wrestling / Columns
The MeeThinks Saturday Spectacular 07.14.07
Welcome back, all!
A crazy week both in the wrestling world and out of it for Mee, as I made something of an impromptu mid-week trip back up to New Jersey to attend the funeral of my best friend’s grandmother. The poor guy lost his dad three years ago *today*, and so losing his grandma this week in particular was a pretty surreal experience, to say the least. I’m not gonna’ cheapen things by “dedicating” something as trivial as an online wrestling column to their memory or whatnot — but for those of y’all who are the praying type and feel so inclined, if you’d be so kind as to shoot an anonymous prayer up their way, that’d be most appreciated.
Alright, enough “real world” sadness — let’s get back to the “fake” news and the welcome lightheartedness of the wild, wacky and wonderful world of professional ‘rasslin, eh?
(Checks memo: Dangit – more Benoit news!? Man, when it rains it poors…)
Ah well. Maybe next week. In the meantime…
On Tap This Week:
Rock and roll.
By the way, a lot of people have been asking where our usual nifty column-heading banner wound up (you know, the one with the cheering girls and the stylized photo of yours truly). Truth is, given the particularly heavy subject matter of the past few weeks — I just didn’t think it was all that appropriate to be headlining columns with big, flashy artwork and huge, sensationalized typeface before jumping headlong into all of this talk about drugs, death and tragedy. I’d rather leave that sort of thing for the folks over at Fox News… ya’ know? 😉
Anyhow —
With luck, the cheering lady and the all-out funtimes banners should return sooner than later. Once the immediacy of the Benoit details have been duly reported, it’ll be back to business as usual.
Ok then… NEWS TIME!
WWE News
Eric Bischoff “Embarrassed” By Benoit Fallout
Former WCW Honcho Peeved at Media, Ex-Stars
This one speaks for itself, really:
Get the hook!
For the first time in my 20 years in this business, I am embarrassed.
Not because of the horrific act of an obviously troubled individual, who until a few weeks ago was a respected part of the sports-entertainment business. I don’t believe that the Benoit tragedy is representative of the business, or more importantly the people who are a part of it. Chris Benoit had psychological problems. The root cause of those problems will debated for months to come. As well they should be.
By experts.
Not by the parade of clowns who are fighting for their last 60 seconds of fame on cable news programs that are clearly sensationalizing and exploiting this situation for one reason and one reason only: ratings. If there was any doubt about that, one need only look back at the list of idiots that have covered this story. Nancy Grace… give me a break. Or how about Bill O’ Reilly? “Hard Hitting Interview”? Since when is a half decade old out of context interview newsworthy? Can anyone seriously argue that news networks are not exploiting and spinning the sad death of a wife, son, and father for one reason and one reason only?
But I’m not embarrassed by the obvious ethical/professional lapse of the cable news industry. I’ve never been in that business. Besides, we see it all the time.
The most embarrassing thing for me over the past ten days has been watching the likes of Debra Marshall-Williams-McMicheals-Whoeversheisgoingtotaketothecleanersnext, Marc Mero, Lanny Poffo, et. al. fighting like a bunch of addicts at a crack festival, trying to become the spokesperson for an industry in which they have been irrelevant for years. If it were not for the painful circumstances surrounding this issue, these three would have a regular gig on Saturday Night Live.
Hopefully accurate information will come out soon that will allow for a meaningful discourse surrounding this issue. In the meantime, somebody get the hook and get these clowns off the stage.
– Eric Bischoff
Minus the fact that Debra *does* actually have a solid point in her gripe against “the biz,” I think that Easy E hit the nail on the head with just about everything else that he said here. It’s become a feeding frenzy of has-beens and never-was’es, and it’s both laughable and sad that so many of these so-called “crusaders” to clean up the business have inexplicably (and mysteriously) waited until a tragedy of such a monumental nature went down before they actually carried their convictions to the mainstream media airwaves.
If you *really* cared about the industry, then you’d have been fighting for this campaign to clean it up all along. Konnan is a rare example of this, as he’s done a TON of work to clean up the ‘biz down south of the border. Then again, of course, law and order below the Texas state line is pretty infamous for not quite stacking up to the standards of U.S. law enforcement (I’m thinking of a Cornballer and a chicken dance, in particular), but still there’s something to be said for the fact that nobody *but* Konnan has been putting his proverbial money where his mouth is on this issue for the past ten years.
Gregory Helms Reflects on Media Backlash
“The Hurricane” Says “It’s Time To Move On.”
Helms’ sentiments aren’t particularly controversial or earth-shattering, but they are pretty heartfelt nonetheless; more importantly, MeeThinks they’re quite indicative of the current WWE mindset after the fallout from the Benoit family tragedy:
Time to move on!
I, like many other of my fellow WWE’ers have been contacted by various media outlets to speak on or about the Chris Benoit family tragedy. However, I chose to voice my thoughts here rather than trying to have some 5 min debate with one of these obviously uninformed media personalities that do nothing other than fuel the fire of this already senseless tragedy. I could go into great detail about all the nonsense that has been said about pro wrestlers and pro wrestling in general but I think most of that has been covered already. Instead I will provide you with a couple links to some great articles that reflect my opinion.
The first is an interview with Mick Foley which you can read here. This is one article in which I identify completely!! Mick does a GREAT job here, it’s a must read!
The next is JR’s BLOG at http://www.jrsbarbq.com/ Look for the blog dated 07/08/07. A very good read.
And finally, Matt Hardy, did a pretty good job in his latest MySpace Blog. You can find a link to his page on my profile.
Please read those three. They are very good and they do a good job of defending pro wrestling when so many others are jumping on the easy ship to bash it! Jericho, Cena, Ted Dibiase, and Bret Hart all did a good job on Larry King as well. Wrestling has always been a business that’s easy to criticize, especially by people who have no involvement in it and right now it needs people to stand up for it. I agreed with Jericho and Dibiase the most. There is no perfect answer to what happened. In fact, I feel that you could tell me every single detail of what happened that night and I still wouldn’t understand it! Why? Because irrational actions don’t make sense to rational men. Plain and simple. And while I will not, nor ever will, condone what Benoit did, neither do I feel any blame or guilt just because I worked with him. He was my friend but his personal life was just that . . . personal. And blaming or criticizing pro wrestling is just an easy way out to try and explain a very complicated tragedy. And I also feel that failed, former stars (and I use that term loosely) like Marc Mero are only making things worse by trying to cash in and turn a tragedy into a last few minutes of fame on TV. That is just pathetic. There are a lot of great people in this business, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, and the many should not have to suffer for the mistakes of a few.
