This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of one of wrestling’s biggest tragedies. Today, we’ll be looking at the WWE Wellness Policy 10 years on.
Between June 22 and June 24 2007, Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and his son Daniel before committing suicide. Benoit will be remembered for that instead of the outstanding wrestler he was.
When you look back at it, everything about that weekend seemed strange. Even before the news broke about what he did.
During that weekend, Benoit was supposed to wrestle for the ECW Championship at the Vengeance PPV. It’s extremely rare for a wrestler not to appear when advertised, especially in such a high-profile match. I remember thinking it was weird at the time but like everyone else, I assumed there was nothing to it. That it was innocent. Initially, the WWE did the same.
A couple of days later, the whole world discovered what had happened over the course of that weekend and were in shock. News outlets were quick to damn the WWE and their performers with the steroid brush. An easy way out. The only person who knows what happened is the man himself. And he’s not here. Nobody else can know for sure. Not 100%.
The fact is there are several contributing factors to what happened and they all played a part in this tragedy. There’s not just one reason for it. The purpose of this read isn’t to go off on what he did, or speculate why he did it. Those of you who’ve stuck with me and my infrequent work over the years know how I feel about it. I struggle even to type the man’s name because it disgusts me so much.
Instead, today, I’ve decided to buck with my usual trend and compliment WWE for what they’ve done since it happened with their Wellness Policy and how they are looking after their workers now. You can read the complete WWE Wellness Policy on their corporate site, or follow this link:
http://corporate.wwe.com/who-we-are/talent
I won’t just copy and paste the whole policy, but currently it includes the following:
- Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Staffing
- Cardiovascular Testing and Monitoring
- ImPACT™ Testing
- Substance Abuse and Drug Testing
- Annual Physicals
- Health Care Referrals
Since it’s what was referred to by all news outlets when news of the tragedy broke, let’s deal with the drug testing first.
Introduction of the Wellness Policy
Following the tragic death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005, WWE decided to implement a Wellness Policy in 2006 to cover various substance abuse issues and other things to ensure that their talent was looked after. So it wasn’t a kneejerk reaction to the murders of June 2007.
If you’re not aware of the ins and outs of the policy, those helpful people at PWPix.net have put together a brief explation, including the history behind it and the number of violations there have been since the policy was introduced (correct as of 10 October 2016), and you can find that here.
Violations
Roman Reigns
When you look at the list, one thing stands out. Regardless of who you are, you’re subject to the testing. Just look at some of the people on that list – Randy Orton, Edge, Roman Reigns, Rey Mysterio, William Regal, Alberto del Rio, Paige, Booker T, Dolph Ziggler and so many more have ALL been suspended for violating the policy in the last 10 years.
WWE have invested huge amounts of time and money in all of those names, many of them are all former World Champions, and even in the case of Regal, being a part of the office doesn’t guarantee you’re safe from testing. Billy Gunn even failed a Wellness test and is no longer working for the company.
Despite all of his flaws, and there are A LOT of them, Vince McMahon deserves a tremendous amount of credit for overseeing and implementing the policy.
Although WWE claims their superstars are independent contractors, can you just imagine what it feels like for them when one of their high-profile superstars dies when under contract? It must be heartbreaking. Not just from a business standpoint because they know there will be a tremendous amount of sh*t thrown at them, regardless of what they try to do to prevent it, but from a personal standpoint too. We’re lucky it doesn’t happen often.
As much as we all bitch and moan that we don’t get hardcore matches, unprotected chairshots and WWE no longer allow wrestlers to compete if there are issues with injuries, especially when it comes to concussions, WWE realise that they have a huge responsibility to the wrestlers as people first. It’s just a shame that it took a wrestler under contract dying before they did it.
Overall Impact and Press Reaction
Now, when it comes to the overall impact on the company, WWE took a hell of a hit and a lot of sh*t when this happened. A lot of it unfairly. It’s not like Vince or anyone is asking these guys to take illegal supplements. The wrestlers themselves have to take responsibility for their own actions.
In the main, this generation of wrestlers now only have the WWE to base their experiences on. There are very few wrestlers in the game today, employed by WWE, who are part of the 90’s generation. Very few. And those who are have generally looked after themselves.
Vince’s Decisions
Vince McMahon can’t be held responsible for the actions of wrestlers who aren’t contracted to him, taking risks with their health and making decisions to abuse substances or wrestle when they shouldn’t be. He can’t even be held responsible for those who are under contract and make those choices. It’s not down to him. Everyone involved is an adult, capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the protection of the wrestlers in WWE is now one of the most vital parts of their direction. As much as we don’t like it, that’s why guys like Christian and Daniel Bryan can’t work anymore. At least not in the eyes of the WWE. It frustrates the life out of me that we can’t see Daniel Bryan wrestling AJ Styles/Kevin Owens/Shinsuke Nakamura.
But..the tragedy of the weekend of 22-24 June 2007 means that WWE are not going to take the chance of letting someone wrestle who can’t pass the impact testing.
The studies on Benoit’s brain showed a severe amount of damage, which can be linked to all kinds of things – whether that be chairshots, headbutts, undiagnosed (as well as diagnosed) concussions. They are well within their rights to stop someone performing given what happened 10 years ago. Not just because it’s Daniel Bryan or whoever your favourite wrestler is.
It’s because nobody could see what happened 10 years ago happening at the hands of Benoit. Nobody. So you don’t know who’s susceptible to carrying out acts like that.
Taking Chances with Product
Since that fateful weekend, it’s clear to all of us that WWE have made a concerted effort to move away from being perceived as a violent sport, because of the press attention that they got as a result of what happened.
Yes, it’s more family friendly, the guys are more restricted, it’s less violent, it’s PG. And for good reason. All of you who crave a return to the “good old days of the Attitude Era” or ache to see violent matches – you can find those. Just go and look for them. But you won’t find them in WWE.
Please don’t think that I’m excusing how poor WWE has been creatively in the last decade. I’m not. Regardless of whether the product is PG or Rated R, that’s no excuse for poor character development and stories or stale, boring promos.
If you want an example of that, just watch NXT. Is that a Rated R product, or even TV-14? Not especially. What it is, is a wrestling show with properly developed characters and storylines that feel real and competitive.
You can tell good stories regardless of the rating of the product. You have to put the right people in the right places, and just let them go. Be patient with them. Don’t force anything. But..if you’re expecting the Attitude Era, or even anything close to it, you’re not even barking up the wrong tree – you’re in the wrong forest entirely.
The Present and Future
WWE have made a concerted, deliberate effort to become a more family-friendly product because of what happened, and that’s fine. It’s their call. Not ours. However, just as important as that – if not more so – is the way they’re taking steps to prevent something like what happened 10 years ago from happening again.
The Wellness Policy isn’t perfect. Far from it. They’d be the first to admit that. But what it has been over the last 10 years is a step in the right direction. They should do whatever they have to do to protect their workers to make sure we don’t have another one of these tragedies to look back on in 10 years time.
Nobody needs that. Not just the fans, the company, or the boys – but the wrestlers and their families.
SLTD Wrestling's resident Scottish Nightmare. Some of my content may not be suitable for younger readers or those who are easily offended!
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