Gone Too Soon: Deaths That Changed Wrestling
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In the aftermath of those embarrassing revelations, WWE started developing their Wellness Policy further. Punishment for failing a test for marijuana was changed from a suspension to a $1,000 fine - a move that led to some wrestlers taking the synthetic alternative known as “spice” and risk getting suspended, as opposed to paying the so-called “pot tax”.
Aside from the reformation of the Wellness Policy, WWE also found themselves forced onto previously unchartered territory. As the revelations regarding Benoit’s brain hit the news, a new hot topic came to the fore: concussions. In days gone by, wrestlers would be used to getting concussions and wrestling on despite not having recovered from them, especially in Benoit’s case, wrestling with a concussion (or several!) became something of a badge of honour. After all, if you could wash down a few painkillers to make the pain go away, and still perform and get paid handsomely, what’s the problem? Well, as we are finding out now, the problem is turning out to be a rather troublesome one.
In the weeks after Benoit’s death, members of the Sports Legacy Institute were all over the media with their take on the concussion issue. One member, Julian Bailes, stated that CTE could start becoming noticeable after just two concussions - a scary prospect in a wrestling industry in which concussions had been seen as that badge of honour. Since the Benoit incident, WWE has taken many precautions against wrestlers with concussions, with wrestlers such as Randy Orton finding themselves removed from the line of fire for several weeks as they recovered from concussions (in Orton’s case, he was removed from shows in June 2011 until he passed a brain function test known as an “Impact test”, before he eventually returned to action).
And what of Owen Hart? His death, although put down to a tragic accident, did have some repercussions, if only for a short period of time. The use of relatively pointless stunts in wrestling, such as rappelling from the ceiling of the arena into the ring quickly vanished as wrestling sought to make themselves safe - at least until the bell rang. Whilst these stunts slowly crept back into the business, albeit on a more controlled level, with the use of stunt co-ordinators, it took the tragedies of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit for the business to get serious about making the lifestyle as a whole safer. Introducing the Wellness Policy was a good starting point, but the fallout from the Benoit murder-suicide only served to underline that actions, not words were needed.
In the time since the Benoit tragedy, wrestling as a whole started to phase out the needless moves and stunts that caused the brain trauma that some said contributed to the whole scenario; mainly, the use of unprotected chair shots in wrestling. During the late 90s, when both WWE and WCW were jumping on the ECW-inspired “hardcore wrestling” bandwagon, matches regularly featured the use of weapons, with a folding steel chair regularly being aimed at the head of a combatant. Most of the time, the impact of the chair shots aimed to the head were reduced by the recipient putting their hand in the way, producing the same sound that the shot would have done had it hit the head, without any of the brain-rattling consequences. Unfortunately, a lot of these shots were done without any protection, with the skull absorbing the full force of the swung steel chair.
Those wrestlers who didn’t put their hands up ended up having to deal with a myriad of concussions at the time, and the after effects of those injuries in the years to come - former ECW champion Mike Awesome being the case in point; in February 2007, barely a year after ending a 17-year career that was peppered with stiff chair shots to the head, Awesome took his own life at the age of just 42.
Sadly, it wasn’t a one-off. In April 2010, Chris Kanyon - best known for his run in WCW and WWE - took his own life following a long, self-admitted battle with bipolar disorder and depression. A year later, Larry Sweeney, whose biggest break came as a manager with the independent Ring of Honor promotion (and playing the part of the fake Nick Hogan on an episode of Raw in July 2006) committed suicide, following a similar battle.
Regardless of the circumstances, whether the passing was expected or otherwise, or whether the deceased was a worldwide star or not, receiving “the call” is a nightmare. Having endured this experience myself, it’s not pleasant. The name Adam Firestorm was not known worldwide to anywhere near the same level as Kanyon, Awesome or even Sweeney. Wrestling mainly in Western Canada and the North-West of America, Firestorm’s in-ring career came to an end in 2005 after suffering an elbow injury. Although he did make a limited number of appearances at shows after then, Firestorm turned to life outside of the wrestling ring, focusing on a video production business, and later, co-hosting a podcast with myself. The last time I spoke to Adam was during the recording of a show, where he seemed his usual, happy self, showing zero signs of what was to happen in the coming hours. Going to bed after doing the recording on Wednesday night, Adam passed away a day later, and it wasn’t until Friday night/Saturday morning when the news broke, courtesy of “the call”.
It was a very rude awakening, on Saturday morning, in fact. Taking just a few short seconds, everything came crashing down, as the realisation hit hard: a close friend whom I spoke to pretty much every day was no longer going to be there. Although it was not on the same level as losing a friend you saw, travelled and worked with every day, the loss was hard to take - and still is. Although I have attended many wrestling shows across the world, and interviewed many stars, I have not stepped into the ring - and this was a rather blunt insight into the world that every wrestler eventually experiences.
Sadly, in wrestling’s recent history, too many have had experience of “the call”. In most of those cases, the end result of “the call” was avoidable. In hindsight, it really is a case of watching your favourites and realising that they have gone too soon.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
OWEN HART
EDDIE GUERRERO
CHRIS BENOIT
The After Effects