Wrestling and Drugs

There's an article in today's USA Today about the high rate of drug and steroid abuse, and the ridiculously high death rate the profession's had in the past few years.

Here's a link to the whole article, written by Jon Swartz.

From the article:

Fifteen current and former wrestlers interviewed by USA Today say they willingly ulked up on anabolic steroids, which they call "juice," to lok the part and took pain pills so they could perform four to five nights a week despite injuries. Some admit to use of human-gorwth hormones, a muscle-building compound even more powerful and dangerous than steroids. And many say they used recreational drugs.

I think the most telling quote come from Scott Levy, who has wrestled for years as Raven. He says of the rampant drug and steroid abuse in the business:

It's part of the job. If you want to be a wrestler, you have to be a big guy, and you have to perform in pain. If you choose to do neither, pick another profession.

And Roddy Piper, whose glorious, dramatic sanctimony loses very little in the interview process, talks of "the silent scream" of pain, drugs and loneliness:

You're in your hotel room. You're banged up, numb and alone. You don't want to go downstairs to the bar or restaurant. The walls are breathing. You don't want to talk. Panic sets in and you start weeping. It's something all of us go through.

Wrestlers, the article says, have death rates about seven times higher than the general U.S. population, and they are 12 times more likely to die from heart disease.

Along with steroid abuse as a key contributing factor in this high mortality rate, Swartz cites the "rock god" lifestyle. The emphasis added is mine:

Despite, or because of, its testosterone-fueled danger, wrestling attracts mostly young men to a circuslike life built on outsized personalities, "ripped" bodies and death-defying stunts. Newcomers dive headfirst into the rough-and-tumble profession. Current and former wrestlers interviewed say they live on the edge and see few career options. Only a handful of stars have more than a high school education.

(It's an industry where there is constant pressure. You have to perform in the ring, stay in shape, live on the road , travelling a thousand miles or more in a week, usually with nobody to depend on but yourself. It's trying on anybody. But it would be even more problematic for those without education and the little bit of maturity one might gain from the educational experience).

Money is the lure, Swartz says: top performers can make more than $1 million a year.

(It's get in and get as much as you can. And many go to extremes to make the look and the ability come about, to maximize the amount of money they can get in a short amount of time, not realizing that they're sacrificing much of the future they're looking to provide for by using the painkillers and the steroids....and often, with the money comes a lavish lifestyle that sucks the money up like nobody's business.)

More than that, many look to parlay the cult celebrity of professional wrestling into a more diversified stardom....Swartz cites Mick Foley moving from hardcore wrestling to other forms of entertainment, including writing both fiction and non-fiction that have had extended runs on the bestseller lists.

(Piper, Hulk Hogan and the Rock would also apply, each having gained limited success in other fields of entertainment.)

But the fact of the matter is (and this is true with just about any entertainment or sporting venture), most wrestlers toil in obscurity. Swartz talks of "Strongman" Johnny Perry and Curtis Parker, two wrestlers on the independent circuit who died in 2002. Without ever achieving any of their goals.

Lastly, Swartz speaks of the changing tide of wrestling, and wonders if things are starting to look up.

Younger wrestlers are taking better care of themselves, says Sean Waltman (who wrestled as the 1-2-3 Kid and X-Pac).

John Cena says he's learned to work in pain, but also knows his limits. If the injury is serious enough, he takes time off.

(And it seems that the WWE has been more willing to grant that time off in recent years for injuries. If you look back to the 80's and early 90's, wrestlers often had to work hurt, or be released...so says Piper, who lived on a steady diet of painkillers, and also Jake Roberts, in the documentary Beyond the Mat...neither was allowed time off for injuries or family time....and each wound up destroying their bodies and (Jake especially) their relationships with their families.)

Also, the NWA-TNA (based out of Nashville), the nation's second-largest promotion, is considering mandatory drug testing. It's making a little progress: the small promotion began offering medical coverage for injuries in and out of the ring to its workers, and it is considering offering full medical and dental coverage.

And the article says that the WWE is also making headway. Swartz says the WWE released worker Jeff Hardy when he refused drug testing...(though I've read that Jeff leaving was a bit of a mutual decision, as Jeff was tired of the business in general, and the WWE was tired of Jeff Hardy's shenanigans, the drug use among them....)

But the more things change, the more they stay the same....Piper says that when he began to raise a stink about the impact drugs have had on the business during his last tenure with the WWE, he got fired...(though this is a little bit of hyperbole on Piper's part...he was essentially working a week-to-week contract, though it was one that was not renewed after Piper appeared on an HBO Sports segment....)

It's an interesting story.

Wrestlers and wrestling fascinate me. It's all the show. It's kind of a synthesis of the rock lifestyle and the need for testosterone-fueled retribution/violence.

I'll think more on this.