KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER: TIME magazine responds to Torch criticism of being "fascinated" by inconsequential part of Waxman's report
Jan 9, 2009 - 2:34:07 PM |
|
By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor
TIME Magazine's blogger, Michael Scherer, has acknowledged my blog earlier this week critical of him for saying "the steroid stuff is not really the most interesting part" of Rep. Henry Waxman's stack of interview transcripts with the McMahons and others in the pro wrestling industry. He wrote:
MORE: Wade Keller, the editor of Pro-Wrestling Torch, who probably learns more about wrestling before lunch before I have gathered in a lifetime, points out correctly that Waxman is not the first to put to paper the mechanics of behind-the-curtain wrestling production, a craft that has been documented in fan publications and wrestler memoirs for years. (Had a McMahon ever knocked Hogan's wrestling skills in public before?) That said, Waxman's historical record is still quite astounding, and great reading, and it will be a valuable historical and journalistic reference for years to come.
I do agree that Waxman's historical record is a great read and valuable historical and journalistic reference. My main problem with his blog is that, having read the transcripts of Stephanie McMahon's interview in particular, and the rest of the interview transcripts and data and letters in general, that he wasn't more "fascinated" by these facts:
-Wrestlers have been dying of drug-related causes in an industry that has had either no drug testing or, as characterized by the Congressional committee, inadquate drug testing.
-Forty percent of WWE wrestlers failed a drug test when they were given advanced notice. In 2006. After Benoit's death.
-Benoit tested positive for steroids multiple times and wasn't suspended or sent to treatment.
-Vince McMahon claimed drug testing was instituted because wrestlers were falling asleep backstage before matches, not because of the deaths of some of his contracted wrestlers or long-time former contracted wrestlers due to years of drug use, much of which was inherently - intentional or not, by design or not - rewarded by WWE's method of business, much of which was deemed by wrestlers, on an individual but not rare basis, as a price to be paid to get through the grueling WWE schedule.
-WWE has not given its talents any systematic scheduled time off in a system that takes pride in producing "no reruns" and multiple live TV shows year-round, every year. WWE has not acknowledged that the lack of sustained time off is a mental and physical detriment, and that the pride of living up to the lifestyle and dues paid by previous generations has stopped a significant number of wrestlers from speaking out about this policy - in part because when you're young you don't feel the effects and when you're old you want to live up to your past performance and not show signs of weakness (and keep earning money). Despite the layman logic, at the very least, that systematic stretches of several weeks of at once would provide physical and mental relief, not to mention a much better home life for married wrestlers with children, WWE continues to only give selective sustained time off to certain talent on a seemingly rare basis, often by request or when warning signs are great of wear and tear (such as with Benoit shortly before his suicide and his murdering of his wife and young son), rather than instituting the very practical policy of preventive medicine, so to speak, of making sure all full-time wrestlers have at least three weeks twice a year to just kick back and not worry about "keeping up their look" or "recovering from bumps" or mentally just being "on" and letting them spend time at home or take an extended vacation with their family, and physically give their bodies a break from the grind. Only when a wrestler succumbs to injury do they get time off, and that usually constitutes stressful, grueling rehab of the injury. To me, that pops out as more interesting than how a script for Raw is revised the afternoon of the show. But that's just me.
-In a time period after Chris Benoit's death, a wrestler who was suspended in WWE was, at WWE's discretion, able to continue wrestling under the ridiculous notion that it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the wrestlers, the promotion, and the fans to take him off TV in the middle of a storyline. Even more fascinating is that these pro wrestlers are paid on an arbitrary basis, so saying they are working without pay means zilch. It's not like an NFL player who, if he is suspended for four games, loses one-fourth of his regular season salary in a career with limited years on the field. In WWE, wrestlers are paid without a set formula, so WWE - in theory - systematically could deny a wrestler any PPV bonus or TV pay for a 30 or 60 day suspension, but then increase his pay by 10-30 percent on the next several TV and PPV events to make up the difference.
WWE's policy has put itself in a position to look as bad as an organization that actually encouraged wrestlers to take steroids and privately wished them to remain on steroids in order to keep up their look. A wrestler could be sent a message in this mythical corrupt drug testing set-up to stay on steroids, because if he got suspended, he wouldn't face the public ridicule of being taken off TV mid-storyline and he wouldn't actually lose any money (wink wink) as his PPV checks would shoot up above the normal pattern of the past.
WWE, if their intentions are good, has put itself in a position with such a ridiculous policy, to appear no better than that mythical promotion that would be literally covertly encouraging their top stars to stay on steroids This corrupt policy would be in place specifically because of the lack of fear of being called on it due to the decades-long pattern of mainstream media writers being more caught up in the "scripted" nature of this pseudo-sport than the big-business, life-and-death ramifications of rampant drug use over the years, including - as revealed in the fascinating documentation provided by Waxman - in just the last few years.
