Expanded...
I decided to go the column route for Wednesday's paper...
Mention the words “professional wrestling” to the average person and you’re likely to draw one of three responses.
“Oh yeah, I watch that some.” Or, “I watched it when I was younger.” Or, my personal favorite, “It’s fake.”
It is scripted, and the folks at World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action make no bones about it, calling their product “sports entertainment.”
It’s a soap opera put on by guys in spandex and girls in not quite as much, and truth be told, I’m still a fan.
I’m tired of the dark underbelly of the business, though. Monday was the last straw.
Chris Benoit, 40, a wrestler on WWE’s roster, was found dead in his home along with his wife, Nancy, and seven-year-old son, Daniel. It is widely reported that Benoit killed his wife and son over the weekend before ending his own life Monday in his Georgia home.
Benoit skipped a house show on Saturday and a pay-per-view on Sunday, citing personal reasons.
No kidding.
I never met him, but I always liked watching him perform. I just think it’s sad that an industry that forces its workers to travel 200 nights a year (33 live shows are scheduled in July and August for WWE wrestlers) and has a mortality rate that rivals some third world nations doesn’t have to shoulder any of the blame for the problems of its employees.
Please don’t misunderstand me, if Benoit killed his family and then himself, it’s on his head, not WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s. But I think it’s time we media types took an interest in sports entertainment, and the WWE’s role in the demise of its stars.
Benoit is the second wrestler to commit suicide this year, after 42-year-old Mike Awesome did so a few months ago. That alone is worth scrutiny. Toss in widespread steroid abuse and the fact that dozens of wrestling stars don’t live long enough to enjoy retirement and you get a “sport” that makes the NBA and Major League Baseball look like model organizations.
Guys like Chris Von Erich (21), Mike Von Erich (23), Louie Spiccoli (27), Jay Youngblood (30), Crash Holly (32), Kerry Von Erich (33), Yokozuna (34), Brian Pillman (35) and Eddie Guerrero (38) are just a few of the wrestlers who died far too young.
And from a man who faked his own death two weeks ago by staging a car bombing outside an arena, any WWE credibility in regards to life and death rings about as hollow as the 10-bell salute the deceased get at the next house show.
Owen Hart (33) fell to his death entering the ring at a pay-per-view in 1999, and the show went on as Jim Ross told us that Hart had fallen and was on the way to the hospital. He died on the way there, due to massive internal injuries after his harness – lowering him from the rafters – released about 60 feet too early.
At least they didn’t show the replay.
Baseball has the steroid issue, and football and basketball have certain criminal elements to them as well. Wrestlers are dying, and no one bats an eye.
No, it’s not a real sport. Guys get into the ring knowing who will win, almost no one bleeds without “blading,” or cutting themselves, and the storylines are just as far-fetched as anything you’ll see on a Tuesday afternoon soap in Genoa City.
But make no mistake about it. There’s nothing “fake” about death.
It’s time to start asking questions.
Contact the writer at rcapps@hendersondispatch.com.
Mention the words “professional wrestling” to the average person and you’re likely to draw one of three responses.
“Oh yeah, I watch that some.” Or, “I watched it when I was younger.” Or, my personal favorite, “It’s fake.”
It is scripted, and the folks at World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action make no bones about it, calling their product “sports entertainment.”
It’s a soap opera put on by guys in spandex and girls in not quite as much, and truth be told, I’m still a fan.
I’m tired of the dark underbelly of the business, though. Monday was the last straw.
Chris Benoit, 40, a wrestler on WWE’s roster, was found dead in his home along with his wife, Nancy, and seven-year-old son, Daniel. It is widely reported that Benoit killed his wife and son over the weekend before ending his own life Monday in his Georgia home.
Benoit skipped a house show on Saturday and a pay-per-view on Sunday, citing personal reasons.
No kidding.
I never met him, but I always liked watching him perform. I just think it’s sad that an industry that forces its workers to travel 200 nights a year (33 live shows are scheduled in July and August for WWE wrestlers) and has a mortality rate that rivals some third world nations doesn’t have to shoulder any of the blame for the problems of its employees.
Please don’t misunderstand me, if Benoit killed his family and then himself, it’s on his head, not WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s. But I think it’s time we media types took an interest in sports entertainment, and the WWE’s role in the demise of its stars.
Benoit is the second wrestler to commit suicide this year, after 42-year-old Mike Awesome did so a few months ago. That alone is worth scrutiny. Toss in widespread steroid abuse and the fact that dozens of wrestling stars don’t live long enough to enjoy retirement and you get a “sport” that makes the NBA and Major League Baseball look like model organizations.
Guys like Chris Von Erich (21), Mike Von Erich (23), Louie Spiccoli (27), Jay Youngblood (30), Crash Holly (32), Kerry Von Erich (33), Yokozuna (34), Brian Pillman (35) and Eddie Guerrero (38) are just a few of the wrestlers who died far too young.
And from a man who faked his own death two weeks ago by staging a car bombing outside an arena, any WWE credibility in regards to life and death rings about as hollow as the 10-bell salute the deceased get at the next house show.
Owen Hart (33) fell to his death entering the ring at a pay-per-view in 1999, and the show went on as Jim Ross told us that Hart had fallen and was on the way to the hospital. He died on the way there, due to massive internal injuries after his harness – lowering him from the rafters – released about 60 feet too early.
At least they didn’t show the replay.
Baseball has the steroid issue, and football and basketball have certain criminal elements to them as well. Wrestlers are dying, and no one bats an eye.
No, it’s not a real sport. Guys get into the ring knowing who will win, almost no one bleeds without “blading,” or cutting themselves, and the storylines are just as far-fetched as anything you’ll see on a Tuesday afternoon soap in Genoa City.
But make no mistake about it. There’s nothing “fake” about death.
It’s time to start asking questions.
Contact the writer at rcapps@hendersondispatch.com.
posted by Randy Capps at 10:54 AM
3 Comments:
Nice writeup Cappo,
Billybob
Absolutely - great post. These guys are bigger than the biggest football players, and have no recovery time (always on the road doing shows). The show is all about their muscles; is it any wonder they are abusing PEDs? The recent tragedies and deaths and their relationship to PEDs can't gradually fade out of the news. If the sport has any ethics, they will start protecting their stars and their familes by both banning and truly preventing the use of PEDs. That puts the sport in a tough spot, but the status quo is unacceptable.
Thanks for the kind words. I think it's time for a little regulation in the wrestling business.
Whether Vinnie Mac likes it or not.
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