Andrew "Test" Martin passes away

Andrew Martin, who wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment as Test, was found dead in his condo in Tampa, Florida earlier today. The cause of death is currently unknown. Martin was 33 years old. He was perhaps best known for an on-screen romantic storyline with Stephanie McMahon in the former WWF. Martin also competed for TNA, the new ECW, and Japan during his wrestling career. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Candice leaving WWE? Hogan/Goldberg II?

It was announced in the Tokyo Fishwrap that Japan international bankers have decided to open yet another Japanese wrestling promotion: Falcon #1 Professional Wrestling.

Falcon #1 Wrestling will have its first pay-per-view on July 19, 2009. The main event will pit Hulk Hogan against Bill Goldberg in what the event promoters have dubbed "The Rematch Of The Century." Banker Felix Yoshihima has also promised to bring in other big-name stars from the "old WWF and WCW" for the show. Current names being tossed around the rumor mill include UFC's Brock Lesnar, Bob Sapp, Kimbo Slice, Kurt Angle, and/or Kevin Nash.

More details to come as they become available.

Candice Michelle's WWE contract expires this October. Normally the company likes to re-sign talent a year before their current deal is set to expire. Michelle has admitted that she may go into acting or modeling full-time once her deal is through.

kayfabe exits

Does it bother anyone when a wrestler leaves a company without any kind of kayfabe explanation behind it?

We all have our favorite wrestlers. We cheer for them. We buy their merchandise. Some of us even write fan fiction about them. The point is, we care about the characters. In fact, an argument could even be made that we care more about wrestling characters than any other characters on any other television shows. After all, no other TV show convinces us to pay money to see the continuing saga of these characters on pay-per-view. We emotionally invest in a character and tune in loyally week in and week out to see them perform.

Then, one week, they're gone.

Wrestling, especially the companies at the national television level, say their product is entertainment. It's a soap opera for men. It's a sitcom. It's a drama. It's everything exciting rolled into one. Well on any other television show when a character leaves, a reason for their future absence is usually given during an episode (Judy Winslow and Chuck Cunningham being the most notable exceptions to the rule). Poochie returned to his home planet. Cody Lambert got a job in Alaska. Rosalind Shays fell down an elevator shaft and died. Etc.

I know in wrestling it can be hard to write someone out of a show. It's wrestling after all. You never know if someone may come back to work for your company one day. In fact, odds are that they probably will. Wrestling history shows us that past problems can be resolved if there's a good chance to make money together. With that in mind, a wrestling promoter wouldn't want to do something as final as, say, a "death" angle to explain a character's exit (on top of a death angle being horribly offensive to begin with of course). However, it's not impossible to do. Wrestling has often utilized the "loser leaves town" match to get rid of a character. Simply stating that a wrestler was fired has also been used in recent years thanks to the growing role of the heel authority figure.

Usually though, a wrestler is simply never mentioned again on the air when he or she leaves, and the viewers never even get a storyline reason for the character's sudden departure. The announcers tell the viewers at home that a talent is gone and quickly move to the next segment, if we're lucky.

Don't the fans who care about these characters deserve something better than their favorite performer simply vanishing into thin air?

Come to think of it, that WOULD be a way to explain the Undertaker's retirement.

we're back, and we have a lot to say!

The Wrestling For Bisexuals staff took a break for the holiday season. Fortunately, the wrestling business we love to write about refused to rest along with us. Needless to say that we on the staff have a lot to talk about now that we've made our triumphant return. As we head into the new year, we're grateful for a lot of things. Among them, all of the following:

WWE and TNA continue to put on quality shows each week. Many argue that the wrestling business isn't as entertaining or as beloved by the mainstream as it was ten years ago, but we're just happy to have wrestling on TV.

Goldust is back on WWE television. Although relegated to a comedy role, Virgil Runnels continues to play the Goldust character well and can still get it done in the ring. Besides, limiting the role to short cameos each week decreases the possibility of the character saying or doing something offensive to our LGBT friends.

Kane is now the crazy stalker of Kelly Kelly. Just like Goldust, Glen Jacobs continues to play his role to a T, and Kelly's acting abilities have somewhat improved along with her in-ring skills. We're curious who her mystery man will eventually be too.

Another Royal Rumble match. Each year without failure, the Royal Rumble continues to be an entertaining WWE staple with an original twist to the concept or a surprise entrant or two. We look forward to the '09 installment.

