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Originally Posted by ooTin
Ok you make a valid point.
I can only speak for the guys back stage at TWF (Texas Wrestling Federation).
In the time that I have worked here I have found that many of the athletes do not share the proper injury information with the proper people...ie the trainers, personal doctors, and bookers. They do however let the person they are performing with that night of their aliments.
Many a time I have seen one athlete say something to the effect of "Hey bro, go easy with the chair tonight, my head is fucking killing me." and an athlete that may have overheard this will go and alert the trainer to the situation. But we at TWF are a close knit family who watch out for each other... WWE life is much different as you said. In the "big leagues" you are expected to work rain or shine, injury or no injury.
The only part I find hard to believe is that seeing as how there are so many superstars in the WWE, and Benoit being the "friendly guy" that he was, he was bound to have guys in the locker room that cared enough about his physical well being that they would have said something about his constant growth hormone usage and his other habits.
Backstage at TWF there is no illegal usage of growth hormones or steroid injections... all you will find is protein shakes and damn hard workers. If anyone is found with any illegal substances, excluding marijuana, they are automatically let go. No questions asked. These athletes know that steroids are not worth the 350 bucks a night.... Mainly because most of them are doing this as a second job.
As for WWE, they can get pretty much anyone, anytime they want and do what ever with them. I believe there is no excuse for the amount of punishment their superstars put themselves through on a daily basis. Many indy wrestlers refuse to work for WWE because of their more than rigorous schedule. To them it is just not worth it. But for the select few that get the call up to the "big leagues" and accept, they know what to expect and what needs to be done to be on top. That is why WWE wrestler are encouraged, more like forced, to work beyond their limits and thus injury's and had, and not properly nursed. So yes after some thought I do believe that is is possible that Chris Benoit had no idea that he was in as much danger as he was.
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I will say that work environment for WWE as of Christmas 2010 is much different than it was as of the day Benoit died. There is stuff the guys take more into account. Even if it is for PR reasons, no unprotected weapon shots to the head of workers is a benefit for the boys. At the end of the day, either by shame or by regulation, ultimately WWE has to improve their record. I give Wellness shit and deservedly so, but it's a step in the right direction.
It's good to hear that TWF is doing things right. It's a start and it does give me hope that, if it works for a smaller indy fed, it can work for bigger promotions. I have noticed in Japan, that many of the more high-impact matches will end, the young boys will come in to ice the head of the workers to prevent swelling.
We are only starting to see a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to head injuries in sports in general, and pro-wrestling specifically.