HHH A Step Closer To Major Movie Role, Hardy/WWE, Bell, More

For those who may have missed it over the weekend, "Mad Dog" Mike Bell, a Northeastern independent wrestler best known for his enhancement work in WWE and a regular performer during the latter end of ECW's run, passed away Sunday afternoon. He was 37 years old. Bell was heavily featured in the recently released documentary film Bigger, Stronger, Faster. The film, produced by his brother Chris, was a study of anabolic steroids in both sports and the Bell family itself, where two of Chris' brothers (Mike and Mark) use them to further their own careers in professional wrestling (Mike) and bodybuilding (Mark). At the moment, there is no known cause of death, although in the documentary, he had previous health issues that were noted. When the film started getting reviewed, it was reported in the national media that Bell had previously attempted suicide. Bell broke into the wrestling business in the early 1990s, and despite all the years he worked in wrestling, he's probably best remembered by fans for an incident that took place in May 2001 before a Raw television taping. In a match in which he was scheduled to job to former WWE star Perry Saturn, Bell botched an arm drag, dropping Saturn on his head. Saturn appeared to become enraged and legitimately attacked Bell. 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 and it was rumored that Saturn's gimmick involving a love affair with a mop was punishment for the attack. WWE used Bell in his enhancement role as late as 2003, but was never signed to a contract by the company.

In recent months there has been speculation on who will play the lead role for the upcoming "Thor" movie, which is scheduled to be released in 2010. Speculation has centered on Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond in the latest "Bond" series of movies, and Triple H. This past week, Craig said he's not interested in taking the role, saying "it doesn't interest me at all." The other potential candidate to take the lead role of Thor is Kevin McKidd, who was in the 2005 "Kingdom of Heaven" movie. Director Kenneth Branagh said today, "There's been lots of talk [about casting] — I sound like a politician — but we are too early at this stage. We're getting the story and the visual effects together and all of that is very exciting. Someone sensational is going to play the part but it is early days." It should be interesting to see if Vince McMahon allows Triple H to take time off from the road for several months to work on a non-WWE Studios film.

The WWE site has posted exclusive video interview with Jeff Hardy moments after winning the WWE Championship at Armageddon this past Sunday. "I could be no more happy than I am right now," Hardy said. "I don't know if can get any better than this, but we're gonna see what we can do."