I know it’s been hard to stay positive during this. Life just seems to make no sense sometimes, but life does indeed go on, whether it makes sense or not. So as far as the Benoit tragedy goes, just like the title of this blog says, it’s time to move on. I’m only speaking for myself of course, but I’ve had my sad period, then my mad period, then my just total confusion period (which is still kinda where I’m at) but as with all sad times in life you can’t dwell on them, you have to move on. And that’s what I’m going to try to do.
-Gregory Helms
Well said, Hurricane. Well said indeed. As I said from day one, looking for rational explanations for a crime that has universally been heralded as “senseless and irrational” is pretty much a lost cause. And so while the media outlets may well continue to try to assign blame or search for the “culprit” behind the Benoit family tragedy, the simple truth of the matter is that the real culprit was found out a long time ago — and he, along with his wife and chile, are dead as a result.
Ken Kennedy Defends WWE Wellness Initiative
WWE Star Lambastes Media Coverage of Benoit Tragedy
Please GOD, I’m just BEGGING for someone who has actually wrestled in a WWE ring in the past decade besides Jericho, Bret Hart, John Cena, and Ted Dibiase to come forward on one of these shows and tell the world what’s really going on. For these goofs, like Lanny Poffo? Ultimate Warrior? and Marc Mero???!! to repeatedly act as “experts” and “wrestler advocates” on the current situation is like having a frustrated ex-jock who rode the pine bench throughout his high school sports career give advice to Brett Favre on how to improve his game! It’s ridiculous, insane, and it really makes me sick that these so called reporters like Bill O’Reilly, Nancy Grace, and Geraldo Rivera, call upon these silly bastards who are bitter and frustrated that their careers have ended to represent the WWE which of course makes all of us look like a bunch of babbling idiots who are all addicted to steroids, drugs, alcohol, etc.
THINGS ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THEY WERE FIVE OR TEN OR TWENTY YEARS AGO! Most of the “expert”, frustrated ex-wrestlers that they’ve had on the show came from an era where everyone wrestled every day and then went out and partied like rock stars until dawn, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, snorting cocaine, taking fistfuls of pills, and injecting massive amounts of steroids. They would take pills to go to sleep, snort coke or take speed to get up and do this day after day after day! This would not be even remotely tolerated in today’s environment. We have a strict drug policy in place. The WWE’s wellness program was designed and instituted by the same doctor who implemented the NFL and the NBA’s substance abuse programs. Contrary to what somebody recently said on one of these “tabloid” shows the WWE’s allowed levels are exactly the same as the NFL. (Someone, I can’t recall exactly who said it, said that the WWE allowed a 10:1 Testosterone to Epitestosterone level, which is false. We have a 4:1 level exactly like the NFL and the NBA.) In fact, I knew of someone who took an over the counter supplement from GNC which he didn’t know was on the banned list, which caused him to have an elevated testosterone level. This individual was suspended and fined because of it. We can’t even take Ephedrine which is another legal supplement that can be bought at any gas station in the country. Since I’ve been with the company, I’ve seen the few people that did have problems with drugs either sent to rehab to try and help them overcome their addictions, (sent to one of the top rehab facilities in the country and paid for in full by the WWE) or be fired for repeat offenses. Look at the list of wrestlers who have prematurely passed away over the years, and most of them made the decision to live their lives this way. That’s right, I said “made the decision” because we have this cool thing in the United States of America called “freedom of choice”. I have the choice to quit my job if I don’t like it, or if I feel that I’m on the road too much. I have the right to choose whether or not I want to break the law and use drugs. I have the right to choose between eating healthy food and exercising regularly and eating fast-food three times a day, not going to the gym, and becoming obese like a good majority of the citizens in this country. When will individuals be held accountable for their own actions? Will it ever happen, or will we always try and point the finger at someone else? Unfortunately as much as I respect the man, Superstar Billy Graham is ultimately responsible for the health problems he suffers from right now because of the choices he made in his career. I find it both sad and humorous that the man who many say is largely responsible for starting the whole “steroid craze” in pro-wrestling is now pointing the finger at the industry rather than blaming himself.
I, like everyone else in the company, have the luxury of being able to go home almost every week, play with my dog, hang out with my girlfriend, sleep in my own bed, and eat good home cooked food. This wasn’t the case with these frustrated ex-wrestlers who are trying to grasp on to FIVE more minutes of fame and recognition.
I hear some of these guys talking about how the WWE doesn’t have any type of benefits. I heard Johnny Grunge’s widow on Nancy Grace saying that wrestling leaves you with nothing, and that two weeks after her husband was released from WCW that they lost their cars and their home. It apparently wasn’t obvious to Nancy Grace, who is reportedly an extremely intelligent person, that they were obviously living outside of their means, and they weren’t doing something that my parents taught me to do when I was a little kid……SAVE MONEY. This job pays well, but I know that it won’t last forever. It’s the same problem with pro athletes and actors in Hollywood who spend, spend, spend, like the money grows on trees and like it’s always going to be there, and then falls flat on their faces when their careers are suddenly cut short. Who’s fault? The team? The studio in Hollywood? I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who don’t save money and spend everything that they earn so they can impress everyone around them with all the NEAT THINGS that they own. As far as the having no health insurance thing goes, I’ve been seriously injured twice since I’ve been in the WWE. Every red cent has been paid for in full by the company, which is the case for any employee who is injured during a work or work-related event. Yes, I have my own supplemental insurance which is a bit expensive, but if WWE paid for it, I’m sure that, just like every other company in the country that offers health insurance to their employees, I would just be paid less, so it’s a wash!
In the end, we are all responsible for our own actions. Saying that Vince McMahon is responsible for the deaths of the Benoit’s is like saying that you and I are responsible for the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son. The millions of people who tuned in every week to be entertained by “how funny” she was when she was all PILLED up and DRUNK, suddenly became the same people who acted SHOCKED and APALLED when she died of a drug overdose. Somebody, PLEASE, stop the insanity!!!!
