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After a year of apparent inactivity, U.S. government Rep. Henry Waxman issued a letter to the Officer of the National Drug Control Policy, stating that the WWE and TNA have not done enough to address the problem of steroid abuse in pro wrestling. Whether the letter will have any major impact on the industry remains to be seen, but it certainly proves the government have not forgotten about wrestling.
The heat was very much on the WWE and Vince McMahon in the summer of 2007. After the Benoit double-murder-suicide, the WWE was not only fodder for every scare-mongering talk-show host in North America, the U.S. government was beginning to take notice. The wrestling industry had benefited from decades of self-regulation, during which numerous wrestlers died before the age of 40, as the Government seemed to have no interest in regulating such a lowbrow form of entertainment.
A tragedy like that of the Benoit family seemed to have finally awoken the American government to the abnormally low life-expectancy for pro wrestlers that has been blindingly obvious to anyone with even a passing interest in the sport over the past 20 years.
Key WWE employees were interviewed by government officials, including the McMahons and Dr. David Black, who oversees WWE's Wellness Policy. However, as the media storm subsided, the interest from the government seemed to disappear. Apparently legitimate sports such as baseball were more of an immediate concern. The promise of improved testing was enough for the government leave the wrestling industry to its own devices.
Now, Henry Waxman has brought the issue of drugs in pro wrestling back to the public's attention, and in doing so has identified a key deficiency in the WWE Wellness Policy: wrestlers who fail a test serve their suspension on the road. The misguided logic from WWE management is that a failed test is the fault of the individual, thus suspending a wrestler when they may be involved in a major storyline punishes the company and its fans. This undermines the whole rationale for having a Wellness Policy in the first place.
Any pretense that the policy serves solely to protect the wrestlers disappears with the prospect of test failures serving their suspensions on the road. That wrestlers who are unable to cope with the WWE schedule without chemical assistance are forced to continue to perform suggests that the Policy is designed to shield the WWE from government and media scrutiny, rather than have any positive effect on the wrestlers on the WWE roster.
By not accepting the WWE Wellness Policy at face value, Henry Waxman has identified a major failing with drug testing in the wrestling industry. However, if he wishes to truly make a difference to the well being of professional wrestlers, he needs to look far deeper than simply the steroid issue.
There is no mention in his letter about misuse of other drugs, such as pain medication. If Mr. Waxman feels that this is not a major issue, he should examine the circumstances in which Lance Cade was fired in October 2008. Cade suffered a seizure on a plane, which Jim Ross referred to in his blog as "a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment."
This came weeks after Cade posted on his own website that he was working through his injuries due to his love of wrestling. An ill-advised expectation for wrestlers to work hurt for the good of the company and to protect their spot only serves to shorten their careers and, from a management perspective, their long term drawing power.
The benefits of introducing an off-season or rotating the wrestlers on the road have been discussed by Wade Keller and other writers for a number of years. That the McMahon family has not considered introducing such measures is tremendously short-sighted, as it would benefit both the individual wrestlers and the company as a whole.
Barack Obama has spoken about a lack of "adult supervision" in the financial markets; that self-regulation has lead to fraud and irregularities on Wall Street. This same analogy can be applied to the wrestling industry, which has proved through numerous premature deaths over the years that it cannot operate safely without the same "adult supervision."
Drugs in pro wrestling are a major issue, but their prevalence is the result of a number of factors, including the schedule and attitudes within the industry. Henry Waxman makes a very pertinent point about the problem with keeping suspended wrestlers on the road. Nevertheless, if this is to be more than just a publicity stunt, the government needs to implement a root-and-branch review of the pro wrestling industry. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
