One Year Anniversary of a Tragic Event

Today marks the one year anniversary of the most tragic event in wrestling history. One year ago today, Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy, and then on June 23rd he murdered his son Daniel and then he took his own life on June 24, 2007. The initial reaction was that his behavior was due to steroid abuse.

Since that time, the WWE has tightened their Wellness Policy, which has resulted in numerous suspensions including top superstars before pay-per-views and WrestleMania. The WWE also has offered to pay for drug rehab for any superstar, past or present that requests it. Several wrestlers have taken them up on this offer.

Dr. Phil Astin, the physician that allegedly supplied Benoit with steroids and other drugs, has been issued an 175 count indictment for over prescribing drugs and prescribing drugs without medical need. The indictment listed Benoit and other wrestlers has having been clients of Dr. Astin.

Vince McMahon was asked by Congress to hand over documents outlining their drug policies and results of drug tests given to their wrestlers. The Wellness Policy was addressed, but the test results were not supplied. The WWE cited privacy laws as the reason for not submitting them. McMahon was also invited to a hearing before Congress with other sports representatives. McMahon declined; however, Linda McMahon and Stephanie Levesque met with Congress in a closed door meeting.

Michael Benoit, Chris' father, allowed the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) to test Chris' brain due to the concussions he sustained while wrestling. The SLI determined that Chris had the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient and blamed wrestling for the deterioration.

So here we are a year later with a pending civil suit against the WWE, a few books out about the Benoit murder/suicide and probably more to come, the WWE Wellness Policy still being utilized and the regulations tightened, more awareness to the problem of repeated concussions, and the general public still believing that professional wrestling is responsible for this tragedy.

Has the WWE stepped up to the plate? I think so. Testing the wrestlers and making them aware of the policy and consequences is all an employer can do. Are concussions a problem? I would say yes; however, the wrestlers get into the business knowing the physicality of it. Although, Vince, Dixie and the indy promoters might want to ease up on the chair shots.

I think everything that can be done, has been done. As far as young men and women seeking a career in professional wrestling, I think they need to seriously think about the risks and how long they want to stay in the business. We fans love to see you, but you must think about your own quality of life and take responsibility for what you do.