C4
Guest
Very Interesting Article.
The professional wrestling business has been struck with tragedy time after time again over the course of its long and illustrious history. As the years pass by and the more accessible drugs have become to the average individual and athlete, the higher the young death rate has gotten in sports, mainly professional wrestling. In the last ten years, about sixty wrestlers have died under the age of forty five. Of course, these deaths can be attributed to a wide variety of causes, such as suicides, accidents, and drug overdoses. Now, just last week the world of wrestling was struck with quite possibly its biggest and most controversial tragedy with the death of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and his child Daniel in an apparent double-murder suicide perpetrated by Chris Benoit. With the uncovering of numerous prescription drugs and anabolic steroids found in the Benoit’s home, the question of drug control in wrestling is at the forefront of the United States today. Are drugs controlled enough in the professional wrestling industry, or should the congress take a closer look at what really happens behind the curtain?
While I do believe drugs have become rampant in the industry and need to be controlled, I find it rather hilarious that the media has taken to the issue and act as if they truly have cared about the business over the past decade when these sixty wrestles have tragically passed away. When the first twenty, or thirty, or even forty wrestlers passed before their time, it should have given the media or congress for that matter a signal to look into what was really taking place in the business. What did they do? Absolutely nothing. Even with the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005, due to past drug use and possible steroid abuse, the media covered the story for a little short of a week and moved on, covering the latest Paris Hilton make over or the latest rivalry between Lindsey Lohan and Hilary Duff. That shows you how competent the media is today with handling such an issue such as rampant drug abuse in a multi-billion dollar industry. The truth behind the media is simple, and has been known for quite sometime. When the chance to earn a buck comes, the media will fly with that story, draining every last detail from it. In fact, over the past week during this Benoit tragedy, the media has blatantly released false or “not positively known†facts to the public, painting different interpretations every time, making this case even more bizarre than it has been already.
The fact that steroids or other forms of prescription drugs are involved in this tragic case gives the media more gun powder to fight the world of wrestling with, especially the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon. Before the media tries to ride the “I Hate Vince McMahon Clubâ€, they should get their facts straight. The only person who has tried to control drug abuse and steroid abuse in the mainstream wrestling industry is Vince McMahon. Granted, McMahon has made mistakes and has let his talent get away with murder at times, but he’s doing the best a ruler of a corporate empire can do. For over ten years, Vince McMahon has needed help to rid drugs and death from his industry, but not one figure head stepped up in defense of the wrestling world. No hero, no savior was there for the business as a whole. And now, the business is finding itself trapped in a hole, a hole that was dug by everyone that ignored the warning signs that the business was headed towards destruction. And the real question is why the media and everyone else for that matter ignored the deaths taking place in professional wrestling? The answer is simple, tragic, and depressing for everyone who sacrifices their blood, sweat, tears, and even their family to be apart of this industry. It is the simple fact that professional wrestling as a whole has been ignored, because many believe it isn’t a true sport, nor does it produce real athletes.
Coming from someone who has loved this “sport†for most of his young life, and coming from someone who has stepped into a ring and felt the pain of your body crumpling in a heap on a bunch of plywood with very little give, I can tell you that it takes a special person, and a special athlete to perform as a professional wrestler in this business. If drugs are not the thing killing professional wrestlers today, it defiantly is the extensive traveling and the amazing toll these “athletes†have been placing on their bodies each and every night. If the media, or congress for that matter, wish to truthfully help this business, they have to start looking past drugs and steroids. Not ignore those substances, but look past the obvious. Professional wrestling has no off season, no breaks like the National Football League or Major League Baseball. Should there be seasons in professional wrestling? Should talent not being used be used more frequently at different times, giving the main event stars more time to recuperate and spend times with their families? Those are a few questions that need to be answered, and they need to be answered quickly before the next “biggest tragedy†occurs. After this Benoit case, the wrestling world cannot stand to lose another young star. It is code red for the whole business.
Are prescription drugs and steroid abuse the real culprit behind the demise of the wrestling industry? It’s no doubt a big factor in this tragic set of circumstances. But there is a whole world beyond what you see in the mainstream, a world of stars that don’t need huge, muscular physiques to get the fans to love them. Stars that do not need to resort to drug abuse to perform every night. The same tactic used for these independent companies should at least be looked at for the mainstream business, and it already has with the rise of TNA and of smaller stars in the WWE. The fact is, even with these changes, there are more changes that need to be made. They need to be made by people willingly ready to help the business survive and flourish like never before. Not be made by individuals who think wrestling has no place in the world, and that believe wrestling is a sport of nothing but “soap opera†characters. This sport is a sport, and it is a sport that entertains the fans like no other with these real life superhero characters. The thing is… superheros are not supposed to be beaten. And over the last decade, they have been… time and time again.
