By Wade Keller, Torch editor

WWE News: WWE faces potential regulation in Georgia, could have major ramifications
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment commission may close a loophole that has allowed WWE to be exempt from state regulation.

Chris Benoit [artist Neal Obermeyer (c) PWTorch]

Cary Itchter, a board member on the commission, is also an attorney who represents the father of deceased Chris Benoit.

"I'm going to fight like a dog to make sure that exemption is pulled from the law," he said Tuesday. "I want to make sure we have a way to protect folks in Georgia from the shenanigans of the WWE. When you look at all the health issues of professional wrestlers and how many of them have died, it's clear they've been abused."

If state lawmakers do rescind the exception for WWE, WWE performers would be subject to drug testing and other regulations just as other performers do from other sports who perform in Georgia.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said: "Gee, surprise, surprise. Wonder why he's doing that?"

The exemption for WWE applied because of a statute that went into effect in July 2005 that excluded groups with assets of more than $25 million. Current director of the GAEC says he knows of no other group exempted.

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WK ANALYSIS: If this exemption is removed - which on the surface makes so little sense it's baffling - it means several things. WWE may, as they did in Oregon, not run live events there to avoid third-party, unaffiliated regulation. They would have more difficulty doing that now as it could be seen as a red flag that they have something to hide or are just being stubborn; it would have flown under the radar before the Benoit controversy. Also, it could set a precedent that leads to other athletic commissions regulating WWE, subjecting WWE performers to third-party drug testing. At this time, Dr. Black and his Aegis Laboratories test wrestlers, but Black receives a considerable fee from WWE to perform the tests, and WWE chose him to perform the tests and could pull their business at any time, therefore creating a potential conflict of interest in terms of the execution or application of the testing procedures. An athletic commission test would help build credibility for Black's testing program, the credibility of which took a major blow when wrestlers were named as customers of an Internet pharmacy under government investigation and were receiving drugs banned and supposedly tested for under WWE's Wellness Policy during the time the policy was in effect and Black was apparently testing for those specific drugs.

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