-KK
Kennedy’s blog entry on this matter is important for two major reasons:
1) He makes some killer points that, if true, certainly go a long way in restoring WWE’s credibility in thie whole affair. Again, if what Kennedy is saying is true (and if WWE is, in fact, exercising these policies in the same manner that he suggests), then WWE has a ton of things working in their favor here. Namely — the fact that the company pays for rehabs, the fact that the ratios are legit, the fact that even some LEGAL substances are banned, and the fact that WWE covers all medical bills related to on-the-job accidents.
2) Kennedy’s blog entry is the first major rant from an active, on-the-roster WWE superstar since the Benoit tragedy. Just about all of those that preceded it were somber, angry, frustrated or confused “reflections” on the tragedy itself (JBL’s, JR’s, etc.), or media snippets reflecting on the tragedy as well as its fallout (Helms, Foley, Hardy, etc.). Kennedy’s, on the other hand, is a straight-up, balls-to-the-wall, shoot-from-the-hip and take-no-prisoners throwdown to any and all comers (with a TON of “new” information, as discussed in point 1) that practically BEGS retaliation. It’s confrontational, it’s unapologetic, it’s loaded with “facts”, and it’s more than ready to start a fight with whoever might read it and disagree.
In other words?
It’s the kind of thing that WWE simply wouldn’t allow one of their performers to get away with posting on a blog if a) they didn’t fully agree with what the guy was saying, b) they didn’t approve of it *prior* to it being posted, and c) they didn’t have SUPREME confidence in Ken Kennedy to be able to, if necessary, step up to the plate and defend his statements — and, by proxy, their company’s good name.
In short —
Kennedy’s blog tells us that WWE must have a lot of faith in the guy, or else they wouldn’t have let him get away with posting the thing in the first place. So wax conspiracy theories about Triple H and backstage sabotage politics all you want, but the bottom line here is that Kennedy is proving himself to be a true-blue “company man” in what might well prove to be the ‘E’s greatest time of need — and that’s the kind of thing that’s not soon forgotten and can go a LONG way in ensuring the man’s success and staying power in the company for years to come.
Wrestler Roundtable Highlights Larry King Live
Cena, Jericho, Bret, Dibiase and Blackman Discuss Benoit Tragedy on CNN
A lot of folks are calling this past Monday night’s program “the most well-balanced and insightful coverage of the Benoit tragedy to date.” In fairness, while the program was indeed “insightful,” there’s probably something to be said against any claims of the program being anything *near* “balanced.”
It was painfully obvious that (just like the Paris Hilton interview of last week) Larry King really couldn’t care less about the issue being discussed. King looked bored and completely out of touch, as usual. He spent the hour lobbing total softball questions the wrestlers’ way, and demonstrated zero understanding of the subject at hand. Furthermore, King’s misnomers like “Million Dollar Dibiase,” the manner in which he said “SIX TIME *HARD*CORE CHAMPION” about Steve Blackman (as if that title meant more than Cena’s, Jericho’s, or Bret’s combined), and the fact that he was regularly asking non-WWE-guys (Bret, Blackman) to comment on what the mood was like in a WWE lockerroom on the day of the tragedy really proved the guy simply didn’t bother to do any research before the interview, and that he was just reading from a hastily-transcribed fact-sheet to keep the ball rolling throughout.
While it was nice that King actually let people TALK and not YELL over one another (as we’ve seen on just about every Fox News program covering the story) the bottom line is that for as insightful as this program was, I really just don’t think this interview is going to change too many skeptics opinions of things. Yes, the wrestlers each came across as level-headed and articulate… but in the hands of a better (or more well-researched) interviewer, the same crop of performers could have just as easily have appeared furtive and dishonest.
Again, the show was great — easily the most “balanced” coverage of the tragedy to date — but if ANYBODY, including CNN, really is serious about “cleaning up the industry” or looking out for wrestler’s healths and well-beings, then they won’t pay lip service to a tragedy like this by trotting out a high-profile interview and lobbing a bunch of softball questions their way only to turn right back around two weeks later and stab that same crop of guys in the back with a scathing documentary about how shady the biz really is.
In case you missed the interview, feel free to hop over here and peruse the transcript. It’s a tremendous read.
By the way…
After Monday night’s interview, there is zero doubt in my mind that:
1) John Cena is not only *THE* (long sounding “eee”) company man, and a model fit at that… he’s also an outstanding public ambassador. And if you think he’s been pushed huge in the past, just you wait.
2) Jericho is *totally* coming back to WWE sooner than later. And you can tell that he’s looking forward to it, to boot.
Finlay vs. Mero on Nancy Grace
WWE Star Takes on “The Wildman” on CNN News Program
Hellz yes.
WWE has been keeping a close watch and a tight lip on media appearances in light of the Benoit tragedy, but a guy like Dave “Fit” Finlay is the perfect choice to step in front of a camera if they need one. He’s a current star with an atypical body type (who can counter claims that ALL performers need to be roided up in order to get over), a guy with just about three decades of experience (who can talk about how things have changed since Mero last competed), a former road agent (with knowledge of the business from BOTH sides of the game), AND an all-out ass kicker with a reputation for putting folks in their place. Sadly, I’m submitting this news report prior to the show’s airing (8 and 10 p.m. on Friday evening) — but I’m sure by the time you read this that you’ll be able to find clips of the interview at CNN.com — or just by heading on over to YouTube and running a search for “Finlay Makes Mark Mero His Bitch.”
More Wrestlers Linked to Benoit’s Physician
WAGA Atlanta Reports Astin Also Treated Luger, Bagwell, Grunge and Holly
WAGA, the Fox affiliate in Atlanta, is reporting that in addition to treating “O.G” — Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) and “M.J.” — Mark Jindrak, as reported last week, Dr. Phil Astin also served as the personal physician for a number of additional wrestlers formerly employed by WWE or its now-defunct rival, WCW. On Wednesday, a number of wrestling websites covered WAGA’s update on this story, noting that in addition to the Benoit family and the already-suspect Mysterio and Jindrak, Astin’s office also contained medical records of the doctor’s dealings with Larry Pfolhl (Lex Luger), Marcus Bagwell, Mike Durham (Johnny Grunge), and Robert Howard (Bob Holly).
Ok. Now then — while WWE’s name is bound to be dragged through the mud for *any* wrestler’s mistakes… a quick look at each of the men in question makes it pretty clear that there’s a lot more at play here than a simple case of “WWE encouraging steroids.”
