Pro Wrestling Deaths

I'm not talking about a guy dying at the age of 80 long after he's retired. I'm not talking about a guy dying in some unfortunate accident. I'm talking about guys dying in the primes of their career. Dropping dead in motel room. Dropping dead in their chairs at home while watching TV.

MIke Awesome is just the latest. But there was Eddie Guerrero and Brian Pillman before him. And Rick Rude. And Louis Spicoli. And Kerry Von Erich. And David Von Erich. And Jay Youngblood.

I could go on and on.

Is this a common phenomenon? I know people die everyday from various ailments but the percentage of pro wrestlers dying compared to other sports is way above the norm.

This is hard sport. It takes it's toll on your body. Even the guy that are lucky enough not to get a serious injury experience some level of soreness and discomfort. Bumping hurts. Accidents happen. The pain is real. And unlike the NFL where you get a break from January to June or baseball where you get a break from November to March there is no offseason in pro wrestling at the top level.

What's the answer? There is no one answer but there are several things that could help.

- Drug testing needs to happen. I'm sorry but I don't want a guy under the influence giving me any such move that can cause permanent paralysis. Which eliminates about 95% of moves that can be performed in the ring.

- The schedule has to be cut back. I know there was an era where tough guys ruled and they worked 365 days a year but that was a different sport. Today's game is more high risk. An average indy worker might work 50-100 dates a year but a WWE superstar is probably working 250-300 dates a year. That's way too much in an era of monthly PPV's and where Monday ratings matter. I know WWE wants to keep making money but think how much more they can make long term if their stars aren't dying under their watch.

- Give these guys health insurance. Ok maybe a lot of companies don't want to cover pro wrestlers but there has to be someone that will. Or WWE should talke it upon themselves. If you are on the roster, you should get medical coverage.

- Make sure your guys are getting annual physicals. Make it mandatory. A complete work-up paid in full by the company.

- Anyone who needs help kicking a habit should get it - paid by the company.

- Give vacations - all other companies do it. Two weeks a year for the first year of the contract, three weeks a year for the second year and four weeks a year for every year thereafter.

- Hire an HR department and a company shrink. It's hard being on the road away from your family. Sometimes it's good just to talk to SOMEONE.

- Retirement plans for guys that have been with the company 10+ years. Careers in wrestling are short so waiting 25-30 years would be way too long. Give these guys some bank. If you sign a legends contract, you should get 20-30% of all merchandise with your name on it -- period.

These are my suggestions but until WWE, TNA and other major wrestling organizations take a hard look and realizes there's a problem I don't think anything will change. And a year from now we'll be talking about the next unfortunate casuality.