Wayne, true, wrestlers take a lot of pain killers, as they don't have disability pay or sick day pay. And their job is a hurting job. Yes, punches are pulled and results are pre-determined, but just doing the landings out of the ring on to the concrete would be enough to disable most folks.
Steroids are rife in the biz. It started way back with the strong men when Bruno Sammartino bench pressed 500 pounds. Then the bodybuilders caught on and people like Superstar Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan became the stars. Now, nearly all of the champions in the WWE are juiced up behemoths. A non-juicer can occasionally win a title, but Vince loves (a bit more than straight man should) bodybuilders and fans seem to think that big muscles should win any contest. They don't watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships, where the real fighters are rarely bodybuilders. A guy like Chuck Liddel has love handles and looks like your neighbor next door who is always working on his crappy pickup. Yet, he can punch the face off of most muscle men. (I know he lost to a muscled guy in his last fight, but Quentin Jackson has been beaten by a number of wimpy looking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys).
The wrestlers only get paid when they perform, so they wouldn't like a reduction in workload.
I don't know what happened with Benoit. They say he was scratched from the most recent pay per view for "personal reasons." We may find out more later. _ |