Lex Luger was an admitted drug-abuser for some time, so seeing him fingered in a steroid scandal is not news. The guy served time for a house full of drugs less than five years ago, and nearly died (by his own admission) due to all of the stuff he was putting into his body over the past three decades. Plus, the last time he wrestled a WWF/E match was in 1995, more than twelve years ago. Relevancy index: 2 out of 10.
While drugs no doubt contributed to Johnny Grunge’s death, the guy had a slew of other health problems (obesity, for one), and his entire tenure with WWE lasted for less than two months. Relevancy index: 3 out of 10 (simply because he was the guy who hooked Benoit up with Astin). Bagwell is another non-issue for WWE, since he was literally employed by company for just ONE WEEK of his entire career. Relevancy index: 1 out of 10.
As for Bob Holly? Let’s not be so quick to assume the worst here.
In 2000, the guy broke his arm to a Kurt Angle moonsault gone wrong. In 2002, Holly broke his neck (and spent 13 months on the shelf) after playing a little too stiff with Brock Lesnar. In 2005, Holly damned near lost his arm to a staph infection and spent another 8 months out of action. Late in 2006 (September), Holly gashed open his back to the tune of 24 stitches… andin April of just this year, Bobcore was sidelined once again — this time with a nerve entrapment.
Long story short?
PLENTY of serious and legit injuries for Bob Holly in the past seven years, and MANY justifiable reasons for doctors to prescribe the guy some serious meds. So yeah, he’s relevant to the case simply because he is still on a WWE roster — but he’s also got a slew of serious injuries that might help to legitimize any and all meds that Astin coulda’ slung his way. So until we find out more about the now-siezed Astin files, let’s give old Hardcore the benefit of the doubt.
Teddy Hart Signs WWE Developmental Contract
Third Generation Superstar to Join Family Members in Ohio Valley
Well that was only a matter of time, and we covered this one in pretty close detail way back on Saint Paddy’s Day, so no point in spinning our wheels saying the exact same stuff all over again. However, in a moment or two of personal Barry Horowitz-esque self-back-patting, I’d like to point out that I’m now officially three down, two to go on my picks for Wrestling Society X alums
Four months ago, I said:
Smart money, MeeThinks, is on guys like Teddy Hart (WWE), Matt Classic a.k.a. Colt Cabana (WWE), Aaron Aguilera (WWE or TNA), Jack Evans (TNA), Syxx-Pac (groan… pick a fed), and on a longshot, Matt Sydal (TNA? perhaps…) to be among the earliest “success stories” to emerge from the rubble of Wrestling Society X
Let’s see here…
Cabana? Check – WWE.
Hart? Check – WWE.
Waltman? Check – AAA.
That leaves us Aguilera and Sydal! Word round the ‘webz is that Sydal is currently something of a hot prospect between TNA and WWE (he had a WWE tryout just two weeks ago), and so we might just close up this countdown list sooner than later! Cummon, Aguilera — don’t fail Mee now!
Other Wrestling News
DDP and Jay-Z Settle on “Diamond-Cutter” Hand Gesture
Page and Jigga Make Peace Out of Court
In case you missed this one, the long and short of it is that Diamond Dallas Page sued rapper/mogul Jay-Z for allegedly stealing his trademark “diamond” hand symbol. Once the instantly-recognizable symbol of one of WCW’s hottest stars (yes folks, DDP really was one of WCW’s hottest stars for quite a while in there, believe it or not), the trademark “diamond” hand gesture was later — ahem — “borrowed — by Hova and the good folks over at Jay-Z’s label, Rock-a-Fella Records.
Anyhow —
Sure, it’s petty… but it’s still good to see this one settled out of court so that everybody walks away happy. Bottom line is that Page probably had a pretty solid case (and a fair bit of evidence) stacked in his favor with plenty of video proof of *his* version of the diamond hand gesture being used YEARS before Jay-Z adopted it (Page’s diamond sign was referenced by NFL players, NBA stars and even in mainstream media outlets covering his famed crossover bouts with Leno, Karl Malone, etc.), so Jay-Z’s legal staff probably thought it was best to settle this one out of court as quickly and as quietly as possible. In the end? DDP makes a few bucks off of the deal, and Jay-Z can still continue flashing the Rock-a-Fella diamond sign until his heart’s content.
It’s win/win.
The MeeThinks Pay Per View Tracker
The Summer PPV season continues with this weekend with Victory Road! Last time I nailed it with WWE Vengeance (subbing Nitro for Benoit in my vote against CM Punk to win it), and other than the Wang-Yang letdown to start things off, things looked pretty solid right down the card. Let’s see:
WWE New Year’s Revolution – N/A
TNA Final Resolution – 3/7
WWE Royal Rumble – 2/5
TNA Against All Odds – 2/9
WWE No Way Out – N/A
TNA Destination X – 4/9
WWE WrestleMania 23 – 4/8
TNA Lockdown – 7/9
WWE Backlash – 2/6
TNA Sacrifice – 5/9
WWE Judgment Day – 5/7
WWE One Night Stand – 7/8
TNA SlammiVersary – 3/8
WWE Vengeance – 8/9
Cumulative Total: 53/94
Percent Correct: 56.38%
We’re up a whole 4% from last time! TNA pay per views are notoriously tough to predict, so thank goodness for lots of tag bouts meaning less matches on the card this time around! Here’s MeeThinks for Victory Road:
Sonjay (mixes things up), The Murder City Machine Guns (shenanigans!), Eric Young & Gail Kim (dear God end this now), Abyss & Sting, Rhino (I’d expect this beef to continue, though), Christian (he’s still unpinned in singles bouts), Samoa Joe & Angle (Joe gets the pin).
YouThinks Reader Mail
Never a dull moment in the life of an internet wrestling columnist, eh? This week, we’re fielding tons of mail regarding the Benoit family tragedy and its fallout. We’ll start with the most basic of clarifications, as suggested by Rob:
Hum
Just can you Mee Think this anomaly (both quotes taken from your article)…
Quote 1 – “Is the WWE’s road schedule greuling? No question, but — if the 150 dates a year stat holds true — then WWE performers actually perform LESS dates per year than Major League Baseball players.”
Quote 2 – “When Benoit asked to spend more time with his family, WWE reduced his travel schedule from 250 dates per year to 118.”
