wrestling / Columns

The MeeThinks Saturday Spectacular 09.08.07

September 8, 2007 | Posted by John Meehan

Hey everybody, and welcome back to your regularly-scheduled week-end dose of IWC optimism! Fresh off a week’s vacation to the most magical place on earth (thanks for filling in, Cook!), I’m back in action and ready to see if we can’t put a positive twist on some of the most controversial stories in the wrestling world today! HUGE NEWS at the end of this column, and it looks like I missed a whopper when I went AWOL last Saturday — so let’s see what we’ve got…

On tap this week:

  • Wrestling Tips from… Walt Disney World?!?
  • MeeThinks SPOILERS for Vinny Mac’s Illegitimate Child!
  • Suspensions and Firings — the Fallout
  • Congressman Slams WWE’s Drug Policy
  • Benoit’s Brain = Vindication?
  • The MeeThinks Pay Per View Tracker
  • YouThinks: Psych Evaluations for Wellness?

    Rock & Roll

    General Wrestling News

    Ten Things I Learned About Pro Wrestling in Walt Disney World

    As many of y’all know, I was suspiciously M.I.A. for last week’s column thanks to a family vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (and yes, this is trip #3 in two years, for those of you keeping track at home ;). Anyhow, even though I mighta’ flaked on my 411 duties last week while I rubbed elbows with The Mouse, rest assured that the great pseudo-sport of kings that is professional wrestling was still very much on my brian in spite of my absence from los intrawebz.

    As such, I’d like to take a few seconds to share with y’all some of the most insightful rasslin’ related kernels of information I was able to gather over the past seven days whilst I gathered my thoughts in “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” I call it…

    Ten Things I Learned About Pro Wrestling in Walt Disney World

    1) Ric Flair is a liar. Space Mountain is neither the oldest ride in the park (it debuted four years after the park opened in 1971) nor does it boast the longest line (during summer months, that honor goes to Splash Mountain — by a mile). Thankfully, Splash Mountain doesn’t quit in the middle of August.

    2) The Kali River Rapids and wrestling matches featuring The Great Khali have a lot in common — both are choppy, sloppy, and *way* too short.

    3) Wrestling fans are stupid. I get it that you wanna’ show some love for your favorite performers and all, and that most wrestling-related t-shirts tend to be printed on black fabric. But donning black t-shirts in 105° August sun? That’s just plain dumb.

    4) Speaking of wrestling t-shirts — judging by all of the wrestling-related garb I saw folks wearing over a full week in Disney World, I could SWEAR that there are only FOUR professional wrestlers in the entire world. Namely, John Cena, Batista, and these two long-haired dudes collectively known as “dX.”

    5) If you think WWE is alone in “rewriting the history books” and erasing all memories of Chris Benoit, you may be comforted to learn that the E is most certainly not alone in distancing themselves from missteps of the past. Case in point: not a single item of “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” merchandise in all of Disney World — and poor old Milo Thatch never even killed his family.

    6) “Hidden Mickeys” are all the rage in the ‘World these days… but eagle-eyed wrestling fans will be happy to learn that there is at least one “hidden Good Old J.R.” stashed away on a second-story window on Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. No joke. Fifty e-points to whoever can find it!

    7) Attendance for the “Journey Into Imagination With Figment” ride at Epcot is a lot like the ratings for TNA iMPACT. No matter how fancy and exciting they can promise to be, both are lucky to draw more than 1 each week.

    8) Amusement park rides are like pro wrestlers. Work ’em every single day each year, and sooner or later even the best of the bunch is bound to wind up out of action and headed for rehab. Just ask The Haunted Mansion.

    9) Stitch (from “Lilo & Stitch”) is the John Cena of Walt Disney World. Every other “big name” the place has got is WELL beyond ten years from when they first arrived on the scene (Lion King, Aladdin, Cinderella, etc.), but the one, certifiable new star the company has managed to create in the past decade is ALL OVER THE PLACE.

    10) The “High School Musical” franchise is like Santino Marella. You don’t *wanna* be a fan… but inevitably, you can’t help but be entertained in spite of yourself.


    WWE News

    Vince’s Mystery Son Is…
    Pure Speculation, but Read On if You Wanna’ Know!

    Obviously the impending payoff to the McMahon paternity angle is going to be what dominates the bulk of our WWE programming for the days, weeks, and months to come. Since the proverbial “brown stuff” is scheduled to hit the blender on Monday night and all, I figured this’d be as good a time as any to take one last look at the storyline that has (quite literally) been an entire summer in the making.