-Scherer's fascination with the information about the inner-workings of the business is understandtable. But it's like writing a story about a cute little dance a bank robber did outside of a bank and ignoring the bag of money in his hands, the victims inside the bank, and the incompetence of the police in catching him. The dance may have been cute and interesting, but there's a larger story there that deserves the attention of someone with Michael Scherer's background writing for excellent publications such as Mother Jones, Salon.com, and TIME.
TIME magazine's blogger.
Chairman Waxman's documentation
[Vince McMahon art by Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]
PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered professional wrestling full time since founding Pro Wrestling Torch in 1987. He has interviewed for Torch Talks and other stories pro wrestling's biggest names including Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman, and many others. Most of those interviews are available in the PWTorch VIP archives, perpetually available to PWTorch VIP members.
Comment on this Article Below
(CLICK FOR COMMENTS RULES OR TO REPORT ABUSE)
JB
09 Jan 2009, 13:06
Now this was a far superior and thought provoking response as opposed to
the shameless self-promoting diatribe that was written yesterday.
BJAdamBarry
09 Jan 2009, 13:15
Well said, Keller
the truth
09 Jan 2009, 14:22
In the 80s wrestlers in the WWF traveled what 300-350 days a year?In the
NWA Flair talked about 6 days a week vs.dusty for an hour, twice on
sunday.Compare that to today.WWE is not japan where they can do tours for a
few months then be off.Thank god.You can continue to make excuses for a
coward like benoit:steroids,chair-shots,not being home enough,it was
becaused he was being moved down to ecw,boo-hoo muderous coward.You take a
look individually at these deaths.Guerrero was a life long addict who died
after he cleaned up.Like hawk.You already know pillmans history.When did
hennig die?Was he under contract?Crush?dino bravo?bossman?In life you as a
man make your own decisions.Are we talking about bret,hbk,cm
punk,flair?No.Hogan,WARRIOR steroid poster children are still around and
doing fine.Flexy lexys problem was himself.Im a wrestling fan of 23 years.I
appreciate their blood sweat and tears.But at the end of the day they make
their own choices.Unless Vince told them to or injected or sold or provided
them with steroids its each guys fault their outcome.
bill torres
09 Jan 2009, 14:30
Yeah bigelow,von erich renegade r.i.p also but these deaths are not vinces
fault nor is it gods.Work without pay is a punishment.Ask jeff if he feels
pressure knowing one more strike and hes out.you talk about mythically what
could happen?Really? Blind speculation?Nice.And you didnt write this
article for us.You wrote this in hope that TIME mag. would see
this.Anything to bring it down huh?Please.Dont call yourself a fan
anymore.If youre gonna tell us you are doing this for the health of a
wrestler do you really think they care what you say?Theyd tell you their
sacrifices theyve made and how theyd do it again.By the way is it Vinces
fault scott steroid steiner is still employed?By the way how is TNA not
suspending him???
Bobby
09 Jan 2009, 14:53
I've said it before, but since pro wrestling is staged and technically not
a sport, why do they need to be tested? Why are circus performers not
tested? Why are actors or stunt men on movies not tested? Why are rock
bands that are touring not tested?
TheGiant
09 Jan 2009, 15:38
I love how people can rant and rave and say its up to the individual. ur
right, they all could of made different choices. That choice would have had
to of been dont be wrestlers cause they cant hang. the list of talent that
had been mentioned, i can honestly say without some of those guys in
wrestling i wouldnt even be a fan right now. chis benoit wasnt a coward. it
was medically proven he was no where near in his right mind due to
concussion after concussion after concussion. saying that is like saying
soldiers who come back from iraq disabled or with shell shock were just
weak minded pansies who werent good enough at their jobs. its the nature of
the work. crap happens. its exceedingly dangerous. there are casualties.
cant be avoided in battle, SHOULD be avoided in entertainment.
justjoe
09 Jan 2009, 16:45
Come on. Everybody was running wild over Ol´ Vince after the death of
Guerrero and Benoit and now your asking why Wrestler´s been tested? The
Death rate because of drug addiction in this Sports-Entertainment is surely
higher than in any other Sport or "Entertainment" period. It´s not only
for the own good of the industry this people getting tested but for the
behalf of the fans as well. If WWE or TNA wants to represent "family
friendly Entertainment" and consider their stars als "role models" they
have to take care of such internal problems as steroid or
painkiller-addiction. What´s a role model worth dying on a toilet after a
drug overdose? People like Vince Mc Mahon or Jeff Jarrett have closed their
eyes too long from this problems, depending it´s not their fault, but
partly it is. They may not pull the trigger but deliver the bullets by
pushing their talents to the limit by every means necessary.