So how can the WWE reduce the dates from 250 to 118 when its only 150 in the first place??
– Rob
Good catch, Rob — and I think the discrepancy arises from “WWE’s figures” versus “Meltzer’s figures.” WWE recently said that they cut Chris Benoit’s number of travel dates from 250 to 118. Meltzer, meanwhile, came out and said that ALL performers dates had been cut from 250+ down to 150 or thereabouts. As a result, WWE isn’t *lying*, per se, when they tell mainstream media types that they recently scaled back on Chris Benoit’s touring schedule… they’re just cleverly omitting the fact that they also just so happened to recently scale back on EVERYONE’S touring schedule.
Saying “we recently cut EVERYONE’s travel time in half,” certainly would make WWE look like good guys for sure. But saying “we recently cut CHRIS BENOIT’S travel time in half, AND we gave the guy five months off with paid leave” makes WWE look REALLY good, as the stats reflect that they made an “extra” effort in Benoit’s case. And indeed they did — his paid sabbatical was certainly a luxury not afforded to many other stars. But in trying to make themselves look even *more* attuned to Chris Benoit’s case in particular (and again, you really can’t blame them given the gravity of the situation), WWE has — understandably — chosen to focus on how HIS travel schedule was recently adjusted to give the guy(s) a break. Then when media types come at ’em for round two (“why not scale EVERYONE’s travel schedule back?”), WWE has some “well, now that you mention it” ammo left in the cannon to counter the criticisms after the Benoit dust has settled.
Next up — Beth (a GIRL! YAHOO!!!), who’s not completely sold on this whole “baseball=wrestling” analogy:
Comparing a 162 game Major League Baseball schedule to a 150 date WWE schedule is ludicrous. Have you ever played baseball? It’s not exactly a high-impact sport. The players whose position takes the highest toll on their bodies — starting pitchers — work once every five or six days. The next most strenuous position, catch, is usually a job split by two or three guys. All the other positions can’t even approach what it’s like to take bump after bump after bump. Keep in mind, it’s been estimated that a standard wrestler bump is akin to the body absorbing the impact they’d suffer in a 20-mile-per-hour car crash. Not exactly the same as standing in right field for a couple hours. I love baseball and I’m not putting it down, but it’s nowhere near as harsh on the body as wrestling, even if a standard game lasts more than three hours and a standard wrestling match is 10 minutes. After all, in baseball, the goal is not to beat up the other team.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, I find it rather disgusting how many other fans have tried to justify the industry. Schedules need to be lightened, drug use needs to be seriously cracked down on, and the workers deserve the same benefits any other American worker would expect — paid time off, insurance, pension plans. But it will never happen, because from top to bottom, chairman to fan, wrestling is an industry of enablers. And that is truly unfortunate.
– Beth
Thanks for writing, Beth. A few “Thinks” to yours…
Yes, I played baseball for quite some time, actually. Through high school. And I played catcher for much of that time, too — try catching in 90-degree heat in back-to-back games for a doubleheader. No easy task, to be sure. Regardless, I’m not comparing the *physicality* of baseball to the *physicality* of wrestling (even though your average nine-minute wrestling match is ten times shorter than your “less-physical, but a whole lot longer”baseball game).
What I’m comparing is the TRAVEL schedule of baseball players and professional wrestlers. Baseball plays 162 games a year over the course of six months. That averages out to just about 6-7 games a week, usually in two or three different states. So even if baseball players have the luxury of playing at home two nights in a row, they’re still hopping on board a plane *to* the next town just a day later, and then onto another plane *from* that town back home (or to the next venue) within the week. That’s at least four flights a week (on average) for Joe-Baseballer… not to mention the fact that most non-pitchers are expected to perform just about EVERY night in between flights, and for much longer stretches than wrestlers at that.
Long story short? EVERY professional athlete deals with travel, get-up-and-go, fatigue, injuries, and gradual wear-and-tear. While I agree with you 100% that the industry needs some sort of regulation (again, I wrote my college thesis on the problems in the business caused by the lack of a worker’s union), the bottom line is that wrestlers are hardly alone in their “woe is me! My job is too strenuous and demanding!” plight. Ask a cop, an inner-city teacher, a relief worker, a social service provider, a fireman, or any other employee in a number of other professions and they’ll tell you — unions are nice and all, but lot of folks deal with a hell of a lot more stress than your average wrestler WITHOUT the upside of fame, fans and fortune to show for it.
More on “the road” and the grind of wrestler schedules from Marc Barrington:
John
Just read your column. I thought it was excellent, just thought i’d share
some of my thoughts with you.“National Basketball Association teams play 82 games per year, plus
playoffs.”While this is true for probably 90% of the players in the NBA some do in fact play in National teams and spend most of the off-season training and playing in National tourneys such as the World Championships and the Olympic Qualifiers and the Olympics themselves. With that being said the travel conditions for a basketball player are VERY cushy. They get to stay in 5 star hotels, get bused to and from airport to hotel then to stadium and back again and also get chartered planes. Whereas a WWE wrestler are forced to do all there travelling by themselves, they don’t get to fly first class (At least most of them don’t, i’m sure HHH, Cena and other big stars could afford it) and have to do all there own driving from city to city.
“1) Each of the sports above usually compact their respective seasons into a four-to-six month timeframe. In other words, yes pro baseball plays only 162 games — but they do so over the course of just about 30 weeks (averaging just about 6-7 games each week). WWE performers, on the other hand, stretch out their performances over the course of 52 weeks, averaging a “three on, four off” or “four on, three off” schedule of work vs. travel.”
I think this can be mis-leading to some people. They get three or four days
off a week, but you have to factor travelling to and from their homes into
that. I remember, I think it was Lance Storm who said when he got three days off, he only actually spent one day at home. The first day was travelling from whereever the hell he was back to his house and the third day was flying back to whereever he was supposed to be for the next show.Keep up the good work, I enjoy reading your columns
– Marc Barrington
Thanks for writing, Marc. As for basketballers and their schedules, you’re right in pointing out that they tend to travel in a more “first class” manner than their wrestling counterparts. That said, however, they also spend a lot more time on the court during your average basketball game than your average grappler spends in the ring during your average wrestling match. No big bumps in b-ball for sure (well, not since Rodman retired, at least 😉 — but any wrestler will tell you that it’s not the big bumps that do you in, but rather the gradual wear-and-tear that you accumulate after years of smaller hits, falls and injuries over the course of a longer period of time. So yeah, basketball players travel in style, but they also put their bodies on the line (imagine the stress on knee joints ALONE!) for much longer stretches of time than your average wrestler endures.
