Chris Benoit and family found dead

Coincidence? I don't buy it:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/stories/2007/06/29/0629wikipedia.html

Apparently the Wikipedia poster says it was a 1 in 10,000 chance he guessed right on Benoit's wife's death.

 

So are you saying everything is peachy-keen in pro wrestling? Sure Mushnick is a blowhard, but something needs to be done. I don't know what, other than what would be the best and least-likely-to-happen solution: people refusing to watch or attend wrestling

 

There IS a difference between WWE and wrestling as a whole, ya know...

 

But, to use a comparison, we should care about how Shell runs its business. How Joe's Gas Shack runs its business? Not so much.

 

No, they don't know, and that's a huge problem with the media coverage this tragedy has received. There is so much misinformation out there that I'm embarassed to call some of these people covering the story my peers. Actually, the print media has been OK (there could be some improvement, but for the most part, it has tried to be as accurate as possible and ask pertinent follow-up questions). But the TV media has been an utter embarassment. They latch on to steroids and seemingly refuse to accept that steroids may just be a small part of what caused all this. There is a deeper story waiting to be told, but the television media seems unwilling to flesh it out.

I'm a wrestling fan and I would love to see some government regulation, not only when it comes to the steroid issues, but also the amount of blunt-force trauma these guys take to their heads. Chair shots have become more and more vicious in recent years, not to mention that wrestlers have become more athletic and use their bodies in a reckless manner while trying to impress an audience that has become desensitized to the brutal action they're seeing.
If anyone out there is interested, I highly recommend the movie "Beyond the Mat," particularly the segment on Mick Foley. You'll see the damage done by the chair shots the Rock gave him as well as the reactions of his wife and children as they watched. Here's a couple of YouTube videos from the movie that show that brain damage should be looked into:

Note: These probably aren't safe for work, but there's no nudity, just violence

(the end of the match, with the cameras catching Mick Foley's family's reaction to him getting beaten with a chair)

(Mick Foley getting stitched up after the match).

The business shouldn't be done away with. Done right, it can be very entertaining. But this is the kind of stuff, along with the steroids, that need to be regulated.

 

Why should that be regulated?

I've seen "Beyond The Mat." Mick Foley is a smart guy. He knows that being beaten over the head is bad for his long-term health. He knows it kills his family to watch it. He knows he can succeed outside the ring. He chooses to get beaten over the head.

It's a stupid thing for him to do, but there are other things I'd like to see the government worry about beside guys who like to be beaten in the head with chairs.

 

Yeah, after all, they're just pro wrestlers, right? Who cares if they get brain damage. [/sarcasm]
You're right, Mick Foley IS a smart guy, and I'd like him to stay that way. You said you saw "Beyond the Mat." Well, then I'll assme you heard the incoherent voice message shortly after a particularly brutal match. Sure, he may not be showing many overt signs of brain damage right now, but as the recent NFL studies have shown (Andre Waters ring a bell?) repeated concussions can lead to severe trauma to the brain and was likely a contributing factor to Waters' suicide. We may never know the true extent of brain damage Benoit had due to the heat conditions the body was found in liquifying the brain. But if it played ANY part in him murdering his wife, child and himself, then it should be looked into.

I'd hope that Vince McMahon would step in and help preserve the health of his wrestlers and, in some ways, he already has. He's done away with certain high-flying moves, and has tried to have his wrestlers partake in a more ground-based match. Unfortunately, in today's world, we live in a "push the envelope/desensitized" society. What made us gasp 20 years ago makes us yawn today.

Why not let it be regulated? Put it under the umbrella of the various State Athletic Commissions. Even though the matches are scripted, the impact of the moves are usually very real. CAT Scans and testing for brain damage can be done on a semi-regular basis. I know, I know, IT'S JUST PRO WRESTLING, but these guys deserve to have their safety ensured and their families need to know that people are looking out for their well-being, both physically and mentally.

I'm glad you responded PCLoadLetter cuz I'm really interested in seeing what people think of this. This has been a very interesting thread to follow.

 

Benoit, apparently, killed his son with the Crippler Crossface.

Jesus christ....

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003560001-2007300340,00.html

 

Mother of God.

 

Agreed. I'm not sure how Mushnick continually navigates that cognitive dissonance in his own mind.

PM's admonitions are kind of like what Ed O'Neil doing a "Fox Cares" spot trumpeting responsible fatherhood would have looked like back in the day, I guess.

 

Unbelievable.