Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on http://slam.canoe.ca and was written by James Beard.
I almost hate to check my messages these days and when I get a phone call from a number I know is connected to one of my old wrestling friends and co-workers, I often hesitate to answer. Instead of the happy feeling you think you’d immediately get, my first thought is often, “What’s happened now and who died?” It’s a sad commentary that those thoughts come first, but after the last couple decades of receiving so many bad news calls and messages, it’s just a fact of life for many of us who worked in the wrestling business.