Again, one’s fixed and the other’s real too… which further muddies the waters between a one-to-one comparison. Regardless, the point was that athletes from all sports are subject to the “play-then-travel” grind.
Speaking of schedules, Dan H. keeps Mee honest on all things NFL:
I liked your Mee Thinks Spectacular except for one thing: The National Football League plays a 16 game schedule over a 17 week time frame.
I wish there was less and less about Benoit online but it feels like that’s all we’re going to hear about for a while. I’m not sure how closely I’m going to follow the sport in the near future. Benoit was a guy, much like Bret Hart, that I admired and respected. Now that the truth about what happened is out there, I’m not sure if I have much of a reason to keep watching. Just seems like more and more wrestlers keep dying and it’s not fair on us fans to have people that we look up keep dying as soon as we become fans of theirs.
– Dan H.
Good call, Dan. There’s been a great deal of talk about an additional 17th game to be added in the near future (to be held at a “neutral,” international venue and take the place of one pre-season game), so perhaps that was the source of my confusion.
As for being disheartened with all of these wrestlers dying? I understand that sentiment completely. My dad and I collect the big rubber LJN WWF action figures from way back in the late-80’s Hulkamania heyday. But just one look at all of the figures we’ve got (we’re just 8 shy of the lot, by my count), and it seems that just about every second action figure is of a performer who’s moved onto “the great wrestling ring in the sky.”
Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam, Miss Elizabeth, Hercules Hernandez, The British Bulldog, JYD, Corporal Kirchner (WAIT NO! NOT DEAD!)… the list goes on. Regardless, the same can be said for a whole lot of other lines of work as well. Think of how many iconic rock stars died way before their time. Movie stars? Athletes? Stand-up comics? Authors? Again, it seems to be tough all over… and so maybe the trick of it is simply not to put too much faith in folks in the entertainment industry, as even though we might view them as larger-than-life “heroes,” they’re really nothing more than “entertainers” and regular flesh-and-blood human beings like you and Mee when all’s said and done.
From the other end of the spectrum, Don isn’t so much concerned about “the grind” as he is with the drugs:
You make a comment about comparing the travel of WWE wrestlers with those of major team sports. The problem is, what you end up doing
is, you compare their performance schedules. Derek Jeter does play
about 150 games a year (plus any playoff games), but he actually
travels, what, three times a week at the most?On top of that, major professional sports teams (and a number of top-level college football and basketball teams, I am led to believe) tend to fly in their own jets, or at least fly first class; how many wrestlers fly anything besides commercial coach – that is, when they fly and don’t
drive? (There’s the story of the “Horsemen Jet” – Flair claims that
whenever he wrestled out west, he based himself in Las Vegas, even if
it meant flying to and from a match in San Francisco that night – but
that seems to be the exception.)Still, what does being exhausted have to do with the Benoit case – especially if somebody suspects steroids, which aren’t exactly “uppers”?
– Don
To answer your question, Don – being exhausted doesn’t really have all that much to do with the Benoit case at all. The reason I brought up the travel schedules of other sports/performers is to demonstrate just how off-base and myopic the media’s coverage of this story has been. In short, media loudmouths have been saying “wrestlers travel too much and that’s why they use drugs in order to keep up with the travel!” In reality, however, wrestlers travel just as much (if not LESS) as your average pro baseball megastar (who does games + media appearances + red carpet events etc.), music industry mainstay (think Justin Timberlake), or Hollywood glitterati (Paris Hilton, for example, seems to be in a different town every night). Plus those who’ve “made it to the big leagues” in the wrestling biz knew well in advance that travel, injuries and crazy hours came with the territory… so it’s something of a cop-out for any of them to turn back around and blame “the business” for something that they *chose* to get into in the first place. Like I said two weeks ago, there’s a high price for fame.
Point blank: responsible adults need to take personal accountability for their actions and stop pointing fingers at “the business” or “the industry” or “the road” whenever they fall victim to their own shortcomings and “demons.” In all walks of life, there are stressors related to every job — and if it’s not travel or injuries, then it’s something else. And in all walks of life, people do whatever they *feel* they need to do in order to get by. In wrestling, it might be steroids and GHB. In law enforcement? Booze, booze, booze. Social welfare? Cigarettes and diet Pepsi. Modeling? Heroin, coke and angeldust. And in rock and roll? You name it.
Yes, with 150+ dates per year, wrestlers have it rough… but they’re hardly alone in their plight. And if somebody is the type to “self medicate” through *one* type of stressor, than odds are good that they’d be the type to “self medicate” through *another* set of stressors altogether — as PSYCHOLOGICAL addiction is far more crippling than physical one.
More on steroids (and something of an interesting “conspiracy theory”) from Erik Schwob:
John,
I have to be honest, I read 411 for the news not the columns, but I happend
upon your MeThinks Article and was very impressed with your well laid out
anylasis of the Beniot Story.The mainstream media coverage has been sloppy and condescending as usual
with wrestling in their coverage of Steroids in Wrestling and the Benoit
story. The wrestling web pages have been filled with people upset that the
media has attacked wrestling and keeps fucking up facts, history, and basic
timelines in pro wrestling. I think that you have to balance out the facts
with the hysteria as you did with your comparrison of the WWE’s Wellness
policy and the four major sports. It was very well done and did not praise
the WWE but gave them fair coverage through great research and anylasis.A side note-today that there was a report this morning by Jeremy Schapp on
ESPN about the Tour De France that was interesting. Due to the Greg Landis
scandal and of course all the Lance Armstrong allegations, many top riders
were kicked off the tour, and the Tour decided that the best way to
legitimize their sport was to kick out the worst offenders. What was sad was that the tour has lost massive fan interest, while Baseball has gained alot of popularity and is selling out stadiums to see Bonds hit 756. Instead of cleaning up the sport, Baseball just moved on to the next generation and ignored its current stars who were abusing roids.Remember in the 90’s when the WWE did away with their Steriod stars after the trial in favor of smaller wrestlers like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels? Business went down. All the roid freaks ended up in WCW and helping the company win the ratings with better known stars. WWE almost went out of business. I am sure thats what lingers in Vince’s mind when he pushes Lashley and Batista despite the microscope the media is putting the E in right now and the fact that his only competition is TNA.