    Don’t worry folks, I’ll warn you when the SPOILERS are coming (not yet!).

    The clues so far:

    1) We know it’s a SON and not a daughter (RAW – Aug. 13).

    2) We know it’s a [current] “WWE Superstar” (revealed as of Aug. 13). In theory, that means it is someone who was surrounding the ring during the RAW command performance a few weeks back. However, the word “current” wasn’t ever explicitly stated (and a bunch of the main-eventers weren’t present at ringside), and so even though Stephanie said that the kid was (probably) “standing at ringside”, they could easily explain away and/or import a new/old/not-present talent and blame it on an in-character oversight on Steph’s part.

    3) We know that it could be anyone born after Vince became sexually active at (kayfabe) “age 12”. Vince was born in 1945, so add 12 + the 9 months for a pregnancy, and the kid could (in theory) be any wrestler born after 1957/8. That means just about everybody but Ric Flair.

    4) We know that it’s NOT Mr. Kennedy (RAW – Sept. 3).

    5) The lawyer guy ended RAW this week by saying “Things are looking up” (Sept. 3). In case you’re wondering, that phrase is not an anagram for the full name (or nickname) of ANY performers, past or present, on a WWE roster (and yes, I actually checked). Now a lot of folks are thinking this would point to a “tall” guy (Khali), a tiny guy who’d always have to “look up” (Hornswaggle/Little “Bastard”), or to a “big” guy (Big Show)… but I’ve got another idea (see the SPOILER section in white text below).

    Additional clues:
    Still no spoilers yet!

    1) Smart money says that whoever it is, they’re likely to be featured on the “A-show” — and so RAW is probably going to be the home of the bastard son storyline for the bulk of the forseeable future. That means unless they’re swapping folks from other shows (which are already hurting for talent the way it is), it’s either a CURRENT red-brand star or an old star that’ll be making a full-time return to RAW (since it’s the flagship show).

    2) Reasonable doubt tells us that it’s NOT likely to be somebody on the recently-suspended list. And since the suspended list (10+ wrestlers) seems to roughly coincide with those named as clients of Signature Pharmacy, that means it’s probably NOT:

    Chavo Guerrero, Booker T, Umaga, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, Chris Masters, John Morrison, Funaki, Charlie Haas.

    3) Likewise, since the angle is a HUGE one (and Benoit’s death cost Vince the last huge angle) — this is likely to pay off at WrestleMania. As a result, it’s not likely to be somebody who WWE officials might reasonably think could fail a drug test in the near future. As Lance Storm pointed out, the ‘E simply can’t afford to piss away another big-money blowoff. Bottom line — the “bastard” needs to be reliable.

    4) Since the revelation is scheduled for next week, it’s also not likely to be someone who’s currently injured. That nixes:

    Edge (also fingered in the Signature scandal), Gregory Helms (ditto), Bobby Lashley, Shawn Michaels.

    5) People with famous fathers who have already been identified on WWE television seem to be a longshot as well. That eliminates:

    Kane (kayfabe DNA test proved he was Paul Bearer’s son)
    John Cena (his father has appeared on WWE television numerous times, and he’s over enough without a Vince tie-in)
    Randy Orton (his entire schtick was that he’s a third-gen superstar – and he too is hella-over w/o Vince)

    So Who’s the mystery kid?
    WARNING: Well-reasoned but ultimately no more than one man’s purely speculative SPOILERS ahead! Click and drag over the text below if you wanna’ know!

    Now that Kennedy is gone, I’ve gotta’ think that smart money is on Triple H.

    Son and not a daughter? Check.
    Current WWE Superstar (who didn’t actually have to be present around the ring Aug. 13)? Check.
    Born after 1957? Check.
    Not Kennedy? Check.
    RAW superstar? Check.
    Not suspended (or likely to be anytime soon)? Check and check.
    Not injured? Check.
    No famous father mentioned on WWE tv? Check.

    … and my personal favorite…

    “Things are looking up”? Totally check — the family was “looking up” at Triple H on the ‘Tron (which was located UP above the Lawyer’s head) just minutes earlier to the end-of-show announcement.

