Deaths Ignored by WWE

[scooter]

Thoughts, @WolfofWords?

[WolfofWords]

Thoughts, @WolfofWords?

From what I've read and listened to, the business can be cold. If you're not in, you're out and you're left to your own devices. Wrestling has been rampant with steroids, lack of concussion protocols, lack of mental health services, and toxic masculinity. Things have gotten better but they can still improve a lot. Some people, like Borga, burned their own bridges and there is not much you can do about that. I love watching pro wrestling but I hate this aspect of it. Too many gone too soon.

I was a fan of WWE during the careers of 5 of these men and I remember them all. Kanyon was a WCW guy so I missed a lot of his career but caught up once I had access to the WCW video library. Kanyon was so damned good and could play any role you gave him but he was best as a somewhat goofy guy fans loved to hate. WWE really did him dirty and it's hard to ignore Kanyon's claims that WWE fired him because he was gay. From what I've heard, Kanyon had some real mental health struggles near the end and stories of his increasing desperation are sad to hear.

As I said, things are getting a bit better. Most companies have concussion protocols now and fans would much rather see their favorite sit on the sidelines and heal than have them try to soldier on and push themselves to an early grave. Most companies also have "wellness policies" that run drug testing to various degrees of success. Probably the same degree of success as testing in most real competitive sports. At least, it's better than the current policy in major league baseball. Wrestlers are branching out and expanding their brands so that when they are forced to stop wrestling, they have something to occupy themselves with and pay their bills. Toxic masculinity is starting to be mocked by some and hopefully, that tide turns as well.

However, the main thing that prevents these wrestlers from being ignored is that the WWE no longer fully controls the narrative. This video is evidence of that. Through the Internet, we can get different perspectives on these stories and investigative journalism sheds light on the dark corners.