Thanks for reading if you did
– Erik Schwob
You make a fascinating point, Erik (and one I hadn’t thought of in that light before, actually!) that yes, WCW most certainly *did* capitalize on the “bigger” physiques once WWE panicked and cut them loose in favor of smaller talent. The thing of it is, however, I think WCW didn’t benefit solely because of the SIZE of former WWF guys like Hogan etc., but rather because of the NAME value they brought with them. WCW imported a crop of ready-made, already-established WWF superstars, all of whom were then cycled through the existing WCW roster for a bunch of “dream feuds” that fans had been dying to see for quite some time (Hogan/Flair/Savage/Sting/Steiners/Outsiders/etc.). WWF(E), meanwhile, was left to pick up the pieces and populate *their* main event picture with “new” guys that were relatively untested on the grander stage… and while many of those guys were indeed better in the ring, they simply weren’t yet marketable enough commodities for fans to buy them as bona-fide “headliners.” So it wasn’t *just* “big size, no skill” (WCW) vs. “no size, big skill” (WWF), but rather it was also a case of “big-names” (WCW) vs. “no-names” (WWF)… which ultimately took a lot more effort to overcome than any one performer’s relative lack of muscle mass.
As for baseball/cycling: you couldn’t be more right. And since Vince (like everybody else) is first and foremost, a BUSINESSMAN — it’s not all that hard to see why he’d be reluctant to can the top half of his roster simply because the media-types are likely to link them to steroids. From Vince’s perspective, the mainstream media already thinks of wrestling as a joke… and so he’s under absolutely NO obligation to “clean up his act” in order to conform to their expectations of his industry. Let’s be honest here, if the media *weren’t* harping on wrestling for it’s steroid issue, they’d come right back and blame it for something else altogether. During the “Attitude Era,” wrestling came under fire for encouraging smut and peddling sex. Before and after that, the PTC was boycotting WWF programming because it “encouraged violence.” In the late 90’s, wrestling was blamed for the Lionel Tate murder case, as well as for “setting a bad example” for countless backyard wrestling feds gone terribly wrong. Simply put: people are either gonna’ LIKE wrestling or HATE it. And if they HATE it, they are ALWAYS gonna’ find a reason to try and convince other people to think the same way.
So as far as Vince is concerned? He owes the media and his critics jack shit (and you can’t blame him for that), and he owes his fans and his audience the best (and most profitable) show he can offer — can’t blame him for THAT, either. In turn, he pushes the performers that “fit the mold” the best (because in “fake” fights or real ones, most folks will ALWAYS bet on the bigger guy for the win), or the guys who he’s heard the fans cheer the loudest to see regardless of what push they’ve received (it’s easy to forget now, but four years ago Cena’s initial push was fueled almost ENTIRELY on fan reaction to the guy alone and *not* on Vince’s say-so). As such, he’s in a tough spot to can his biggest money-makers (and, indeed, the guys who make the most money for those around them as well — as was the case when Hogan was on cards with only half of the roster in the 80’s). Just as cycling lost a huge chunk of their fandom once its biggest names were yanked, Vince knows all too well that nixing established stars who might be on steroids (Batista, Lashley, Cena, etc.) could leave EVERYONE — including those who AREN’T on drugs — with a LOT of catching up to do as they scramble to fill the void left by the “big names” that would suddenly disappear from the main event.
And remember, “simply being in the main event does not make you a main-eventer.” Fans have to *buy* you as a main-eventer to begin with, or else they won’t bother to tune in to see you headline a show.
In the end? It’s a tough spot all around. I seriously doubt that Vince McMahon wants any more of his performers to overdose or die of an elarged heart, but at the same time — I seriously doubt that every single performer on his roster would be willing to “clean up the business” if reducing their schedules and likelihood of injury came at the cost of a MASSIVE cut in pay. Simply put, the company cuts touring dates in half — then employees are effectively getting paid the same amount as before for HALF the work. Doesn’t make sense, and so pay should be cut accordingly. But then performers are looking to make *more* money and so they agree to perform *more* dates (catch *more* planes, take *more* pills, etc.)… and just like that, we’re chasing ourselves right back down the spiral to where we began in the first place.
Since the schedule seems to be the biggest problem, Eddie Presley has some Thinks regarding the possibility of a roster rotation and a wrestling “off-season”:
John,
I read with interest your column on the WWE travel schedule. This has always been the one part of the equation I didn’t understand. As there are no other real “brands” of wrestling to turn to, that are on the scale of the WWE, there is now no real downtime for the wrestlers.
With the brand split I’ve always wondered why they didn’t address this issue of rehab and time off by running programs in cycles so that if you’re part of a top angle that is blown off at SummerSlam or Wrestlemania for say the last 9 months, you’d then be off TV for a specific length of time… the longer on … the longer off… during that time you are REQUIRED to heal and rehab and get as fit as possible mentally and physically for your return on another brand or with a heel / face change to spark a renewed interest in your character. You’d also eliminate the idea of one set of stars “always” being on top. While HHH and the current jobber in his program are off TV, then someone else gets the hot spot, then HHH comes back with actual “anticipation” by the fans, maybe on a new brand, maybe with a fresh attitude, while the last folks in the spotlight go on break. You would also not just sit at home, you’d do “ambassador” work for the WWE. This would kill most of the controversy surrounding “the dark underbelly” of wrestling.
Maybe there is just too much fear of losing one’s spot and also the anticipation that the WWE would pay you less at home (which would defeat the whole purpose), to make something like this work, but something really needs to be done and this looks like one of the easiest places to start.
Good column,
– Eddie Presley
Great letter, Eddie, and in a “perfect world” with all things being equal? Your idea for a rotating roster schedule of nine-on, three-off is indeed a pretty darned safe and smart idea. In the “real” (and sadly, all too practical) world however… things aren’t quite that easy to execute. Here’s a few snags with the “season” idea to begin with.
1) Freak injuries. With the staggered-roster schedule, you’d either be forced to shuffle in a guy who’s supposed to be “mandatory” rehabbing (thus blowing the credibility of “mandatory” off-time out of the water), or you’d be forced to compete one-man-down for the duration of that season’s time — which is a money-losing prospect from the word “go.”