    And finally, it’s been a long-discussed topic that Vince really wanted to push for an incest angle for Steph’s baby back two years or so ago. When she nixed the possibility of HIM (Vince) being revealed as the father, he pushed for SHANE to be the sub (which Steph also nixed). If Triple H is revealed as Vince’s (kayfabe) bastard son, and if the real-life Steph/Hunter union is ever mentioned on TV — Vince gets his incest angle just the same.

    Sure, it might have been nice to use this “major” storyline to vault a NEW star into the main-event stratosphere. But with Wellness and injuries claiming just about every other mid-to-upper-carder there is… the ‘E simply can’t afford to lose another major performer for (what should be) a WrestleMania blowoff with no bastard in place to put on the card. And just like when Verne Gagne tried so desperately to keep the AWA title off of anybody who might suddenly walk out on his company without warning and leave them to pick up the pieces… Hunter’s family and so he fits the bill.

    Well that’s MeeThinks anyway — we’ll have to wait ’till Monday to find out for sure, though!


    Suspensions and Firings — the Rundown
    Part Speculation, Part Reporting… Who’s In and Who’s Out

    The Sun online (a U.K.-based paper) and Sports Illustrated were among the first major news outlets to have covered this issue, and so I’m linking to their version of the story if you’d like to read in full detail (the Associated Press also covered this story shortly thereafter). Anyhow, as I’m sure many of y’all know by now, WWE recently found its hand forced in the realm of drug-related suspensions, as a police raid of the records of the online drug retailer, Signature Pharmacy, revealed that just about a dozen WWE performers (past and present) had received some sort of “performance enhancing supplement” in the past two years. Among those named:

    Mr. Kennedy
    Chavo Guerrero
    Gregory Helms
    Randy Orton
    John Morrison
    Shoichi Funaki
    Charlie Haas
    Umaga
    William Regal
    Edge

    Additional and subsequent reports also named Dave Batista, Chris Masters, Booker T, Ric Flair, and Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore, addition to former (and/or deceased) WWE stars like Kurt Angle, The Big Show, Sylvain Grenier, Brian “Crush” Adams, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Benoit.

    So what all became of this, you ask?

    Benoit, Eddie and Crush were already deceased — so obviously no actions could be taken in their cases (and Crush wasn’t even a WWE employee during the period in which he was allegedly receiving said drugs).

    Kurt Angle, The Big Show and Sylvain Grenier are each no longer under WWE contracts, and so there is little in the way of punitive action that the ‘E can levy their way.

    Ric Flair reportedly “walked out” on WWE last Friday just before all of this stuff reached a boiling point, so he too seems to be off the hook — for now at least.

    Edge and Gregory Helms had both already copped to steroid use in the past (some six months ago when an early version of this report was leaked just prior to WM23), and both men are currently rehabbing injuries. Needless to say, they too kinda snuck below the radar.

    Nick Dinsmore was among the first casualties some two years ago of the post-Guerrero beta version of what has now become the Wellness initiative, and so this repeat violation was enough to earn him a pink slip.

    Chris Masters was also a repeat offender (as one may have been able to guess by looking at his yo-yo’ing physique over the past nine months), and so he too is reported to have earned a sixty-day suspension as a result of this latest infraction.

    Randy Orton remained on WWE television, and is rumored to have been allowed to keep his spot on the active roster for having already served his suspension some months ago (we’re assuming that would be *prior* to his little run-in with the hotel room in Europe).

    Batista has adamantly denied *EVER* having purchased supplements from any online retailers, and is reported to have been very vocal in airing his frustration and disbelief in the wake of this latest development.

    As for the rest of the “suspect” performers?

    Umaga lost the IC title and worked an injury angle at the RAW tapings.
    Regal worked an injury angle and was replaced as GM at the RAW tapings.
    Booker T was neither mentioned or featured on WWE television this week.
    Funaki was neither mentioned or featured on WWE television this week.
    John Morrison lost the ECW title at the ECW tapings.
    Chavo Guerrero lost an “I Quit” match to Rey Mysterio and left WWE television at the Smackdown tapings.
    Charlie Haas suffered a pinfall loss at the RAW tapings.
    Mr. Kennedy was revealed to NOT be the son of Mr. McMahon (which was long rumored to have been the scheduled payoff to the storyline).

    Needless to say, it’s been one crazy week in the world of professional wrestling!