Steve Andrews
10 Jan 2009, 07:27
Another "WWE is KILLING wrestlers" and "VINCE IS SATAN" rambling from Wade
Keller...
Stop covering WWE and making money off the fact people subscribe to your
newsletter and visit your website to read your thoughts on the company.
Obviously your wallet overpowers your supposed morals every single time.
Richard
10 Jan 2009, 07:53
I'm surprised anyone would pay any money to read any of the drivel on this
site! I get better insight from a Yahoo message board than anything these
clowns report!
1-Stu-3 Kidd
10 Jan 2009, 08:21
Bobby is right, this is not a sport, it is entertainment. I'm sure Arnold,
Sylvester Stallone, Vin Deisel, Etc, were never given random drug tests
when shooting a movie. If a wrestler chooses to bulk up with roids because
he lacks talent,charisma, or whatever else it takes to succeed, then he
does it knowing the consequences. It is NOT Vince, or the WWE's
responsibilty to babysit these guys.If I go out this evening and drink 47
beer and die of alcohol poisoning, then that is my fault, not Budweiser's,
or the bar that I drank them in. Although Vince is a complete ass, let's
start putting the blame where it belongs-the talent.
justjoe
10 Jan 2009, 09:38
The difference between the Wrestlers and actors like Stallone, Diesel etc.
is, that those guys are not more than 300 days the year on the road, so
they don´t need drugs to stay awake to make the body work each and every
day. They don´t need painkillers as well, ´cause the really difficult
work do stuntmen for them. They are the ones going home with bruises and
concusions. They don´t become addicted to steroids that much, ´cause its
maybe 3-4 month preparation for them, to get into shape, mostly they got
help from half a dozen people or more in doing so. And after shooting they
have a long time to rest their bodies. A WWE-wrestler does not. So please
think before you writing crap like that above. There´s no comparison.
Maybe that´s one of the reasons Stallone, Schwarzenegger and co. are stil
healthy and doing fine, while Guerrero, Benoit, Pillmann, The British
Bulldog and many other are 6 ft under. But yeah, stop drug testing, these
guys are just doing fine. *rolling eyes*
povo
10 Jan 2009, 10:48
Keller, you are not the center of the universe like you seem to believe
everyone thinks you are. Nothing is going to change because some small time
wrestling reporter continually bitches about it day after day after day. If
you hate the WWE so much, show it by refusing to cover it until they clean
up their act. Why would you want to make money off of something so
horrible? I mean, Vince is the devil and WWE is all that is wrong with the
world of wrestling, right? So why would you want to be associated with it?
Either that or just leave it alone. Does any of the staff read the comments
around here? MOST OF US DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE STEROIDS. Neither does the
majority of the public. Not in wrestling, baseball, football or with movie
stars. We just DONT CARE. Jagoffs like Keller with huge egos think its
their job to fix everything, right all that they think is wrong. Let grown
ass men and women make their own choices, and if it kills them... thats on
them. You can write one paragraph on this subject or ten, in the end you
will always come off as a preening douchebag with a bloated sense of self
worth. Stick to TV reports or find something else to do.
wwe fan
10 Jan 2009, 12:17
i think theres alot of ppl that are writng on this thing are on drugs like
the ones that say blame the talent thats part wrong cus one vince needs to
take some blame on it too cus vince uses steriods himself and he really
doesnt do anything much about his talent using it too for that simple
reason . he figures the bigger his talent is the bigger his ratings will be
and the more money he will bring in . lets face it all vince wants is
ratings and money . wrestling is worse now then it was even back in the
80s. vince is a sex maniac and drug using moron pusher . he needs to get
more tougher on his drug use and talents drug use and if he was a real true
boss that cares he wouldnt allow any type of drug use in his business if
the talent cant control what they use and the amount the boss (vince) can
.he pays their contracts he can change alot on the contracts to make wwe
safer and better then it is now .period. so yeah vince is part to blame if
he was tougher back when he took over the business from his day to now im
sure alot of wrestlers wouldnt have died as early has they did . vince is a
pusher not a saver.
JA
11 Jan 2009, 10:44
Boohoo, someone took a drug and killed themselves. You know what? Too
freaking bad. I've taken drugs at times in the past, so has almost
everyone I've ever known. You know why? Because at times they can be FUN
and if you're not a moron most of them can actually be done safely if used
in moderation.
