By PWTorch Staff

Prominent ESPN/Grantland.com writer Bill Simmons called for an off-season in pro wrestling, specifically WWE, in a new podcast on Grantland.com.

"Whether you think it's a quote/unquote sport or not, these guys are still athletes who take a physical pounding. And it's hard to believe they don't need two months off at times," Simmons said in a podcast with Grantland writer David Shoemaker discussing their interview with Triple H over Summerslam Weekend.

Simmons, who has a prominent presence on ESPN as an NBA Studio panelist, cited the example of C.M. Punk taking a beating in a match with Brock Lesnar at Summerslam, then working the next night on Raw. Interestingly, Punk captured a rotational off-season earlier this year when he wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania in April, then went home for two months before returning to WWE at the Payback PPV in June.

The idea of an off-season has been written about by PWTorch and other publications for decades, but no major company has implemented a system. Shoemaker noted during the podcast that the Chris Benoit Tragedy in June 2007 brought attention to a need for an off-season to protect wrestler's health and longevity.

"The alarmists's take on it - this is probably stuff that came out around the time of the Benoit Tragedy - is that a 20-minute wrestling match is like playing offensive line in the NFL. That's the amount of impact on your body," Shoemaker said. "It is a significant amount of wear and tear, and it seems like these guys only get vacation when they break their arm or get legitimately hurt."

[ LINK: The full podcast can be heard HERE at Grantland.com ]

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