Remembering Steve "Bradley" Bisson: 1975-2008

I never met Steve Bisson, the man who wrestled as Steve Bradley. But upon hearing the news of his death, I became very sad. Despite never meeting him, I feel like we were connected.

I can't remember the first time I heard about Bisson, but it's that I remember him that sticks out. I would read his name tagged in "Arena Results", in mags like Pro Wrestling Illustrated and their sister publications, wondering who exactly this Bradley guy was and why he wasn't on WWF TV. Before the days of the internet and being brought behind the curtain, I was intrigued at people I didn't know and who be coming next. Bradley was always a guy that I waited and wanted to see. Sadly, I never did.

He was a New England guy, similar to myself. In fact, Bisson opened up the Top Rope Wrestling Academy in Manchester, NH—the same city I called home for seven years. I always meant to take the drive to go check the place out, to go talk to Bisson and see if I could help in any way. I respect the business and felt like it was my obligation to do something. After doing some work with the Eastern Wrestling Alliance in my early years, you understand how much work goes into putting on shows and running a school so I wanted to help. I never did and I regret it.

But what struck me the hardest was Bisson's age—32, barely two years older than I am. There's evidence that life had become difficult for him as he was indicted for alleged felony heroin possession in late November and his school had closed earlier this year. I was laid off from my job in mid-July and understand how important it is to have the right people around you to let some light into what can feel like dark times. Sadly, it seems like Bisson—who was found dead in his car last week—couldn't find that light.

His career began at the age of 15 and after wrestling on the indies for seven years, Bisson was signed to a WWF developmental deal in 1997. He worked quite a bit in Memphis, Puerto Rico and the Ohio Valley in the fed's developmental territories and worked on TV tapings and dark matches during the earlier part of the decade. He got as high as No.83 in PWI's Top 500 list in 2002, the same year he was released from his developmental contract. Bisson came close...but not close enough.

So during a time of year when we're supposed to be thankful and celebrate how good life is, take a minute to learn more about Steve "Bradley" Bisson - a hell of a guy that I never met.

Josh Nason - josh [at] ropesringandcage [dot com] - has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!