2) Truncated time to establish new stars and credibility. If you think WWE has taken liberties with their “brand extension” (hopping talent to rival shows whenever the ratings get low), just imagine how much of a panic they’d go into if their current “on” roster failed to draw the same numbers as their recently-rotated “off” crew was able to deliver. Yes, there’s a certain learning curve with all of this where a roster near the end of its rotation is likely to be more familiar (and marketable) than a roster just at the beginning of its “on”-cycle… but try explaining that to USA Network, who’s just coming off of a string of 4.0+ Nielsens only to discover that the next six weeks’ of television can’t break the 3.0 mark.
3) Logistical nightmares. Do you stagger schedules by performer or by brand? If it’s by BRAND, how do you properly devote enough TV time to a whole roster’s worth of “new stars?” Sure, stars fresh back from sabbatical certainly come in with a great deal of hype and fanfare, but if they are to maintain that momentum for any real stretch of time then they demand TV time in order to make fans care about them again. Simultaneously bringing back upwards of 30 guys at a time — each with unique characters and angles all their own — would make writing television shows a nightmare.
4) Unpredictability. If you stagger schedules by PERFORMER, then how do you justify yanking one of your HOTTEST stars during the peak of his popularity (simply because his “nine months” is up)? Kinda’ hard to say “wow, Kennedy, you’re catching on HUGE!” only to turn around and say “well, your time is up — we’ll see you in three months.” Sure there’s something to be said for whetting folks’ appetites only to “leave ’em wanting more” — but you also run a serious risk of missing that one chance to strike while the iron is hot.
5) Predictability. Once fans wise up to the “nine on, three off” schedule, then chances are they’re gonna be able to telegraph a company’s booking plans from a mile away. In other words, while it’ll be nice that every nine months there’ll be a new crop of “cliffhangers” to keep our interest, writers can’t help but fall into patterns with these sorts of things, meaning that every few months it’ll be right back to the “same old, same old” cycle of rehashed injury angles and out-bound stars putting other guys over on his way to vacation. Nice in theory (“it gives the rub to other talent!”), but a pretty weak “rub” at best if fans know that the guy is only putting his opponent over because he’s at the end of his run and due for three months’ vacation.
6) Resentment. No matter HOW big WWE makes SummerSlam, on name value alone it will NEVER draw the same kind of audience as WrestleMania. Hogan/Michaels (both “past their prime,” perhaps, but INSANELY marketable names regardless) headlined SummerSlam 2005, but Cena/Michaels (nowhere NEAR the “dream feud” match of Hulk/HBK) drew bigger numbers two years later at WrestleMania 23. As a result, the performers who are automatically “off” for ‘Mania aren’t likely to earn the same kind of payday REGARDLESS of where they fall on the SummerSlam card no matter HOW stacked it is (SummerSlam 2005, for example, was PACKED with two solid title matches PLUS Rey/Eddie’s ladder match PLUS Taker vs. Orton PLUS the main event we just mentioned… but it still didn’t garner anywhere NEAR the “mainstream” media attention — or indeed the fan buyrate — of a WrestleMania ppv, simply on the event’s name value alone).
Again, in *theory* a wrestling off-season (with rotations) would be ideal. But in practice? As you can see, there are a TON of snafus just waiting to trip folks up should such a system ever be implemented… and if you think the “integrity” of the *brand split* is bad, well…
Work-related injuries are a big issue in the ‘rasslin biz that hasn’t got much ink in all of this media circus, as Jeff from Canada points out:
Hi there. I was thinking what with all the stuff going on with WWE , drugs in wrestling, etc. that no one has mentioned Joey Matthews and what he went through. Having his face shattered then comes back not to long after, fails a drug test and his released that’s after failing once before that got him removed from tv before. One could say that wwe’s fault for pushing their stars to perform at crazy levels, take insane bumps, and expect them back from injuries sooner than later. Maybe if he hadn’t been in that ladder match and injured his face he might still be in the WWE in the first place. Of course this is just my opinion and I may have some of the information wrong but I think it is a good point and a good example. Anyway keep up the great work.
– Jeff
NL, Canada
You are absolutely right, Jeff. Joey Mercury most definitely was “injured on the job,” and so there’s something to be said about him getting hooked on painkillers *after* sustaining a work-related injury only to be fired shortly thereafter. However – Mercury had been disciplined/suspended/checked into rehab/etc. a number of times PRIOR to the ladder match for his drug problems, and so perhaps it’s not totally fair to blame his entire drug dependency on that one particular incident. Plus, if what Kennedy is saying is true — WWE not only covers all work-related injuries, they also check “problem talents” into rehab at the company’s expense the first few times somebody runs afoul of a drug addiction. So perhaps they’re not entirely as heartless as one might believe.
But to the broader (and more important) point…
WWE wouldn’t churn out ladder matches if fans would pay good money to watch stars compete WITHOUT the help of such high-profile, high-risk gimmicks. Sure, some share of the blame on all of this falls on WWE’s shoulders for not pushing certain talents enough to get them over with the bulk of the fans (London and Kendrick come to mind), but there’s also a certain amount of responsibility that falls on the FANS (for cheering “we want tables” and the like, and for tuning in for the high-risk matches) as well as on the PERFORMERS THEMSELVES (for not being able to find a niche outside of such high-risk outlets).
CM Punk is over because he’s good at what he does. Solid in the ring, killer on the mic, and even though he’s reigned things in since joining WWE/ECW — he still manages to stay hella’ over because he’s cornered the all-important, intangible “it-factor” that eludes so many other performers. Whether it’s his look, his gimmick, his attitute, etc. — bottom line is that the guy is crazy over and that he doesn’t have to go about doing high-risk stunts every night in order to remain popular.
Same went for The Rock back in his time. Sure, he had the errant ladder match or blade-job during his run at the top — but by and large, Rocky was ALWAYS on top because he continued to distinguish himself behind the microphone, and the fans ate it right up.
Bottom line: some guys have “it” and so they don’t have to resort to cheap stunts in order to make themselves popular. Kennedy, Punk, Rock, Cena, Orton, AJ, Joe, Christian, and even Edge (in recent years) all come to mind. Others (like Tom Green or the Jackass guys, for example) can only draw ratings when they’re doing stupid or dangerous stuff in order to circumvent the “traditional” avenues to success. Sure, WWE pr
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