years he worked in the business, Bell may best be remembered by fans for an incident that took place in May 2001 at a WWF TV taping. Bell was to do the job for then-WWF wrestler Perry Saturn at the Nassau Coliseum. When a spot went awry during an enhancement bout being taped for the Metal/Jakked syndicated series, Saturn threw Bell out of the ring with reckless abandon, then stiffly smacked his head into the metal steps outside the ring. Saturn ended up with a lot of heat over the incident at the time. The beating pretty much aired unedited shortly after it happened.

Bell was used in dark matches as late as 2003 by WWE but was never signed by the company.

Bell was featured in the steroid documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" which came out last year on the festival circuit before a short theatrical run and DVD release earlier this year. The film, which was directed by his brother Chris and featured a look at how steroid use affected all three brothers in the family, two of which looked to get into the wrestling industry and one, who was a professional bodybuilder.

There is no known cause of death at this time, although in the documentary, he had previous health issues that were noted It was also reported when the film began getting reviewed in the national media that Bell had previously attempted suicide.

Our deepest condolences go out to Bell's friends and family during this sad time.


pwinsider.com

[Layla-Fan]

R.I.P Very Sad

[JohnCenaFan28]

Rip

[mikedudelang]

damn, this is crazy. I JUST watched this movie last night. Wow, the dude DID seem to be a little off in the movie. All the same, R.I.P.

[central09]

he waas awesome

[DUKE NUKEM]

wow very sad R.I.P

[LionDen]

I have watched him on ECW and he was a good worker, the hey days of ECW. R.I.P

[Will]

I wouldnt be surprised if he tried suicide again. If being the guy who got the hell beat out of himself by Saturn is the highlight of his life, then there probably isnt much sunshine raining down on the path.