Would I ever encourage someone to use drugs or be happy if I found out my
kids did? NO and NO, but I also wouldn't ever take the right away from
them to do what they want to their own bodies as an adult, as long as they
do it safely (i.e. don't drive while drunk/high, etc.)
If we as a society would get away from our juvenile attitudes towards
drugs, prostitution, gambling, etc. (all victimless crimes, and no YOU
don't count as a victim when you do it to yourself), we might actually be
able to help those in society with addiction issues. We also would collect
a hell of a lot more taxes while drastically lowering the cost of law
enforcement.
It's not the WWE's responsibility that ADULTS put legal or illegal
substances into their bodies. They are not a legitimate sport, so there is
no gambling happening over the outcome, which is the only reason "real"
sports require testing for performance enhancing drugs.
We need to get away from the nanny society we now have. If I'm not hurting
you or anyone else around you shut up and go away. The fact that some
people have such low self-esteem that they spend their lives focusing on
how to stop others from doing whatever it may be is pathetic and doing more
harm to our society than drugs ever did.
The Drug War has been about the single most damaging thing to American
Society over the last 100 years. If you actually read a little bit of
history you'll realize how much violence there was during prohibition in
the 20's/30's, it directly led to the rise in organized crime in this
country. When Nixon started the Drug War it had the exact same effect,
unfortunately we didn't smarten up this time, and now have the highest
prison population in the world, plus a generation of brainwashed weaklings
who think the government should regulate everything.
JFK
11 Jan 2009, 13:41
It's obvious alot of you guys are insanely jealous of Wade Keller, James
Caldwell and every other writer on the staff of pwtorch. I mean, I'm not a
subscriber, nor do I know these guys. But the level of hostility towards
them is really ridiculous. If you disagree with them, state your case.
There's no need to personally ridicule them for their opinion. And to the
ridiculous point raised above, if actors were dying at the alarming rates
pro wrestlers have in the past, there would be investigations and testing.
But they have a union, so a producer hinting to an actor that they need to
take steroids to keep a part wouldn't fly. If Vin Diesel chose to take
steroids for a part, that's fine. If he did it without anyone prodding him
to, that would be ok. If he was told by the Hollywood producer to take
steroids for the part, then that would be a problem. But again, they have a
union, so it's not a fair comparison at all.
(CLICK FOR COMMENTS RULES OR TO REPORT ABUSE)
ALSO DISCUSS MORE SUBJECTS IN OUR PWTORCH FREE FORUM
For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA!
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE -
PROWRESTLING.NET
For UFC NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM
Upgrade to PWTORCH VIP: DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO
| MORE "KELLER'S TAKE" ARTICLES
|
| KELLER: How bookers, like Jeff Jarrett last night, show that they're the toughest SOBs in the world |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT TAKE 7/2: Thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotebook |
| KELLER'S ECW ON SCI-FI REPORT 6/30: Results, star ratings, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotebook |
| KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 6/29: Results, star ratings, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, quotes |
| KELLER'S WWE BASH PPV REPORT 6/28: Ongoing coverage including results, star ratings, analysis, quotebook |
| KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 6/26: Results, thoughts, star ratings, analysis, nitpicks, and quotebook |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT TAKE 6/25: Thoughts, observsations, nitpicks, and quotebook |
| KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 6/22: Results, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotables |
| KELLER'S TNA SLAMMIVERSARY 7 PPV TAKE 6/21: Ongoing thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotables |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 6/18: Hype for Slammiversary, big three-team main event, Sting vs. Morgan booed |
| KELLER'S UFC 99 TAKE: Random thoughts and observations on live pay-per-view telecast (redirect) |
| KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN TAKE 6/12: The fallout from Extreme Rules and C.M. Punk's reaction to criticism for how he won the title |
| KELLER: WWE needs to just stop talking about MMA at all - dumb public statement alert |
| KELLER'S TAKE: Ten thoughts about Raw - Edge is mean, Triple H gets revenge (but now what?), MVP's phantom turn haunts him, Cena's ill-timed good promo... |
| KELLER'S BLOG: Weekend Thoughts on Faber's effort, Brown's tainted win, marketing Rogers, top emotional reactions, weird Nick Diaz, announcers |
| KELLER: Why C.M. Punk's actions last night don't necessarily point to a heel turn |
| KELLER'S WWE EXTREME RULES PPV TAKE 6/7: Live stream of results, star ratings, and expanded analysis of each match and segment |
| KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN TAKE 6/5: Strong final hype for Extreme Rules with good dose of good wrestling |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT TAKE 6/4: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage and analysis of Spike TV program |
| KELLER: Kimbo Slice in TUF - the pros, cons, possible manipulations, poll results analysis, bright side, and more |
(c) 1999-2009 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved. |