FOXSports.com’s Alex Marvez sent out the following:

To the pro wrestling community:

After 23 years of covering the industry, I have written my final pro wrestling column for Scripps Howard News Service. It’s on Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman Billy Corgan and his Resistance Pro promotion. I made the decision to resign for two reasons. I have new professional opportunities with my NFL coverage duties that I would like to pursue and there are only so many hours in the day.

An equally large reason: My passion for the current product outside of guilty pleasures like Juggalo Championship Wrestling and $5 Wrestling isn’t there. It’s not coming back, either. I didn’t feel I could continue to do the column justice and I take my writing too seriously to fake it. I’m not going that far away. I will still follow the industry and write about pro wrestling topics that would garner mainstream attention at FOXSports.com. Just not on a weekly basis any more.

It would take longer than the Shawn Michaels-Bret Hart match at Wrestlemania XII to thank everyone who has helped and supported me with the column, but it starts with Dave Meltzer for writing the newsletter that inspired me to delve fully into journalism and the wrestling business while in high school. My guru Kim Wood (the late Brian Pillman’s mentor) also was spot-on when telling me the lessons I learned about pro wrestling’s inner workings would pay dividends when it comes to writing about the behind-the-scenes happenings in the NFL. The late/great Zane Bresloff deserves mention as well. And of course, I’d like to thank Scripps Howard and the hundreds of performers and promoters who were gracious enough to let me interview them through the years.

While writing this, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Ric Flair about a decade or so ago. Like he has told some others in the business, Ric said that if he ever started to slip noticeably in the ring to call and let him know it’s time to step away. I don’t need that call. I know it’s time.

– Alex