WWE Bans Chair Shots to the Head and Enforces New Policies

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced this week that they are banning chair shots to the head. This is being done in an effort to further the safety and well-being of the wrestlers and on-air talent who are involved with their weekly wrestling programming.

WWE Corporate sent out details this week regarding the imPACT Concussion test. This will affect all WWE employees who are regularly featured on their weekly television programming . This is being done in an effort to cut down on at least some of the injuries, mostly head-related, that occur in this particular line of work.

Full details of the program can be found at the WWE Corporate website. Under the new program, all WWE talents will be required to take repeat tests annually. The imPACT test is designed to get an in-depth look and measure the effect of a concussion. Hopefully this will lower the chances of us wrestlers getting concussions, or at least give doctors a better idea of how to treat the injury more effectively.

The basic outline states that if a talent shows symptoms of or has recently had a concussion, they will have to undergo this test. If said talent fails the test, then they will not be cleared to return to the ring until they have been evaluated by a certified doctor. It makes sense, because it basically means the guys have to be medically cleared before they are allowed to return to their duties.

If for any reason the tests do not show signs of recovery, then the talent will be required to retake the test until improvement is reached. The tests are generally administered 48-72 hours after the intial test. If a talent suffers a second concussion within a 12-month period, then they will be referred to Dr. Mark Lovell. Dr. Lovell is a neurophysiologist and director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Program.

Mix this with the WWE Wellness Policy, and hopefully this will drastically slow down the number of head-related injuries within the company. This is one of the reasons I believe they have banned chair shots to the head. They've also said that if there are any intentional blows to the head, then there will be fines and possibly suspensions that will be enforced by the WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent Relations.

All of this becomes effective immediately, so some of the more extreme matches, such as the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania, and Elimination Chamber or Steel Cage Matches may have to be toned down to fit these new guidelines. However, speaking as a wrestler, I think we can live with these changes if it means lengthening the careers and potentially the lives of wrestlers around the world. It's not often I say this, but kudos to WWE for doing something right! I almost felt dirty saying that, because I've not said it a lot, but it's nice to know they're taking a step in the right direction here.