Earlier today, I made my usual visit to the Slam! Sports wrestling news section and saw something that caught my attention and could shake-up the industry of professional wrestling.
According to the website, on Jan. 3, 2008, United States Senator Henry Waxman [D-CA] provided the results of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Committee's investigation into steroid use in the professional wrestling industry and the results were filed with the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The six page report, which can be viewed by clicking "HERE" attacks the current steroid and drug policies of the big two-wrestling companies in North America, World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE] and Total Nonstop Action [TNA] wrestling.
Among other findings, these eye-openers were included in Waxman's report:
*Chris Benoit tested positive three times for steroids by WWE prior to his June 2007 murder/suicide of his family but was never penalized by the company.
*40-percent of the WWE talent roster tested positive for steroids and other drugs despite being aware they would be tested when the company instituted their "Wellness Policy."
*25-percent of the TNA talent roster tested positive for steroids during the promotions baseline test while 11 talents tested positive for other substances.
*Waxman noted that while TNA has instituted a policy, there are significant weaknesses in TNA's policy.
*WWE hired four-of-five wrestlers who tested positive for steroids in a pre-hiring test, despite their positive results.
*Waxman blasted WWE for making changes to their Policy several months after instituting it to allow wrestlers to continue to perform, without pay, on television and pay-per-view events in order to maintain storyline consistency.
*Waxman also noted that WWE allowed 'therapeutic usage" of steroids from talents who were using a testosterone replacement therapy due to issues brought on by previous steroid use in their past.
Upon reading headline, I immediately read the report and a few things jumped out at me that rubbed me the wrong way, most noticeably the opening paragraph where Waxman said he was "leaving the Oversight Committee to become Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee" and that "over three million children and teens regularly watch professional wrestling."
Those two statements in the opening paragraph alerted me and should alert any reader who can read between the lines that Waxman did not do this investigation for a better life expectancy for professional wrestlers but rather, Waxman did this investigation because he clearly has an agenda against professional wrestling and wanted to go out from the Oversight Committee in a blaze of glory by bringing down the wrestling industry with this piece of dirty laundry.
If Waxman does not have an agenda against pro wrestling, why didn't he mention the entire, total viewership of people who watch pro wrestling rather than just focusing on children and teenagers? Waxman calling this report and his committee "impartial" is quite laughable.
As for some of Waxman's findings, he gives a lot of good numbers but doesn't give the non-fan any depth to his findings and makes it appear that WWE never did anything about the test results.
Had Waxman conducted a true, impartial report, he should have reported that since the Wellness Policy was implemented, WWE owner Vince McMahon stated that as long as any talent had a written and authorized note from their doctor that checked out for what they were taking, they would be in the clear even if they failed a test.
Also, the tests were subject to discretion as it was known that if a talent had high marks in one test but then showed a decrease in levels on their next test, they would not suffer any penalties.
As for WWE allowing wrestlers to compete for 30-days without pay on their first offense, Waxman should have informed the reader that the reason for this change in the Wellness Policy was so another disaster like the Great American Bash 2006 pay-per-view wouldn't happen again were Bobby Lashley, Great Khali, Super Crazy, Psichosis and other talents were pulled off the card the night before the show due the finding of elevated enzyme levels in their systems and created chaos in the storylines.
In addition, it's quite odd that the report doesn't mention anything about big name WWE talents like Jeff Hardy, William Regal and Randy Orton being down to their last strike with the company and another failed test will result in their termination from the company, which WWE has acknowledged quite heavily on television since Jeff Hardy returned from his 60-day suspension this spring as a result of his second offense.
Also, why isn't the incident with Raw superstar Manu not included that forced WWE to have all talents drop their pants in front of a doctor when being tested as Manu tried to cheat by using one of those fake whizzanators while down in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling [FCW]?
It really upsets me that our wonderful government is going to pay more attention to this than the fact that our nation is on the brink of a depression. The government cannot have it both ways when it comes to steroid testing in professional wrestling as professional wrestling is NOT A REAL SPORT, a fact every person in the media and the ones who detest it are sure to drive home to both fans and non fans even though the fans have known this fact for years!
One cannot say professional wrestling is not a real sport and claim it as ENTERTAINMENT and then turn around and hold it to the same steroid-testing standards as real sports, such as baseball and football, whom lets be honest, are not on the up-and-up with their testing either.
The last time I checked, baseball, football and other legitimate sports test athletes for steroids so they cannot have an unfair advantage over their competition. Who exactly is a professional wrestler getting an unfair advantage over if he or she is using steroids? They aren't cheating the fans as the fans know its entertainment and not a legitimate sporting event. They aren't breaking hallowed records like the home-run record in baseball so how exactly would they be cheating?
The fact of the matter is a professional wrestler using steroids is not cheating anyone other than themselves out of a longer lifespan but its their choice as they are grown men and women who have seen what steroids and other drugs have done to their peers over the last three-decades and know the risks and dangers if they start using.
Should the government intervene and start testing professional wrestlers, than its only fair that they start testing Hollywood actors and actresses since they are in ENTERTAINMENT and there have been a plethora of cases of actors and actress dying from their drug use, most recently Heath Ledger, and correct me if I'm wrong but if I use Waxman's theory in his concluding paragraph, doesn't Ledger's drug use send the wrong message to kids that they can do all the drugs they want but if they are a good actor, they will find work?
In addition, Sylvester Stallone was busted in Australia with HGH and testosterone just a little over a year ago and publicly admitted he used those substances to get his physique for "Rocky Balboa" and "Rambo IV."
However, everyone gave Sly a pass, saying he wasn't an athlete, just an actor who was replenishing his body with substances that diminished from his body with age, and therefore, wasn't cheating anyone by using those substances. Double standard? You bet!
At the end of the day, a government intervention is not going to rid professional wrestling of steroids nor should it. The only ones who can rid steroids from professional wrestling are the wrestlers themselves and the way they go about that is forming a professional wrestling union. However, that is easier said than done since, as Terry Funk stated in his autobiography "More Than Just Hardcore," that a professional wrestling union would be nice but professional wrestlers can't even agree on the finish of a match. Do you really think they will be able to agree on a wrestling union?
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