Benoit autopsy results are in

So, TNA does no drug testing and is even more violent than WWE.

Kill it too.


There, happy Big Game, I want to destroy a whole rotten industry populated by scum.

 

Big Game, how can you defend WWE? They are the wrestling industry's reigning kingfish. Was Benoit responsible for the deaths of his wife and son? Yes, and no sane person will argue otherwise. But to say WWE is not culpable is looking at the situation with WWE-colored glasses.

 

To quote a simpleton: "Whatever you say, Spnited."

 

Why should anyone want to see the industry--as currently constituted--thriving? There are yearly tragedies, men and women dying before 50.

 

Spnited ... as soon as you go back and find the post where I defend WWE, then I'll answer your question. I've been saying that changes need to be made.
Maybe you're confused cuz I said I don't believe WWE is culpable for the Benoit murders. Unfortunately, in our society, spouses ocasionally. kill each other (and sometimes their children). It's horrific. Unfortunately, WWE employed a sociopath. But there's sociopaths employed all over the world. Should each of those businesses be closed down because one of their employees was a mentally unstable, homicidal maniac? I don't think so. Maybe if several wrestlers in the last 20 years had committed murder, I'd agree with you.
But that is the only point I'll defend WWE on. The organization has a steroid problem and it has a prescription drug problem. They need to be rectified. Aboloshing the business is not a viable option. Pro wrestling isn't going anywhere.
My solution, at least temporarily, is WWE be governed by federal regulators and the state athletic commissions to ensure the safety of the pro wrestlers. I've heard people who are against this solution, saying that pro wrestling isn't a sport. They're right, it's not. But, what's the downside to regulation? Who would it hurt, compared to how many lives it could potentially save?

 

All the more reason to come up with a solution, no?

 

I have no probelm with regulation.
But it would effectively kill the sport because without drugs, over-the-top violence, stupid stunts that get people killed and obscene stroylines, wrestling's popularity would wane.
You might still want to want to see a decent, clean exhibition of athletic and acrobatic talent but the blood-thirsty idiots who are in the audiences for these things will just stop showing up and stop buying pay-per-views.

And I did not say you defended WWE, hockeybeat did.

 

You're right, I apologize for thinking you said that. Hockeybeat snuck in there.

Yeah, regulation could very well destroy the business but I think there's a possibility it could work.
I think if the State Athletic Commissions helped eliminate the drug/steroid problem, that'd be a huge first step. Because, Vince McMahon wouldn't be able to push the 'roided up freaks to the top of his organization and would actually have to reward talented wrestlers with personality like "The Rock," "Mankind," "HBK" Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin did when wrestling hit its peak in the late 90s.
If WWE (and the other groups) concentrated on better storytelling, the fans (who've become desensitized to actual mat wrestling) wouldn't need the high-risk moves to be entertained.

But, all this requires logic and I think we can all agree, sometimes logic doesn't rule in our world.

 

I think you can argue that the WWE's over-the-top violence, insane schedule and institutional pressures forced upon its talents force wrestlers to engage in steroid abuse.

I don't think Chris Benoit is a monster. He is not a serial killer. He committed a heinous act, that, the WWE is somewhat culpable for. Wrestlers know that if they're injured and are out too long, they lose their jobs and their push. So they all come back too soon, and full of steroids.

Chris Benoit was 38 years old, and he looked liked he was chisled from granite. Look at his work schedule. He work four nights a week, traveling across country, yet there was not an ounce of fat on his body. I don't care how dedicated he was, it wasn't natural.

He spent fifteen years jumping off the top rope, driving his head onto 200 pound men. That had to do some damage to his brain, as did landing on the back of his skull after throwing German suplexes.

But it doesn't matter.

To Vince McMahon, wrestlers are meat. One goes down, there's another one to replace him. And the fans--of which, I used to be--keep watching merrily. Until the next death.

 

If regulation kills the current business but saves lives, it will have done its job.

 

I enjoy watching wrestling. To, spnited, I'm a blood-thirsty cretin. To me, he's a stupid old fucker who argues with everybody. Such is life.

But, just like I also enjoy NFL, MLB, Hollywood actors and rock stars, I really don't give two shits what happens to the athletes/performers of the WWE. Every single person in any entertainment industry makes a personal choice to do whatever is needed to get to the top, make the big dollars and stay there as long as possible.

Benoit entertained me. Now he's dead, and there are hundreds of guys who can take his place. If Vick goes to jail or is killed by some animal rights activist, same situation. If Bono overdoses, lots of other bands have replaced a dead member. Etc. and so on. None of it will make an entire industry go away.

Something to realize is that most of us just want the entertainment and don't care about the rest. Does that make us cold? Sure, but I can live with that. It's not my problem to deal with.

 

What tabloid journalism?