He'll be along shortly, Sucka!
                                 --William Regal

Man, does anybody anywhere doubt that Regal rules? Here's your proof.

Anyway, this column is going to be a little different than the usual. Let's start with a little background...

Last year I went to the annual Brian Pillman memorial event. I remember when Vince McMahon announced his death on Bad Blood. I remember when the entire WWF roster filed out and stood on the stage while a tribute played on the Titantron.

Unfortunately, that was only one of the first such tributes. Wrestlers such as Owen Hart, Rick Rude, Junkyard Dog, and Yokuzuna have also had their own tributes played out on that screen.

At the Pillman show, I got to see wrestlers from all 3 major companies in competition. I got floor seats to see guys like Kidman, Eddy Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and the afore-mentioned William Regal compete in honor of a fallen comrade.

I also go to a local federation here in my hometown by the name of Battlezone Wrestling. Unfortunately, this company had one of their workers pass away earlier this month. His name was Bryan "Bad Business" Brown. He was also currently the head booker and champion of Indiana's Coliseum Championship Wrestling.

The closest Bryan Brown came to superstardom was in the early 1990's, when he worked in the USWA. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, he never made it to the WWF.

Saturday night Battlezone ran the show as a tribute to Bryan. It was a solemn sight as the entire locker room came out and lined up along a balcony in the gymnasium. One of the wrestlers named Rob G. Rock came out and spoke for a few minutes about Bryan. Then there was silence as the ring bell rang ten times. And then the competitors came out and gave their best in honor of their fallen colleague.

A few weeks ago I wrote about respect. On this night there was no beautiful tribute on a video wall. There were no fireworks or fancy lights. There will likely never be a tribute to Bryan at the beginning of Raw. There was no star-studded show where competitors from 3 companies came together on one night.

Still, I don't know the words to describe how the room felt as the entire locker room came out to pay tribute, or about how these guys gave 110 percent on this night. I've talked about respect before. On this night, we got a great lesson in it.

See you all next week.