TNA's continued expansion. Total Nonstop Action continues to grow with a UK tour coming in the new year. Competition is good, and wrestlers having more places to work in tough ecconomic times is even better.

You readers. We can't thank you enough for your continued support. It is through your word of mouth and free promotion that we are able to do what we do. It is because of you that we've achieved so much success this past year, interviewing the likes of Orlando Jordan, Lanny Poffo and RD Reynolds. We have more surprises coming in 2009. Keep on reading!

Kurt Angle to return to WWE?

World Wrestling Entertainment has allegedly begun talk of bringing back current TNA star Kurt Angle when Angle's TNA contract expires in September, 2009.

TNA Turning Point results

Eric Young beat Jay Lethal, Doug Williams, Tanahashi, Petey Williams, Consequences Creed, Homicide, Jimmy Rave, Sonjay Dutt and Volador in an elimination match to become #1 contender to the X Division title. After the match, Young cut a promo on the Main Event Mafia.

Taylor Wilde and Roxxi beat Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed.

Rhino beat Sheik Abdul Bashir in a non-title match.

Beer Money Inc. beat The Motor City Machineguns in a Tag Team Championship match.

Booker T beat Christian Cage in a Legends Championship match. As a result, Cage must join the Main Event Mafia.

Kurt Angle beat Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Kevin Nash beat Samoa Joe.

Sting beat AJ Styles in a TNA World Championship match.

wrestling's TV schedule for the week

This week is a huge one in the pro wrestling business, particularly for WWE fans. Tonight ECW will start airing at its new 9 PM Eastern Standard start time on the Sci-Fi Network. On Thursday sports-entertainment lovers will get to choose between watching TNA Impact on Spike TV or the broadcast TV premiere of WrestleMania XXIV on MyNetwork TV. On Friday SmackDown debuts on MyNetwork TV with what is expected to be a huge show. Saturday The Condemned airs on USA Network at 6:30 PM EST. Finally, WWE presents No Mercy on pay-per-view Sunday night. God help you if you also have an indy show in your area or WWE Classics on your TVs. Those of you wrestling consumers fortunate enough to also own a TIVO, DVR, etc. should be fine, however. Not since the boom period of pro wrestling a decade ago has the business consumed so much television time at once. I love it and I'm sure the rest of you do as well.

Shark Boy interview! Randy Savage blocked!

Below is the exclusive interview we conducted earlier today with TNA's Shark Boy. We'd like to thank Shark Boy and TNA for their cooperation.

Wrestling For Bisexuals: For the wrestling fans who may not know you, please explain your character.

Shark Boy: Shark Boy originally began as sort of a hero-type character who would rise from the water to fight the wresting bad guys. More recently he suffered some head trauma in the ring so Shark Boy has had a bit of a personality change and now my mannerisms are very similar to another very popular star.

WFB: Did/Do you have a favorite "gay" wrestling character?

SB: I really enjoyed the Lenny and Lodi stuff in WCW. I thought that was very interesting. There was a whole lot of double entendres and euphamisms all over the place. Ultimately I believe the idea was they were going to turn out to be brothers but it didn’t play out that way for several weeks.

WFB: Are you featured in the upcoming TNA video game?

SB: Yes. I think the graphics on that game really stand out. Last night (on TNA Impact) Robert Roode hit his finisher and they did a split-screen with the real version on the left and the video game version on the right. It’s unreal how similar it is.

WFB: Is your lawsuit against Miramax Films over their movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl still pending?.

SB: The case was settled a year ago.

WFB: Was the late John Tenta an influence in your career because of his "Shark" character?

SB: Not really. I honestly didn’t try to rely heavily on anything else shark-related that had already been in the wrestling world. I wanted this character to be original. I remember a lot more about Earthquake like when he feuded with Hulk Hogan and the tag team with Typhoon. (The Shark character) really didn’t last that long and I don't really remember a whole lot of it. I think he was part of a big faction. I actually can’t think of another character who played a shark besides him.

WFB: What to date is your favorite match you've participated in?

SB: Yeah that’s kind of a hard question for me to answer. One that was a recent match that stands out was in March in Norfolk, Virginia. Curry Man and I defeated Team 3D in a Fish Market Street Fight, as strange as it sounds. We literally hit each other with live fish! Real fish!

