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Updated Thursday, June 28 at 8:30 a.m. - by James Caldwell
-- FIRST WORD: The quantity of mainstream coverage of pro wrestling in light of the Benoit Family tragedy has been remarkable. Every 24-hour cable news outlet has discussed the topic, and most major newspapers have featured at least an AP article on the circumstances surrounding the deaths. However, up until watching Meredith Vieira's interview with Vince McMahon, I believe the quality of coverage from the mainstream press has been at times embarrassing, at times disappointing, and at times off course. Most talk shows that I have seen the past two days have focused strictly on steroids, while setting aside every other issue, such as WWE needing to re-evaluate the wrestler lifestyle.
On the "Scarborough Country" talk show last night, host Dan Abrams gave us his opinion on Bill O'Reilly's stance on the issue, then proceeded to shoot down a guest he brought on the show who had a dissenting opinion from his own. It became a five-minute game of Abrams trying to prove his op-ed piece by mocking a dissenting opinion, distracting from the issues. WWE, in their own attempt to exonerate themselves from the possibility of the pro wrestling lifestyle influencing Benoit's behavior, warned of sensational reporting. They were right about that, even if their motive wasn't to focus on schedule changes, time off for wrestlers, or advocating more stringent testing for wrestlers.
My concern is that average people watching MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN will simply look at this story as a case of 'roid rage gone wrong, while not understanding or being told why they should care about the heart of the issue. The heart of the issue is that Nancy and Daniel Benoit are prematurely dead, while a tragedy such as this can hopefully prevented in the future. However, when mainstream media has the attention of the world and they simply want to focus on the steroids and drugs, not the reasons why many wrestlers feel the need to use substances, they are failing the public. Understanding the subject and seeking tough answers on the subject they are covering should be at the forefront of their coverage. However, in an era of non-stop Paris Hilton coverage, we unfortunately should not be surprised when mainstream media fails to truly understand why this story matters.
-- The Washington Post's coverage of the Chris Benoit story includes a look at how WWE handled the alleged murders on TV. The article points to WWE airing a tribute to Benoit on Raw, with the headline of article reading: "WWE chairman Vince McMahon issued a non-apology" on ECW TV the following night. The second-half of the article includes a look at the top three winners and losers from last week's network TV programming. CW's Smackdown was a "winner" for beating all other networks in the coveted 18-49 adult demographic. Article link.
-- The N.Y. Sun has hard criticism of WWE's Wellness Policy based on the 4-1 testosterone ratio that is considered a failure in MLB's standards of a 1-1 ratio based on the World Anti-Doping agency's recommendations. The columnist talks about the issue of Benoit maybe or maybe not on steroids being "self-evidently simplistic and ridiculous that it allows WWE to point to its pathetic drug policy and ignore the real issues at play, which involve not only Benoit's own private demons, but a brutal, dehumanizing schedule, work that requires a level of physical punishment the body just can't handle, drug abuse as a near condition of employment, and a string of dozens and dozens of deaths about which no one has cared." Article link.
-- King Booker was interviewed from his wrestling school on the local CBS affiliate in Houston on Wednesday. The interviewed focused mainly on Booker's relationship with Chris, how they had just talked about the business for 25-30 minutes a few weeks ago. Booker said all men have their breaking points, and the human mind is a fragile piece of equipment that can malfunction under duress. Booker talked about how he's dealt with the deaths since he heard the news. Article and video link.
-- Jim Ross has a new blog on jrsbarbq.com adding his thoughts on the Benoit tragedy. Ross comments on the decisions made for the Raw broadcast on Monday, and how the press has handled the topic. Blog entry.
-- TNA TODAY RECAP: On Wednesday's edition of "TNA Today", host Jeremy Borash dropped a hint that TNA would be coming to the Midwest soon. He only named Iowa, though. He then "accidentally" said New York was another town. The Today update also included an in-character interview with Kurt Angle. He called Rhino and Abyss stupid. Still in character, Angle said about Samoa Joe, "He's a fat slob. The guy doesn't even deserve to be in pro wrestling. I think he's horrible. I think he sucks."
-- PWG added Matt Sydal and Scott Lost to the Battle of Los Angeles tournament Aug. 31 - Sept. 2. Current line-up.
LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1037 (16 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story on the annoucement on Raw that Mike Adamle is the new Raw G.M... Wade Keller's BBL features a number of other shocking G.M. possibilities for WWE to consider... Page 2 Buzz with Jason Powell features his exclusive insider news galore... Pat McNeill continues his series of articles reviewing the history of Summerslam... Bruce Mitchell continues his series of Ric Flair DVD Liner Notes with a focus on "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers htis week... Part four of the "Torch Talk" with Doug Basham... Sean Radican reviews in detail the ROH PPV before it's offered nationally on PPV... Plus the Torch Newswire, Top Five Stories, reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, and more......
