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WWE officials checking on StingPro Wrestling may be scripted, but is never fake. The injuries are real and the wrestlers put their physical wellbeing on the line everytime they step in to the squared circle.Owen Hart has died in the ring, Droz has been paralysed following an in-ring botch, Steve Austin and Edge had to end their careers early owing to the injuries that they sustained in the ring.With the most popular wrestler on the roster,Daniel Bryan too on the shelf for an extended period owing to a neck injury, this list wonders as to how can the WWE reduce the injury crisis among its talent.
#1 Reduce the schedule
As most of us already know, WWE superstars are not restricted to wrestling two days a week. In addition to Raw and SmackDown, they entertain fans at a number of house shows which are untelevised. It was at one of those house shows in Dublin, Ireland that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins tore multiple ligaments that eventually led him to vacate the title and be out of action for an estimated 9 months.
WWE superstars are away from their families more than 300 days a year performing in areas around the world. With the wrestlers listed as contract employees to the WWE, Vince McMahon has cunningly escaped the labour laws applicable in the country.
But the best thing he can do for the longevity of the careers of his superstars is to cut down on the gruelling schedule. There should be some sort of rotation policy for superstars to attend house shows and overseas tours so that nobody gets burned out.
#2 Tone down the specialty matches
Ladder matches, Steel cage matches, Cell matches – the WWE has a lot of specialty matches. While it may be exciting for the viewers, the probability of a wrestler getting injured in such matches is much higher than in a normal match.
A decade back, a Hell in a Cell match was so rare that only the greatest of feuds received the chance to settle the score once and for all in its confines. The image of Mick Foley flying off the cage is still iconic in the minds of wrestling fans. Fast forward to 2015 and we have a PPV named Hell in a Cell where multiple matches take place inside the structure.
Similarly, ladder matches – by far, the most dangerous of all in the WWE – have lost their lusture as well. Every year, we see multiple ladder and/or TLC matches and the probablilty of getting injured when one or the other wrestler takes that mandatory fall off the top of the ladder is enormously high.
Not to mention a separate PPV for Elimination Chamber as well.
Good thing the Hardcore title has been retired – Tone down the specialty matches already, Vince!!!!
It has reached the point of overkill and the WWE superstars are the ones to suffer.
#3 Improve the medical staff
The medical personnel employed by the WWE have been educated on how the wrestling business works and make decisions accordingly. For example, if a wrestler has a broken rib and being in a match on the night is not going to further aggravate the injury, he is allowed to go through with the match instead of getting it treated at once. There are differing views as to how justifiable such a practice is.
Presenty, former WWE wrestler C M Punk is fighting a $1 million libel suit filed against him by WWE ring side doctor Chris Amann for the comments Punk made about him. Punk had said in a podcast that Amann had misdiagnosed a cyst on his back which eventually developed in to a life threatening staph infection. He also said that Amann had mistreated a concussion.
While the case is still up in court, it does create a sense of insecurity over the WWE medical staff. Add to this the steroid scandal and the fact that late wrestlers like Chris Benoit and Test were beleived to have been suffering from a sort of demetia resulting from untreated concussions, the WWE doesn’t seem to be a safe place for the health of the performers.
#4 Bring back the brand extension
Ever since the WWE essentially demoted the Smack Down brand to a mere B-show and not a separate show with a World title as was the case a couple of years back, the work load on WWE superstars has increased.
During his time as WWE Champion, Seth Rollins was ever present on both Raw and SmackDown and simiar is the case with the entire roster save the marquee stars like John Cena. Compare this to the mid 2000s when superstars were restricted to a single brand and you see a lot of difference.
While house shows were still present, there was no need for the wrestlers to appear on TV twice in the same week. With the introduction of the popular NXT show, WWE has more options than ever to utilise the full benefits of a multi-show roster and it might just give the superstars a breath of fresh air.
Bring back the World Heavyweight title, put it on some deserving superstar like Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose and let them thrive on Thursday nights, I say!!
#5 Ease up, Vince!!!
The most obvious solution to prevent injuries to wrestlers is also the most impossible.
As mentioned earlier, WWE holds over 300 events a year, broadcasting to over 36 million viewers in 150 countries. Around 700 employees are utilised to bring in an annual revenue of close to $600 million with the wrestlers and the crew members jumping from one airport to the other to fly across locations all around the US.
The lives of all these people would be a whole lot better if the CEO of the WWE, Vince McMahon eased up a little.
In no other sport does its performers remain active for the entirety of the year. Flying off to New York immediately after a show in Texas and jetting from there to Toronto for a house show just before embarking on a UK trip is not alien to the WWE staff – However, it is not ideal.
Over the last decade, we have seen several wrestlers leave the WWE because they couldn’t handle the hectic lifestyle . Kurt Angle is the most high profile superstar among them and his lighter exertions at TNA probably extended his wrestling career or he would have joined his good friend Edge on the retirement saloon years earlier.
For the benefit and longevity of this superstars, Vince Mcmahon needs to shiff focus from his ‘profit first’ mentality and create a stable environment that would help WWE superstars to have a balanced lifestyle. But as far as Vince is concerned, it is just not going to happen.