WFB: What kind of fish?

SB: I don’t know. For a shark I actually know very little about fish. But they were big fish. I got the victory over Devon. YouTube it. There's video out there. That's one of the biggest wins of my career.

WFB: When will we see you in a water-themed gimmick match on TNA television?

SB: That’s what the Fish Market Street Fight was designed to be: Shark Boy’s specialty match. It was so original. So maybe we’ll see that sometime.

WFB: Is there anything you'd like to promote at this time?

SB: I always like to get a plug in for my Web site. If the fans get a chance, check out sharkboy.net. All the projects I’m currently involved in are up there.

We encourage everyone reading this to watch TNA Impact every Thursday night on Spike TV. For more information on the company, check out http://www.tnawrestling.com. Also don't forget to order their upcoming pay-per-view No Surrender on Sunday, September 14th. The show will be available on InDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Viewer's Choice Canada and more, and tickets are still available! The main event features a Four-Way match for the TNA Championship between Samoa Joe, Booker T, Kurt Angle and Christian Cage. Our good friend Shark Boy is also on the card, teaming up with Curry Man and Super Eric to take on The Rock N Rave Infection. The show also features Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, Angelina Love and more! Call your local cable or satellite provider for ordering details.

In other news, "Macho Man" Randy Savage has been blocked by WWE officials from appearing in the upcoming Legends Of WrestleMania video game.

Everone enjoy your weekend.

RUSTY BROOKS INTERVIEW!

We'd like to thank long-time wrestler Rusty Brooks for granting us this interview. We encourage everyone to support the "School Of Hard Knocks" wrestling school in Florida, and pray for Brooks as he goes through his kidney dialysis.

WFB: Having spent over two decades in the wrestling business, what do you think about the general state of pro wrestling in 2008?

RB: I believe there is too much priority placed on soap opera storylines and not enough on in-ring abilities. Also, I think with WWE they are too concerned with the perfect look in regards to physic and not about talent that can actually work.

WFB: Why did you turn over the day-to-day operations of your "School of Hard Knocks" wrestling school?

RB: I basically pulled out of the school and the wrestling because of health concerns. I am undergoing kidney dialysis treatments and could no longer handle the schedule required to operate the school.

WFB: How do you feel about your induction on WrestleCrap.com?

RB: I am not aware of it.

WFB: What advice would you give to an aspiring wrestler/promoter?

RB: Have fun with it, and always' remember it is a business and conduct it that way. Try to treat the people you work with like you would want to be treated. Don't try to swerve anyone, just do the right thing.

WFB: What was your favorite match to wrestle?

RB: I liked tag team wrestling. I had a number of excellent partners through the years.

WFB: Being a Floridian yourself, what do you think about Florida-based TNA wrestling?

RB: I think it is a good alternative to WWE. Competition always helps bring out the best in rival promotions and it gives the talent more options to work.

WFB: Having seen many of them through the years, do you have a favorite "gay" wrestling character?

RB: There was a Florida Indie character who worked as "Gorgeous" Gary Glitter, who was very
entertaining , and he got "per" with the gimmick.

WFB: What was the deal with the Super Duper Mario character you portrayed?

RB: Promoter Mario Savoldi wanted to cash in on Lou Albano's success playing the Nintendo game character Super Mario. Savoldi ran a successful promoti9on in the Northeast (ICW) and worked for him for a number of years off and on. The Super Duper Mario character was very popular but unfortunately the promotion was shutting down before we could really take off with it.

WFB: You've trained many well-known wrestlers. Do you have any fascinating or humorous stories to tell about any of them?

RB: Nothing off hand, just that I met a ton of great friends and always' had good times and a lot of fun traveling and working with them.

WFB: Is there anything you'd like to promote to our readers at this time?

RB: No, nothing comes to mind, just thanks for the support from the fans and best wishes to all.

Kevin Nash sells himself (so to speak) on Ebay!

They say gays have 30% more income than heterosexuals. With that in mind, if any of my gay/bi readers have a man-crush on Kevin Nash and would like to win a dinner with him, start bidding now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/HAVE-DINNER-WITH-KEVIN-NASH-THE-BIG-SEXY-TNA-WWE-WWF_W0QQitemZ170220966285QQihZ007QQcategoryZ2902QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem