WWE Daily

The WWE is committed to evolving its Talent Wellness Program as new information and techniques become available to us.

WWE has got an article up on revisions on the current WWE welness Policy, To view the articles on the changes and current ppolicy, just click and upload thw files on a word document. Here they are as follows:

First Amendment, June 13, 2006
Additions to list of prohibited drugs: first-amendment-dated-june-13.doc

Second Amendment, August 21, 2006
Penalties for positive drug tests: second-amendment-august-21-2006.doc

Third Amendment, May 16, 2007
Penalties for positive drug tests: third-amendment-dated-may-16-2007.doc

Fourth Amendment, August 28, 2007
Additions to list of prohibited drugs, random testing & penalties: fourth-amendment-dated-august-28-2007.doc

The current Wellnes Policy on hand: 2006-substance-abuse-and-drug-testing-policy.doc

Here is part 2 of the interview with Rob Van Dam.

Here are a few Highlights;

What are your thoughts on the drug testing in WWE?

From personal experience, being tested probably five or six times at least in the year, year-and-a-half that I was there and they were testing, it felt like it was very violating. For them to actually go inside my body and take my urine and then tell me if they’re OK with what I’m taking, it’s all very violating. At the same time, I do realize the goal behind it, hopefully, is to help people. And there are a lot of irresponsible wrestlers, there’s no doubt about that. I’m responsible myself; I can take care of myself. I’m an independent contractor, which means that I show up to work, I do my job, and then I leave. I’ll see you tomorrow – different place, same job. And that’s what I do. It’s a very onerous contract that they’ve amended several times since signing it. I signed the deal, then a little while later they said, “Oh, OK, by the way, now we’re going to add a dress code.�? Then a little while later they said, “Oh, if you’re late, you’re going to get fined. Now we’re going to add this drug testing.�? It’d be kind of like hiring a painter to paint your house and then every couple of days adding work for him and telling him it’s under the same deal. “Hey, by the way, we decided you’re going to paint my neighbor’s house, too.�?

It does help people because, as I said, there’s some irresponsible guys there that don’t know how to take care of themselves. I do think that the drug screening does help people like that. I look at it like security at the airport. We’re not all going to blow up the airplanes, but because there’s a few bad apples, we all have to bend over and get the anal probe and have all of our private property searched. That got completely monotonous, but it’s a similar thing. Obviously, the wrestling lifestyle is very stressful and very taxing on the body. It’s unreasonable not to understand how some of the wrestlers could benefit from medicine such as pain pills, or even something to wake them up and give them energy. Testosterone is actually a highly accepted medicine that helps them recuperate, helps them heal, helps give them the drive. Not to mention, the older we get, our own testosterone level drops.

To try to be a professional athlete and work out when you’re not sleeping right, you’re traveling day to day, not to mention the bumps and bruises in the ring and you’re trying to eat right, it’s a very, very challenging job. And the list on that drug test is so long. There are even things that other people can take over the counter like ephedrine that the wrestlers aren’t allowed to take. I’m a strong believer in modern medicine. I think it has its use in society. I think it adds longevity to our life expectancy. Go back a couple hundred years, we used to live to be 30 years old before penicillin, so I’m very much into proper usage of medicine when it’s appropriate. Abuse, that’s something else. You shouldn’t have abusers and people that are on deathwatch living day to day like everybody else trying to carry on the job.

With Congress making their demands and looking into it, I don’t really know exactly what to expect out of that. .. I think it’s strange for them to mandate over something as vague and uncontrolled as pro wrestling, because it even changes from state to state whether it’s a sport or entertainment. Pro wrestling is as inside, behind-closed-doors and as protective a business as is there is next to the mafia, so for them to oversee it from the outside and actually put control on it, it’s strange to me. I think they’ve blurred the line between WWE and wrestling, too. They’ve blamed Vince for a lot of stuff that just has to do with wrestling in general. The truth is most wrestlers aren’t working at the top with WWE.

With so many wrestlers dying at a young age, what do you think the industry should do to address the situation?
I think it’s education. I think it’s about making smart decisions. And when we get into a business like this we look at our role models, we look at the older wrestlers and what they do. Back in ’89, ’90 when I got into wrestling, it was a party business. The wrestlers, for the most part, were drinking and doing drugs. I’d compare it more to a rock and roll tour than I would to a football organization. When it comes to the drug abuse they always want to compare it to other sports, but really it’s like the Barnum & Bailey Circus. There’s like 22 of those big tractor trailer trucks and they haul the show from town to town. It’s not like MMA where someone’s really trying to knock your head off, so you can relax a little bit and your comfort zone can get kind of wide. I think it’s in education and I think it’s in people representing the right image. Somebody like CM Punk, who stands up and says he’s completely sober. He doesn’t even take a drink of champagne in a toast because that’s just not him. He’s a man that’s completely full of integrity; you’ve got to respect that. He’s going to have a lot of wrestlers getting into the business that are going to look up to him and want to be like him. He’s unique, but if there were more wrestlers that were not abusive, then eventually I think we’d see a change.

For the full Interview, click here.

As of right now plans for Paul Wight, aka “The Big Show” should be back in a WWE ring by the end of the month.

For him returning at the Royal Rumble is a no go, cause he would not be winning it. It would make Wight look like just one of the guys in the 30 rumble.
Source

Chett “The Jet”
It was announced this afternoon that a developmental wrestler by the name of Neil Bzibziak has been suspended for violations of the WWE Wellness Policy. Bzibziak works under the name “Chett The Jet.” Bzibziak was an OVW mainstay until he was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling sometime last year.

Mr. Kennedy was going to have McMahon’s illegitimate son storyline, but was turned off due to the WWE Wellness Policy which the angle was given to Hornswoggles.

This was due to his name turning up on a list of clients of the Orlando-based Signature Pharmacy for distributing steroids and other prescription drugs to clients who had not been examined by doctors.

“I had a legitimate medical reason to have it,” he says. “How was I supposed to know my doctor’s a quack? I was injured and had a legitimate reason. I tore my lat in 2005. I had surgery, went home and had a staph infection that I almost died from. I lost about 45 pounds in about three days. I had a legitimate medical reason for having it, however my name turned up on that list. Vince and the company’s hands were tied. They had to suspend me.”

For the complete storyline click here

For Jericho news: Last week Chris was in New York for another book signing ” A Lion’s Tale Around the World in Spandex”. WWE.com has some footage of the book signing, click here.

I have been watching wrestling for 20 years, and it’s pretty easy to spot which wrestlers have the stuff to make it, and which are only on the mat thanks to gimmicks. Chris Masters is one of those wrestlers who has the talent and the build to be in wrestling for a long, long time. I recently had the chance to ask Chris a few questions. Chris was recently let go from the WWE due to violations in the Wellness policy. He was gracious enough to take a few minutes out of his extremely busy schedule in order to let his fans know how he’s doing, and what his immediate plans are!

So Chris, how’s married life treating you so far?

Not legally married, but its great haha

Lots of wrestling fans want to see behind the scenes. Can you give the fans a little insight as to how much you’re on the road when you’re a professional wrestler?

Man, we travel/wrestle 4days out of the week w/ 3 days off..gets a bit hard…overseas tours can be up to 2 weeks

I’ve read that your wrestling heroes were Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair – what was it like being able to get in the ring with them?

Definitely one of my best accomplishments!! Dreams do come true I got to wrestle my childhood heroes and not many get to do that…its great!

Your in-ring character, Chris Masters, was very serious, and yet other pictures I’ve seen of you show a guy who likes to goof off – which is the real Chris Mordetzky?

Definately a bit of both, but I don’t like taking myself too seriously….I do like to make an ass out of myself for a laugh

Do you believe that it would benefit the wrestling world if there were more large corporations out there televising wrestling?

I definitely think it would benefit the wrestlers!

Do you see yourself in wrestling in ten years?

Not sure what the future hold, but I still have passion for it and it’s not something I’m going to give up on but at the same time I’m keeping an open mind!!

How’s your new kitty BoBo doing?

Haha she’s putting on a pound /day…I put her on my diet ;)..nah she’s great!!

Do you feel that policies, like the Wellness Policy, are helpful to athletes, or do you feel that it’s not a perfect system yet?

It’s definitely helpful for long-term health of athletes, but there could be tweaks made to make it better

Can you let your fans know what your plans for the immediate future are?

Ah, just working on getting my elbow better, indy bookings are def in the works…some autograph signings and the rest is top secret for now ;)haha

I notice that you’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately – is there any question that you haven’t been asked that you wish you would have? What would the answer to that question be?

That’s a hard one…I’m not really sure there has been SO SO many questions from everyone…from goofy to real and I think most have been covered for now

I’d like to thank you very much for taking the time for this interview, Chris. Is there anything else that you’d like your fans to know?

Just appreciate all the support and that “IT”S ALL GOOD”!!!

Chris

Boy I didn’t REALLY see this coming.

Chris Masters has been released from WWE today.

Chris being released by the WWE, this firing have anything to do with the Wellness Policy. Well think about it this is Chris’s second offense of being suspended . Chris says that he was suspended the second time because of traces still left in his system.

Even thou Matsers was sent to rehab back in 2006 for abusing painkillers. Guess some people really don’t think ahead.

Is this a step towards the WWE on cracking down with the Wellness Program?

Vince and Linda McMahon gave an interview just recently to CNN. During the interview they discussed a lot of things; from the amount of time performers have to stay on the road to how they feel about the Benoit situation. There are so many things that were said in the interview, and let me tell you this: Vince didn’t shut his mouth for one moment. The man answered (or half-answered) every question that the interviewer could throw at him.

I’ll give you some of the highlights, but I highly suggest that you take some time to read the entire interview, to be found here.

Here are a few of the things that caught my eye:

GRIFFIN: When you found out initially that he was dead, without knowing how, you decided to switch the show that night, and you came on, and this was going to be a tribute to Chris Benoit.

VINCE McMAHON: Right, and to his family.

GRIFFIN: Talk me through that decision. You guys with Mr. [Owen] Hart’s accidental death, you unfortunately had some experience in these kinds of things. But you made the decision right then to make it a tribute show.

VINCE McMAHON: Right, it was a last-minute split decision, obviously, to do that. We had footage, a lot of it, from Chris Benoit’s performances in the past, and again, everyone was in a state of shock. I don’t think any performers really felt like performing, because as far as we knew, someone had killed Chris and his entire family.

There was no thought that Chris could have done this, given, again, the fact that he was a mild-mannered person. So based upon that information we very quickly put together a tribute show.

GRIFFIN: Then you came on that next night and said, I’m going to be the last one that says Benoit’s name in this ring.

VINCE McMAHON: Well, again when after something like this is over and you find out, you know, the facts, regardless of whether or not we had been fooled, or whatever it may be, to put on a tribute show, the fact of the matter, that anyone who becomes a murderer, I mean, you want to disassociate yourself with that individual, there’s no question about that, from an emotional standpoint, a business standpoint, everything else.

Chris Benoit will not, and has not, defined WWE. You know, our job is to entertain people all over the world, and we do that. To me it’s the, the second greatest job you could possibly have, the first one being curing cancer or whatever it may be as a, as a research scientist or a doctor.

GRIFFIN: As a leader of an organization of wrestlers, guys who get hit in the head a lot, is that concerning?

VINCE McMAHON: Well, let me just say something about this report from a layman’s standpoint, and the report states that Mr. Benoit, Chris Benoit had a mind of an 85-year-old individual suffering from dementia, that was the quote.

So I would, as a layman certainly wonder whether or not that report has any credibility because if you’re an 85-year-old and you suffer from dementia, you can’t do what Chris Benoit did for a living. It’s impossible. You can’t function as a normal human being in terms of even getting to the airport to come to work.

So, I would question whether or not that information is accurate if they define what his problem was as an 85-year-old with dementia.

GRIFFIN: Right. Are you concerned, at all, of the pace or the lifestyle of your performers?

VINCE McMAHON: Let me just say this in terms of the pace. The average top talent in World Wrestling Entertainment wrestles approximately 120 days a year. Those that are under contact to us, and being paid, obviously, sums of money that are not top talent, wrestle an average of 70-some days a year.

I don’t know about you, but compared to the average person out there, that’s a pretty good gig. Hundred and twenty days a year, on average, if you’re a top talent.

I’m jumping in here to say that he says the talent WRESTLES 120 days a year - but doesn’t it take time to get to the matches? I vaguely remember, when Tough Enough began, the trainers saying that you had to be on the road over 270 days a year…anyone else remember that?

GRIFFIN: Do you think you’ll ever find out that it (the Benoit Tragedy) was connected in any way to his job?

LINDA McMAHON: I don’t think so.

VINCE McMAHON: Well, it might be connected to his job from the standpoint that, let’s face it, this job takes you away from home. You are away from home.

And if there were problems with that, problems with a marriage, of Chris Benoit leaving his home to have to go to work, on a weekly basis as many salesmen do year in and year out here in this country and other countries, then that could have been one of the marital problems. We’ll never know.

There is tons more to be found at the interview here. Seriously - take some time and read it - I guarantee you’ll walk away with some kind of view about Vince McMahon.

Son-of-an-bitch…it has only been one day and already WWE has suspended two major wrestlers.

WWE today suspended the following performers for violations: Chris Mordetzky (Chris Masters) for 60 days (second violation) and Harry Smith (DH Smith) for 30 days (first violation).

The Newdays has an article up on the suspension of these two wrestlers, to read it click here.

Vince McMahon has an interview with Orlando Sentinel on the WresleMania in the horizon and the drug abuse in the WWE, for the complete story click here.

Okay superstars, my speculation is Smith on painkillers due to his recent injury on last Mondat night Raw?? As for Masters , take a look at the man, you make the call.

Matt Hardy is still not cleared yet to wrestle. Seems Matt will be watching on tv then performing on it. Matt must have on hell of an headache.
WWE physician, Dr. Ferdinand Rios, understands and appreciates Hardy’s frustration. Nevertheless, his prime concern is for the Superstar’s physical wellbeing.

“I think that within the next seven days, we can have Matt back in the ring,�? he replied.

Elijah Burke, ECW superstar was on Sci Fi’s Ghost Hunters on Halloween night. Full story click here.

Chris Jericho will be appearing on Fox And Friends on the Fox News Channel, this Sunday, Nov 4 at 7:30 am.

WrestleMania XXIV will be available for purchase this Saturday, Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased in the following locations:
-The Amway Arena Box Office in Orlando
-All Florida Ticketmaster outlets, including FYE stores
-Charge-by-phone at (407) 839-3900
-On-line at www.ticketmaster.com
-For groups of 20 or more, call (407) 849-2014
Note: Tickets WILL NOT be on-sale at the Florida Citrus Bowl

On another note ECW Brooke was released yesterday, her pic is still on the ECW roster, click here.

WWE Wellness Policy, Matt Hardy, WrestleMania XXIV

The life of a professional wrestler is not an easy one. They have to deal with bumps, bangs and more contusions than any of us will have to deal with in our entire lives. Wrestlers find themselves taking drugs in order to numb the pain so that they can wrestle. Common painkillers used by wrestlers are Soma and Fentanyl.

Here are a few wrestlers who died, in one way or another, from painkillers.

David Von Erich - In 1984, the official doctor’s report says that David died of an acute enteritis. Later hardcore legend Mick Foley, and Ric Flair (in his autobiography To Be the Man ), said that his death was caused by an overdose of painkillers. According to the legends, fellow wrestler Bruiser Brody found David and flushed the narcotics before police arrived.

Brody later said he overreacted when he found David and flushed his pain killers down the toilet. The cause of death changed to a heart attacked caused by ruptured intestines, which was the result of acute enteritis. He was 25.

Mike Lockwood - Lockwood was known to the professional wrestling world as Crash Holly. Holly was found dead at fellow wrestler Stevie Richard’s house. A first glimpse it appeared that he died due to suicide, but toxicology tests revealed that the 32-year-old Lockwood died from an overdose of painkillers. He was 32.

Bobby Duncum Jr. - Duncum died as a result of a combination of alcohol and painkillers. He was 34.

Louie Spicolli - Spicolli died as a result of a combination of Soma and lots of alcohol. He was 27.

Eddie Guererro - At the time of his death he had used narcotic painkillers and various enhancement drugs. This was not known until almost two years after his death. The drugs caused heart failure, which led to his death. He was 38.

Miss Elizabeth - Miss Elizabeth died in the home of Lex Lugar, from a combination of hydrocodone, Alprazolam (Xanax), and anabolic steroids (testosterone and sazien), all mixed with vodka. She was 42.

Anthony Durante - Durante and his girlfriend died in 2003 after ingesting homemade oxycotin. He was 36.

Curt Henning - Henning was found dead in his hotel room in Florida. The coroner’s report said that it was due to an overdose of cocaine, while his father says that his addiction to painkillers and steroids contributed to the death and the cocaine use. He was 44.

Ravishing Rick Rude - Rude died in 1999 from heart failure. The autopsy report stated that he died from an overdose of “mixed medications”. He was 40.

Buzz Sawyer - Sawyer died from a heart attack from long-term drug abuse. He was 32.

Eddie Gilbert - Gilbert wrestled for a number of different companies, including ECW and WWF and died from a heart attack due to painkillers and other drugs. He was 34.

Bam Bam Bigelow - Bigelow was found dead in January, 2007. The autopsy showed multiple drugs in his system, which caused his death. He was 45.

Road Warrior Hawk, one of the Road Warriors, was found dead, by his wife, from a heart attack. He battled drugs and alcohol throughout his career. He was 45.

Sherri Martel - Sensational Sherri was found dead in her mother’s home. Recent tox reports found that she died of a drug overdose. There were multiple drugs in her system, including oxycodone. She was 49.

This is a fairly short list, but I’m sure there are dozens more than died of an overdose from painkillers.

Is the WWE Wellness Policy out to save the wrestlers of tomorrow, or to fix the mistakes from the past?

WWE, Painkillers, Soma, Fentanyl

Here are the eleven names comfirmed to be on suspension: Charlie Haas, Edge, Gregory Helms, John Morrison, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, Funaki, Chavo Guerrero.

At this time, Chris Masters is suspended for either 30 days or 60 days. Back in May of 2006 he went to rehab for abusing painkillers.

On a lighter note, WWE FIRED Eugene for the same problem but with a different ending result. Is this fair or not? I admit Eugene does not have the greatest body or looks in the WWE, but neither does Mick Foley.

WWE, WWE Wellness Policy

Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore had tested positive for pain killers. This is Dinsmore second time for this offense. The first time was days after Eddie Guererro had passed away.

Dinsmore had either expired on his pain meds or had no justification for why he was on such drugs.

On September 1st on a taping of Smackdown/ECW Eugene was immediately notified of his release and escorted out of the arena.
Later that night Stephanie McMahon-Levesque has a meeting notifying the changes in the Wellness Policy.

Source

Eugene, Nick Dinsmore, Wellness Policy

“Golden Boy” Mr. Kennedy has fired back at the naysayers that swear that the WWE allows their employees to take steroids without trying to stop them.

Mr. Kennedy has said that he took steroids when he was working the independent circuit so that he could get ahead of the game. He says that he never took a lot, but that he did take them.

He says that he stopped taking steroids completely because of the Wellness policy the WWE began in 2006.

“Because I knew that having a job with the WWE was way more important than the 10 pounds of extra muscle that the steroids gave me.”

He agrees that the WWE needs to work on making sure that more wrestlers don’t die, but says that the WWE is working on fixing the problem.

Follow this site if you want to hear the entire podcast - the link is down at the bottom.

WWE, Mr. Kennedy

At The Great American Bash due to the WWE Wellness Program, MVP was under going a mandatory cardio testing. This testing takes place every six months. Dr. Fred Feuerbach, cardiologist overseeing the testing for WWE, discovered an abnormal accessory pathway in his heart known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

According to Dr. Feuerbach;

“You can’t predict who of any given group will be fatally affected. In general, however, those who have the accessory pathway shouldn’t be exposed to excessive physical activity, because they have a higher risk of fatal arrhythmia.�?

MVP’s condition is most likely attributable to genetics. This past Monday, MVP underwent a precarious radio frequency treatment given by Dr. Feuerbach - a procedure that is equally dangerous in that one in 1,000 individuals die during it. Next weeks test will be performed to see if it was a complete success.

All-in-All the WWE Wellness Program saved this mans life.

Source

WWE, MVP, WWE Wellness Program