The professional wrestling business has been struck with tragedy time after time again over the course of its long and illustrious history. As the years pass by and the more accessible drugs have become to the average individual and athlete, the higher the young death rate has gotten in sports, mainly professional wrestling. In the last ten years, about sixty wrestlers have died under the age of forty five. Of course, these deaths can be attributed to a wide variety of causes, such as suicides, accidents, and drug overdoses. Now, just last week the world of wrestling was struck with quite possibly its biggest and most controversial tragedy with the death of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and his child Daniel in an apparent double-murder suicide perpetrated by Chris Benoit. With the uncovering of numerous prescription drugs and anabolic steroids found in the Benoit’s home, the question of drug control in wrestling is at the forefront of the United States today. Are drugs controlled enough in the professional wrestling industry, or should the congress take a closer look at what really happens behind the curtain?
While I do believe drugs have become rampant in the industry and need to be controlled, I find it rather hilarious that the media has taken to the issue and act as if they truly have cared about the business over the past decade when these sixty wrestles have tragically passed away. When the first twenty, or thirty, or even forty wrestlers passed before their time, it should have given the media or congress for that matter a signal to look into what was really taking place in the business. What did they do? Absolutely nothing. Even with the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005, due to past drug use and possible steroid abuse, the media covered the story for a little short of a week and moved on, covering the latest Paris Hilton make over or the latest rivalry between Lindsey Lohan and Hilary Duff. That shows you how competent the media is today with handling such an issue such as rampant drug abuse in a multi-billion dollar industry. The truth behind the media is simple, and has been known for quite sometime. When the chance to earn a buck comes, the media will fly with that story, draining every last detail from it. In fact, over the past week during this Benoit tragedy, the media has blatantly released false or “not positively known†facts to the public, painting different interpretations every time, making this case even more bizarre than it has been already.
The fact that steroids or other forms of prescription drugs are involved in this tragic case gives the media more gun powder to fight the world of wrestling with, especially the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon. Before the media tries to ride the “I Hate Vince McMahon Clubâ€, they should get their facts straight. The only person who has tried to control drug abuse and steroid abuse in the mainstream wrestling industry is Vince McMahon. Granted, McMahon has made mistakes and has let his talent get away with murder at times, but he’s doing the best a ruler of a corporate empire can do. For over ten years, Vince McMahon has needed help to rid drugs and death from his industry, but not one figure head stepped up in defense of the wrestling world. No hero, no savior was there for the business as a whole. And now, the business is finding itself trapped in a hole, a hole that was dug by everyone that ignored the warning signs that the business was headed towards destruction. And the real question is why the media and everyone else for that matter ignored the deaths taking place in professional wrestling? The answer is simple, tragic, and depressing for everyone who sacrifices their blood, sweat, tears, and even their family to be apart of this industry. It is the simple fact that professional wrestling as a whole has been ignored, because many believe it isn’t a true sport, nor does it produce real athletes.
Coming from someone who has loved this “sport†for most of his young life, and coming from someone who has stepped into a ring and felt the pain of your body crumpling in a heap on a bunch of plywood with very little give, I can tell you that it takes a special person, and a special athlete to perform as a professional wrestler in this business. If drugs are not the thing killing professional wrestlers today, it defiantly is the extensive traveling and the amazing toll these “athletes†have been placing on their bodies each and every night. If the media, or congress for that matter, wish to truthfully help this business, they have to start looking past drugs and steroids. Not ignore those substances, but look past the obvious. Professional wrestling has no off season, no breaks like the National Football League or Major League Baseball. Should there be seasons in professional wrestling? Should talent not being used be used more frequently at different times, giving the main event stars more time to recuperate and spend times with their families? Those are a few questions that need to be answered, and they need to be answered quickly before the next “biggest tragedy†occurs. After this Benoit case, the wrestling world cannot stand to lose another young star. It is code red for the whole business.
Are prescription drugs and steroid abuse the real culprit behind the demise of the wrestling industry? It’s no doubt a big factor in this tragic set of circumstances. But there is a whole world beyond what you see in the mainstream, a world of stars that don’t need huge, muscular physiques to get the fans to love them. Stars that do not need to resort to drug abuse to perform every night. The same tactic used for these independent companies should at least be looked at for the mainstream business, and it already has with the rise of TNA and of smaller stars in the WWE. The fact is, even with these changes, there are more changes that need to be made. They need to be made by people willingly ready to help the business survive and flourish like never before. Not be made by individuals who think wrestling has no place in the world, and that believe wrestling is a sport of nothing but “soap opera†characters. This sport is a sport, and it is a sport that entertains the fans like no other with these real life superhero characters. The thing is… superheros are not supposed to be beaten. And over the last decade, they have been… time and time again.