    While many folks have taken this opportunity to criticize both World Wrestling Entertainment and their current drug testing policy (more on that in the next news item), there are a few additional points to consider when handling this issue that a lot of people are missing in all of this. Namely:

    1) A lot of the “supplements” listed in these latest findings are, in fact, *NOT* illegal. Somatotropin and Anastrozole, for example (while frequently used by athletes to offset the common side-effects of steroid abuse) do actually have clear-cut medical uses for non-steroid users as well. Now sure, *anybody* can make an educated guess as to WHAT athletes are buying these things for (hint: it ain’t breast cancer!) — but so long as these things remain legal to sell (with or without prescriptions), it’s a tough sell to automatically fail somebody’s drug test simply because they’re using a perfectly legal supplement.

    2) Somatotropin and Anastrozole are, for all intents and purposes, modern-day equivalents of the “human growth hormone” family. As a result, they are often undetectable in a number of traditional drug tests (we’re not just talking wrestling here, either).

    3) Nandrolone/”Deca'” is an out-and-out anabolic steroid, no questions asked. But again, checking performers for this stuff can be a bitch, as a wide variety of tests have revealed “false positives” that were (believe it or not) simply attributable to a crazy high-protein diets and the ingestion of a number of perfectly legal supplements (e.g. – creatine).

    4) Both HGH supplements and anabolic steroids are wickedly short-acting, which makes testing for them a real bitch. On July 9, John Cena told Larry King that he’d been tested “six times since February 2006.” That works out to just shy of one test every two and a half months. Now I’m no drug abuser here, but if I *was*? Knowing the frequency of tests only comes once every other month or so, I may well feel tempted to juice up immediately after my last drug test. After all – you’ve got the better part of two months to cycle down before the next go ’round of tests.

    All in all?

    I’m not trying to defend the doping going on in WWE and professional sports at large — far from it, in fact. What I *am* trying to do here is to shed some much-needed light on a number of the more nuanced and difficult aspects of this issue that have been repeatedly glossed over in the bulk of the coverage we’ve seen so far. Yes, WWE (and TNA, and ROH, and the NFL, etc.) are responsible for the actions of their performers — but a LOT of the onus here also falls on the shoulders of the PERFORMERS themselves. Should employers have drug policies in place and continue to look out for the health and well-being of their workplace? Most definitely. And should said employers continue to make revisions and additions to their drug-testing policies as new, synthetic and designer supplements take the place of the more easily-detectable ones of yesteryear? Without question.

    But then again —

    How many of us have ever walked into a bar under age or used a fake I.D., perhaps? Sure, the bar’s ass is on the line (to an extent) if you get busted… but the same amount of responsibility falls on YOU, the individual, for having tried to “work the system” in the first place. Just like a college sophomore knows which area bar is more lenient when carding at the door, professional athletes from ALL sports know full well that drug testing is expensive, error-prone, and time-consuming. As a result, MANY athletes from ALL sports choose to take shortcuts in order to abuse, exploit, and/or circumvent WHICHEVER system might be in place. And no matter *what* the drug-testers and organizing bodies do to continue and refine their testing guidelines, it’s an all-too-sad reality that drug *users* will always be one step ahead of drug *testers.*

    Bottom line?

    WWE should be held accountable for their part in all of this, just like every other employer, team and league in the world. They need to continue working towards implementing a better drug policy each and every day — but that said, PERFORMERS need to assume a similar degree of responsibility when hoping to eliminate drugs from their industry… and until EVERYBODY agrees to cut the crap? NO policy will ever be perfect, and it is both foolish and terribly short-sighted to think that a Congressional inquiry is magically going to clean up the entire world of professional wrestling as we know it.


    Congressman Says WWE’s Wellness Policy “Isn’t Worth a Flip”
    Rep. Stearns Lambastes Company’s Drug Testing Initiative

    Many folks, such as Congressman Cliff Stearns (R, Fl.) have understandably pointed out that this recent influx of “performance enhancing drug”-related news is yet another clear example that the current WWE Wellness initiative (and I quote) “isn’t worth a flip.” And he might indeed be onto something there… though WWE’s paper-thin-policy is still MILES ahead of anything I’ve seen from any other wrestling company.

    All that said —

    Many people are operating under the false impression that the pending Congressional investigation of the wrestling industry could easily shape up to be “the biggest story of the year.”

    And those people would be wrong.

    The Benoit murders are *clearly* the biggest story of the year, if not in all recent history in the world of professional wrestling. Fact is, steroids and drugs have always had a part in just about EVERY major sport/entertainment company/etc. for generations — but double murder/suicides, have not.

