KELLER'S TAKE KELLER: Mandatory retirement for pro wrestlers? Booker T may show why that's necessary, and good Sep 13, 2007 - 3:45:20 PM

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By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

If WWE wrestlers as they approach and enter their 40s need banned drugs and supplements to keep a physique that looks acceptable in WWE's self-created world, and if WWE institutes a real, thorough, honest, nearly unbeatable drug policy, WWE's wrestlers may not be able to have careers as long as they have in the past.

The ramifications of that statement, if true (and I personally believe it is), are huge. It could change the face of the industry. But, I believe for the better for everyone - wrestlers, promoters, and fans.

If Booker T decides to walk away from WWE in part because he doesn't want to have his reputation hurt through public disclosure of future drug test failures, and if he's concerned that his physique cannot look up to his own standards or Vince McMahon's standards or WWE fans' standards unless he takes banned substances, then he should be applauded for making the right decision for himself. I don't know if that's the case, but suppose it is and suppose it's part of his consideration of retiring.

Booker may not be the only wrestler in that position. If, through whatever path it takes, WWE ends up with internal or external testing that actually works and is transparent and public, there are many physiques in WWE that probably won't be able to remain anywhere near their current appearance - especially among the older wrestlers. What that means to WWE, it's contracted performers, and it's fans is that a new reality may need to be accepted. There are two options:

(a) WWE wrestlers, McMahon, and the fans will need to accept that as stars age into their late-30s and early-40s, their bodies won't look like they did in their 20s and early-30s. That's no big deal as long as WWE works to condition and reeducate fans to the idea that looking like a human-sized buff action figure is not a prerequisite to being a top level wrestlers. Until the last few generations of fans, wrestling was hugely successful in dozens of thriving territories with wrestlers without roided-up looking physiques, whether it was Dory Funk Jr., The Briscos, Verne Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, Jerry Lawler, Bruno Sammartino, Ricky Morton, Tommy Rich, Mad Dog Vachon, and any number of other legitimate (long-term or fleeting) draws in their respective territories over the years, fans accepted non-bodybuilders as top stars who could compete with bodybuilder types and often if not usually outsmart, outwrestle, and out-tough them to victory.

(b) Otherwise, WWE wrestlers, McMahon, and the fans need to accept that careers of WWE wrestlers will need to end around the time most pro football players' careers end - in their early-30s (or perhaps, at most, a few years later). This is not that big of a deal. In fact, it'd probably be better for everyone if that were the case. Granted, a lot of pro wrestlers are just entering their prime earning years in their early-30s, if not later. But that would change simply by virtue of the big stars retiring earlier and thus younger stars moving to main events sooner. Thus, the younger main eventers would earn bigger money earlier in their careers and be set to retire (if they save and invest, as they should) and move on to a new phase of their lives by their mid-30s. It would be accepted as the norm going into their careers, and not a major adjustment. In fact, it'd be something they looked forward to and their families, especially, anticipated.

The benefits of option B are plentiful. It means that there would be a faster turnover of wrestlers so new stars would need to be created at a faster pace. Also, as fans we'd appreciate wrestlers more when they were on top because we'd know it was for a more limited time. Instead of dreading that Wrestler X is going to be headlining long past his in-ring prime and only due to his political clout, wrestlers on top would be retiring while still fully entertaining to watch wrestle.

The bumps, bruises, accumulated concussions, wear and tear, and overall breakdown of the body that lead to less-than-ideal post-career lives for so many wrestlers would be reduced drastically. The older, retired wrestlers could be utilized to train intensively the next generation of stars. A system could be set up where some top stars after, say, age 36, would appear for occasional special matches - up to four per year - where they'd have plenty of time to train and eat properly leading up to the match without the stress of life on the road and having to look a certain way year-round every day. They'd still be subject to full random testing under the policy, though, if they were going to be wrestling anytime in the near future. Even that "part time" schedule would be just for a few years, though, not well into one's 40s.

The downside is that some of the greatest matches would have never happened had this policy been in place the last ten or so years. Shawn Michaels's second run since coming back from his back injury wouldn't have happened, for instance. But if that's the price paid to end the system of wrestlers in their late-30s ruining their bodies with banned substances and damaging their minds with an accumulation of concussions, pain pills, and drugs, so be it. I can live with a few more rookie mistakes if it means the wrestlers who had great matches in their 20s and early-30s live long and well after retirement, long enough to show up at Legends Shows without a cane, with full mental faculties, and a with a thriving family and career after wrestling to boast about with pride.

So I applaud Booker T if he chooses to walk away from wrestling because he understands in today's environment, a 42 year old who wants to look as good as a twentysomething and keep up with WWE's 50 weeks on the road every year schedule just isn't possible while following a strictly enforced substance policy. No matter what his retirement is for considering retirement, if he is one of those wrestlers who doesn't hang on to every last shred of time in the spotlight in favor of cashing in his chips while he can still fully appreciate them, congratulations to him.

Ultimately, pro wrestling is going to have the best chance to thrive if fans feel good about supporting it, if wrestlers can perform for years and walk away with their minds and bodies in tact, and if the promoters aren't sidetracked by the p.r. fallout from wrestler deaths, drug busts, and the resulting derailed storylines that frustrate everyone.

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