AS I SEE IT 12/13: Yet another tragedy

AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com

"...Under the lights where we stand tall
Nobody touches us at all
Showdown, shootout, spread fear within, without
We're gonna take what's ours to have
Spread the word throughout the land
They say the bad guys wear black
We're tagged and can't turn back

You see us comin'
And you all together run for cover
We're takin over this town

Here we come reach for your gun
And you better listen my friend, you see
It's been slow down below,
Aimed at you we're the cowboys from hell
Deed is done again, we've won
Ain't talking no tall tales friend
'Cause high noon, your doom
Comin' for you we're the cowboys from hell

Pillage the village, trash the scene
But better not take it out on me
'Cause a ghost town is found
Where your city used to be
So out of the darkness and into the light
Sparks fly everywhere in sight
From my double barrel, 12 gauge,
Can't lock me in your cage

You see us comin'
And you all together run for cover
We're takin over this town

Here we come reach for your gun
And you better listen my friend, you see
It's been slow down below,
Aimed at you we're the cowboys from hell
Deed is done again, we've won
Ain't talking no tall tales friend
'Cause high noon, your doom
Comin' for you we're the cowboys from hell..."


Cowboys From Hell, Cowboys From Hell, Pantera, Elektra (c) 1990

Another senseless tragedy occurred in the world of entertainment this week as "Dimebag" Darrel Abbott and three others were killed as the results of a shooting by an obsessed fan 25-year-old Nathan Gale at a Columbus, OH nightclub on December 10.

Abbott, formerly the guitarist of the legendary thrash metal band Pantera, had formed the band Damageplan with his brother Vinnie Paul (also part of Pantera) in early 2003, soon after the demise of their previous band; deciding on the name Damageplan for their project. The band issued its first album in February 2004, and went on tour to support the album.

The group had been on a Midwest tour, when Abbott was shot to death on the night of December 8th at point blank range by the demented killer, who ran onto the stage and began shooting shortly after the band opened at a local Columbus, OH nightclub. Police believe that Gale drove 25 miles from his home in Marysville, OH; jumped the venue's outdoor patio fence, snuck into the rear of the club; and moved through the crowd. Gale entered the stage from the left side, walked over to the right side, before grabbing Abbott and firing several shots into Abbott's head from a Beretta 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun.

Gale was subsequently killed by Columbus Police Officer James D. Niggemeyer as he was ready to kill another individual within the club.

In a sicker than imaginable coincidence, Abbott's killing also occurred on the 24th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon, also shot to death by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman on the street just outside his New York apartment.

Most wrestling fans who aren't metalheads know Pantera for the song "Walk" used in ECW by Rob Van Dam.

But it wasn't just the novelty of one song, as quite a few within professional wrestling were fans of Abbott.

Nationally syndicated NWA Wildside announcer Dan'The Dragon" Wilson shared these words, which summarized their feelings quite well December10 on the CZWfans.com message board:

"...There will never be another band to inspire me to go out there and kick ass like Pantera did. Dime was one of the most inspirational musicians in the world. He was the last true guitar hero. It's unbelievable that I'm so upset over his passing, beings that I never met the guy...but Pantera moved me on a musical and emotional level that no band has ever been able to duplicate. They were the soundtrack to my hell raising high school days.

Many of the little inside jokes from the Pantera home videos became common in the NWA-Wildside lockerroom. (Like the stupid "3" where we'd snap and stick our finger in our ears). That sillyness spread even to people like Sal Rinauro who weren't even Pantera fans.

I remember getting together and getting loaded with the boys and watching the Pantera videos. We only wished that we could be the rock stars they were.

Bottom line, I wouldn't be a musician if it weren't for Dime. And many, many others wouldn't as well. I wish only the best for Vinnie, who I can only imagine is beside himself with grief at this point. I hope he finds peace, as while we've lost a musician....he's lost a brother.

So from me personally, I'll be firing up a big fat doob in honor of the Dimebag tonight....

And from the metalheads at Wildside: Masada, Tank, Sexton, Shaun Tempers, Jeff G. Bailey, Rainman, Gabriel, and anyone I can't think of now.... I take no shame in speaking on their behalf for this one occasion.

God Bless You Dime, I only hope to meet you one day...


It's ironic that The Music Hype website suggested that Abbott's incomparable guitar playing was may well have only been matched by an outsized personality which resembled that of a professional wrestler.

How while I may not have been the dedicated Pantera fan that many were, I am a metal fan...and of course was an ECW fan.

I can remember those nights at the ECW Arena as Rob Van Dam was coming out for his match. For those of you who never got lucky enough to make it to the Arena back in those days...picture most, if not all, of a building full of hundreds of crazed ECW fans chanting along to the refrain "REspect... walk...whaadya say", and singing along to "Walk". ECW TV could never do those kinds of moments justice, much in the same way that it never could to the crowd singing along to "Enter Sandman". It wasn't their fault...it was just that to capture those moments fully was impossible.

Now the man responsible for the thunderous guitar riffs that are a part of one of my favorite memories is no longer here. It seems sadly ironic that Darrell Abbott's killing happened only weeks after the "Rise and Fall of ECW" DVD let many of us relive some great memories and allowed people across the planet who never saw ECW live to live it for the first time.

RIP Dimebag, and readers, remember to live your OWN lives to the fullest. You never know how long you'll have to live them.

A note to conclude.... coming up within the next few weeks, PWBTS.com... the flagship site of the AS I SEE IT column, will be going pop-up free, as we've obtained another advertiser that will allow PWBTS to do what many have been asking us to for some time now.

I'll be letting you know when PWBTS has gone pop-up free, so you can enjoy our mix of news and opinion, without worrying about those pesky pop-ups.

Until next time...

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If you have comments/questions, or if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com)