Just kidding, I love it but there are some things I hate about it. Let’s talk about them from time to time. Shall we?
Dangerous Behavior
Last episode I talked about sports entertainers purposefully putting themselves in potentially career-ending or life-ending situations. This can be exciting and, in the right arena, it can mean a higher box office or ratings. (I exclude pay-per-view buyrates because under the current system they barely still exist.) I worry about the performers when they do this but I know that they plan these things out and should be alright as long as a mistake isn’t made.
The problem is that an accident isn’t the only way somebody can get hurt in or out of the ring. When a performer gets injured the industry suffers, the performer suffers and we all suffer. When Dolph Ziggler suffered a concussion he spent months recovering and all that time the company was down one talented performer. The same thing happened with Daniel Bryan’s ongoing neck surgeries. His momentum was killed and we’re left wondering when he’ll be back. That is if he returns at all.
Edge (Adam Copeland) had so many neck surgeries he had to retire in his late thirties but at least he was still walking. Darren Drozdov was injured and left in a wheelchair for life. Owen Hart fell several stories to his death in the middle of the ring because of a stunt gone wrong. The lists of performers goes on and on those are all just from accidents.
Performers can hurt each other or themselves for a multitude of reasons and none of them are good. I like my Pro-Wrestling more fake than real so that the performers that I enjoy get to have long, fruitful careers. Here are some of the horrible reasons that wrestlers get hurt besides accidents.
1: The performers are angry at each other in real life
Most performers seem to be alright with keeping their emotions in check while they are in the ring. Most of the time when performers hate each other, this sort of combat is done outside of the ring. The only way we hear about it is through rumors or years later when they do documentaries on it. It probably happens a lot more in the independent promotions where conditions are worse. Since it’s easier to get fired this way, most people seem to decide against scrapping backstage or just don’t report it. Besides, it’s embarassing for people to find out you lost a real fight.
Bret fought Shawn for real backstage and even ripped some of his hair out.
Jacques Rougeau punched Dynamite Kid’s Teeth out.
Blue Meanie was given a hellish blackeye by JBL.
2: Trying to prove their worth
Trying to hold onto your spot seems to be one of the hardest things to do in wrestling. The only thing harder is trying to get to a higher spot on the card. This causes young performers to try their hardest to nearly kill themselves for a shot at the big time. If they don’t get too injured it sometimes works…. unfortunately. When these tactics work, it encourages the next young guy or girl to nearly kill themself for their big break. It worked for the examples below but it probably did not for countless others you will never hear about.
Mick Foley took the Nestea plunge onto concrete
Chris Jericho wrestles with a broken arm
JT Smith intentionaly screwed up moves for attention (No video)
3: People working stiff
Some performers are known for “working stiff” which means that their strikes and maneuvers are done as real as possible. When they work this way means that they are actually laying into their opponent pretty much as hard as they can. Most of them do it because it looks better or because they want to test their opponent. This has a tendency to make the other person work stiff to keep from being steamrolled. This turns a fake fight into a real one really quickly. The business tends to give these guys a pass because they legitimize the product but it’s still dangerous.
Vader and Misawa being Stiff as Hell
Mick Foley getting a ligament torn in his jaw
Ultimate Warrior also worked stiff
Tags: Adam Copeland, Blue Meanie, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Darren Drozdov, Dolph Ziggler, Dynamite Kid, Jacques Rougeau, JBL, JT Smith, Mick Foley, Misawa, Pro-Wrestling, Shawn Michaels, Smark, Sports Entertainment, Stevie Richards, Ultimate Warrior, Vader
Wolf of Words 
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