    For the time being, then, I’m extremely hesitant to call the latest round of steroid/suspensions/etc. any more noteworthy than the last go-round (back in the early ’90’s when Vince McMahon was *actually facing time in a federal prison if the hearings didn’t go his way*). This time around, there’s plenty of damning evidence an awful lot of posturing to go around — but the bottom line is that Vince simply isn’t taking this Congressional inquiry NEARLY as seriously as he did the last one, and though the E is (understandably) scrambling short-term to put on the necessary window dressing (suspending folks for LEGAL online drug transactions, etc.)… let’s see where the dust settles before we go labeling this latest kangaroo court as “the end of WWE as we know it” or “a turning point in the history professional wrestling history.”

    Many writers on this very site thought that Eddie Guerrero’s death was the “enough is enough” point and that Wellness was going to help clean up the company. Now, just a little over a year later, and we all see how stringent (laughable?) those hopes have become. Same goes for the latest hullabaloo. Until Congress actually compels Vince etc. to test more rigorously for doping (which again, is a noble, but ultimately paper-thin goal on their part), this latest “scandal” really amounts to more of an immediate headache than it does a longstanding obstacle.

    Face it, Congress didn’t clean up pro baseball or pro football — not by a longshot. They failed to “clean up” McMahon & Co.’s act a decade ago… AND VINCE WAS FACING JAIL TIME! Bottom line? Until I see some substantial (and LONG TERM) commitment to “cleaning up the biz” this go round (you’ll note that both CNN and HBO have both already scrapped their respective “exposé” documentaries now that the initial hubbub over the Benoit murders has been replaced by “OMG! Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt!” and the like), I’m inclined to side with Vince on this one… yeah, it’s gonna’ hit him in the wallet for a few months (and perhaps even longer) — but in the end, odds are better than not that we’re ultimately dealing with nothing more than clown shoes and window dressing.


    Doctor Describes Benoit’s Brain Injuries
    Findings suggest former champ suffered from severe post-concussion disorder

    A small token of reassurance for WWE came this week when the Sports Institute reported that Chris Benoit’s final actions may have been more the result of serious brain injury than of any amount of drugs (prescription or non) that he may have been injesting at the time of his death. Of course, that very same brain injury(ies) were likely attributable to his continued performances in a WWE ring… so perhaps this news was something of a mixed blessing.

    All that said —

    A number of fans have taken this news as a sort of “vindication” for Chris Benoit, and many of these same fans have voiced that, in light of these findings, WWE should reconsider their position on “erasing” the guy from their history. See the thought is that yes, his actions were heinous — but he wasn’t in his right mind, and so it’s ultimately not his fault. Which is a nice theory, but ultimately a misguided one.

    Hate to say it, folks, but —

    This “vindicates” nothing, and WWE is smart to continue in the same path they’ve already established.

    The sad reality of it all is that Chris Benoit still did what he did, and “diminished capacity” or not — he alone is still 100% responsible for the deaths of his family members, and WWE (as his employer) knows it. Whether or not Benoit is CULPABLE (meaning “blameworthy”) is another case entirely (and indeed that point may well be up for debate), but the bottom line is that Chris Benoit and Chris Benoit alone is still *RESPONSIBLE* for the deaths of his family members (even if he wasn’t “in his right mind” when he did what he did), and so you can understand why his former employer would continue to do their best so as to *not* advertise his name in association with their company.


    The MeeThinks Pay Per View Tracker

    We kick of September with a full weekend of testosterone-friendly television. This Sunday, it’s TNA No Surrender AND the first weekend of the NFL season! (Go Pats go!).

    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
    TNA Victory Road – 5/7
    WWE Great American Bash – 7/8
    TNA Hard Justice – 4/9
    WWE Summerslam – 4/7

    Cumulative Total: 73/125
    Percent Correct: 58.40%

    With the crazy week that was in WWE, I’ll *gladly* take a 4/7 showing. Now then, for the TNA ppv this weekend?

    Roode over Kaz, Rhino beats James Storm (though I’ve picked him — and been wrong — TWICE already), Harris beats Dustin, Joe beats Christian, Team 3D, Lethal (since I expect Kurt to retain over Abyss), Team Pacman (which is mind-numbingly stupid), and Angle retains the TNA title.


