By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

The Brain Injury Research Institute (BIRI) released findings on the condition of deceased NFL player Chris Henry's brain that should raise even more awareness for the concussion issue in pro wrestling.

Henry, only 26-years-old at the time of his death, was found to have CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) indicating degenerative brain damage. This is despite no documented concussions or concussion-like symptoms during his NFL career.

"As we got the results, my emotion was sad - it's so profound," said Julian Bailes of the BIRI. "I was surprised in a way because of his age and because he was not known as a concussion sufferer or a big hitter. Is there some lower threshold when you become at risk for this disease? I'm struggling to see if something can come out positive out of this."

ESPN, USA Today, the New York Times, and the AP have all published stories on the news, which continues to show how serious the issue of concussions is in sports, especially pro wrestling.

ESPN's reported mentioned the high-profile findings that deceased WWE wrestler Chris Benoit had the brain condition of an 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death due to repeated head trauma.

"Researchers have now discovered CTE in the brains of more than 50 deceased former athletes, including more than a dozen NFL and college players, pro wrestler Chris Benoit, and NHL player Reggie Fleming," reported ESPN.

The BIRI is scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday afternoon to discuss more information from their findings. The news should be cause for concern for athletes, especially pro wrestlers, who should be monitoring symptoms of concussions even if not documented by a concussion testing program.

Wrestling author Irv Muchnick reports on another angle, with WWE continuing to use the concussion testing program the NFL has gone away from: "The 2008 hire of WWE medical director Joseph Maroon, prompted by the Benoit tragedy, was based largely on Maroon's reputation as an NFL neurologist and concussion expert. Now the NFL has overhauled its brain-injury policy team after Congressional hearings and media reports exposed serious lapses in the work there. Yet Maroon remains at WWE."

Caldwell's Analysis: This is a big story that should lead to more changes in the NFL's concussion testing program and should lead to WWE continuing to advance their Impact Testing as part of the Wellness Policy. WWE does not disclose the application of their testing and they do not appear to have a firm grip on how to handle concussions in the middle of a pro wrestling match. A recent example was the Ted DiBiase vs. R-Truth match at the Over the Limit PPV in May. DiBiase showed concussion symptoms in the middle of the match after a slap to the head, yet the match wasn't stopped, medics didn't check on DiBiase, and the match continued on another five or six minutes. WWE will stop a match for blood, but not for concussions, which is turning out to be a much-more serious issue.

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