The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

While going through my old blog entries, I came across this one written in November of 2005 that discusses WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero's passing. For some reason, it did not end up on the blog. I want to post it now, especially in light of the recent death of Bam Bam Bigelow, who's autopsy report released this week shows he had cocaine and anti-anxiety drugs in his system. Former wrestler Mike Awesome died at age 42 just two weeks ago by hanging himself. It's something worth talking about as the death toll is way too high in professional wrestling:

It still bothers me that someone as young as Eddie Guerrero passed away. This is too common a theme in pro wrestling...guys dying young. Whether it's a stunt gone wrong inside the ring, or a tragedy outside it, Eddie's premature death won't t be the last. The question most people are asking now is not "Is this finally the end of it?" but rather "Who will be the next to go?"

Being a successful pro wrestler isn't all glitz and glamour. It's a very difficult life that takes a toll on yourself, physically and mentally, and on your loved ones. Unfortunately, the attitude from WWE owner Vince McMahon is pretty much my way or the highway. Wrestlers take their health into their own hands in attempt to make sure their spot isn't taken by someone else. If you're a mid-carder and get hurt, it is not uncommon to be sent your walking papers while you're trying to get better. Take wrestlers Test (Andrew Martin) and Matt Hardy. While both guys were recovering from injuries they received IN THE RING, DOING THEIR JOB, they were fired. What kind of message is this sending to the guys in the locker room? The message certainly isn't "Take care of yourself", the message is indirectly saying: Take the pain pills. Don't opt for surgery, do a quick rehab instead. Wrestle with herniated discs and don't call in sick. Doing so will result in your termination.

What reward is there for guys like Test who give their 100% night in and night out to the point of being hospitalized, only to be told "See ya later" ?

Another drawback of this life is the time spent on the road. You're pretty much travelling to a different town every night, or spending all 24 hours of your day taking connecting flights back to your home so you can spend a scant few hours with your family, then head back to work for days or weeks at a time. Kurt Angle did a rather disturbing promo a couple of weeks ago on RAW where he talked about not seeing his daughter born or taking her first steps, and that his wife left him because he was on the road all the time. He did this to try to get the crowd to boo him, but it was somewhat reserved booing he received because the audience isn't that stupid. They know it's a tough life on families so the promo didn't go over very well and just left the fans feeling uncomfortable. It turns out Angle's wife DID in fact separate from him a few months earlier and wasn't making any of this up. Some people can handle this relatively OK, but others can't. It's normal for the guys to go out for a few drinks after a show, but sometimes it doesn't stop there. A few drinks becomes many drinks, and wrestlers get to know insider contacts for other stuff, whether it's pain killers or recreational drugs they want. Too many guys have taken this path because their pain, physical or mental, is simply too much to bear.

You might argue no one makes their choices but themselves, but I say no one has any intention of becoming a drug addict. No one has the intention of not being able to handle missing their family for long periods of times. A lot of guys think they're different, that they can handle it and they won't be the next Eddie Guerrero, but you honestly don't know until you get there yourself. Is there a task you thought you could undertake but ended up not being able to do it? Of course there is. If you were told missing the next few weeks of work would result in losing your job, but taking 6 or 7 pain pills a day could put you through it and you could still perform to earn your $250,000 a year pay cheque, would you say no?

The alarming death rate of wrestlers cannot be ignored. There is no union (and Vince McMahon wants it to stay that way). There is no pension. There is no worker's compensation. You are pretty much at the mercy of Vince when you are injured. No question, the salaries WWE pays when you ARE getting paid can be quite good, and I'm sure Vince thinks this compensates for all the other benefits the wrestlers do not receive. But there is no amount of money that can compensate for the loss of life the industry has endured or the hardships it has placed on families. Unless you are one of the top draws: the Hulk Hogans, the Rocks or Steve Austins of the company, you fear for your job at all times, and you fear if you can take care of yourself and your family if you can no longer work. I'm not sure what the answer is to this problem, perhaps a union could help solve some of these problems, but if there's anything certain, the status quo is not working.