    YouThinks Reader Mail

    Jay2KWinger was nice enough to shoot Mee an e-mail just so that this section of the column didn’t have to remain empty for another week 🙂

    Hey, Meehan, long time, no write, I know, but this thought recently occurred to me, what with the recent news concerning the Benoit Tragedy — namely, the amount and type of brain damage that Benoit had at the time of his death.

    Given the depression that Benoit had been feeling in his final months (according to Michael Benoit, at least), I feel that an important addition to the WWE Wellness Policy should be mandatory psychiatric evaluations. Grief counseling in the wake of a death, like Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit, is one thing, but if a wrestler is suffering from depression or some other mental stress or trauma, steps need to be taken to find it and treat it before another tragedy like this occurs. Not just for the wrestlers’ sakes, but for their families as well.

    These are men who spend 300+ days on the road, away from their families and loved ones. They put themselves through physical pain and long travel schedules for complete strangers, and in the last year or so, they’ve seen their business come under considerable fire and scrutiny from the press and government, seen their coworkers get suspended or fired or quit, and the locker room morale has got to be at an all-time low. All these factors could lead anyone to get depressed.

    Obviously, the psychiatric meetings would fall under “doctor-patient confidentiality,” and only in the event that the psychiatrist honestly believes the wrestler is a threat to him/herself or to others would a warning be given to Management. WWE Management needs to take these steps because these are men who likely won’t seek help on their own. Benoit certainly wasn’t one, by all accounts. Let’s face it: guys are guys, and guys aren’t the sort of person to sit down with one another and give valid personal advice about stress or marital problems. (And some of these guys aren’t qualified to give advice on marital issues, as well.)

    I’m not suggesting these psychiatric meetings take place every week. But every three months or so, they should have to take a psychiatric evaluation, or they get “benched,” as it were. They don’t compete in the ring, and they get sent home until they meet with a licensed psychiatrist.

    Obviously, my suggestion may need some work or refinement, but in the interest of preventing more wrestler deaths, the WWE Wellness Policy needs to not only prevent the drug-related problems that can lead to a death like Eddie Guerrero, but the mental issues that can cause someone like Chris Benoit to commit the acts he did.

    That’s all from me for now. Nothing else to say on the Benoit Tragedy that hasn’t already been said, and said more eloquently (or bluntly) by others.

    -=Jay 2K Winger=-

    Other than the fact that WWE performers work closer to 150 dates than the 300 you’d stated, I completely agree with everything else that you’ve written right here Jay. Like I said earlier in this column, Wellness alone — no matter how stringent the drug-testing policy may well one day be — is simply not enough to solve all the problems related to a high-stress (and physically-demanding) job such as that of a professional wrestler. In WWE’s defense, of course, they’ve reportedly been very good about bringing in grief counselors whenever there’s some major death/development that threatens to upset backstage morale. However, many non-wrestling companies also do this sort of thing as well — and a sizable majority of big corporations these days tend to have full-time psych teams on the payroll in order to provide employees with year-round support, should they require it.

    It’s a well-known fact that police officers and medical personnel are often *required* to meet with psychiatrists as a regular part of their job following all major traumatic developments, and it’d be a tremendous benefit (some might even say a “standard-setting” measure) for a non-emergency, ENTERTAINMENT company to institute a similar year-round support network for their employees in lieu of allowing them to form some sort of a performers’ union. With suicide attempts and drug busts going down on a near-weekly basis these days out in Tinseltown, MeeThinks the fat cats in Hollywood and the music industry could learn a lesson from this sort of thing, ya’ know? Besides, all WWE would have to do would be to destroy one less limo or two in a year’s time (or sell a few hundred extra John Cena bobbleheads) and they could EASILY cover what it would cost to keep a licensed psychiatrist on their payroll as a full-time employee.


    And With That, I’m Outta’ Here…

    That’s it for Mee this week, folks. Thanks again to all who’ve taken the time to read Mee now that I’m back in action on my normal Saturday timeslot, but with the new hires and vacancies throwing things into a bit of a flux around these parts… I’M MOVING TO FRIDAYS from here on out. So much for the alliteratively-awesome “Saturday Spectacular,” eh? Ah well — here’s to the Friday Free-for-All (or whatever else I can come up with in the next six days).

    Thanks again for reading, I’ll see you on FRIDAY next week, and always stay positive!

    – Meehan

    The National Domestic Violence Hotline : 1-800-799-SAFE.

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