One of my very few (but soon to be many) readers asked me why did I start a sports blog to write about professional wrestling; they actually questioned my logic in even considering addressing this 'sport' on this medium. I responded by pointing out may of the performers ARE indeed athletes; many are former football and basketball players. Some are former Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and children of pro wrestlers who grew up behind the scenes of this unique industry. Secondly, these individuals are bound by contracts, performance clauses and get injured, which in themselves constitute the same status of any professional athlete in any sport. They also have something most of us have in common: they make more money than many of us. However, this is purely theoretical as opposed to C.C. Sabathia who was reported to have pocketed $9.5 million just for signing his recent free agent contract with the New York Yankees...please read on so I can elaborate.
I was looking at old Youtube.com videos of wrestling from the old days, reflecting on my youth and decided to look into the business of pro wrestling; when I was younger back when Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were ruling the roost as the top drawers in the industry, I actually thought it was a real sport, complete with legitimate beefs, titles, agendas and in-match injuries. As I got older, I wanted to know what the life a pro wrestler was OUTSIDE of the ring. Do they really ride in limos and fly in private jets? Do they lay up with super models and have tailor made suits made of silk? Do they say their prayers and take their vitamins, thus enuring another hard fought victory? Well, now that I have the time to look into that aspect, I can explore and write about it.
One thing that I did not know up until at least 72 hours ago is that pro wrestlers are entitled to little to no protection against injury as they are not employees of the various (and dwindling) wrestling promotions. They are considered 'independent contractors' who are not provided with W-2's for tax filing or given medical, dental or life insurance. They are paid weekly and if they are legitimately injured, it is up to them to foot the bill for getting better. Granted they are paid moderately well, are in the public spotlight and pretty much can use pro wrestling as a springboard into other endeavors, I thought this to be rather odd. In the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) for instance, the wrestlers are required to license themselves in the areas where they are to perform and if they need help, the WWE will charge them for assistance in doing so. In looking at the industry from my old perspective, I thought it was more like a team traveling from town to town where the company had a roster of paid employees who were taken care of, but now I look at the industry sort of like a circus where if the Elephant is injured and cannot stand on it's hind legs (compete) within 6 weeks of the injury, the boss reserves the right to put them to sleep (or in WWE's case, to terminate the contract). Some of the performers are provided perks such as first class plane tickets, hotel accommodations, and a certain percentage of the merchandise sales bearing their images. However, if I am a lay wrestler that has not yet made a name for myself in the business or generated a buzz with a fancy tag line or gimmick (which if developed while in WWE, belongs to them), not only do I pay for my transportation, I pay for living expenses, insurance, licenses, a place to live and other miscellaneous expenses...not exactly the most glamorous life huh?
As far as injuries are concerned, these athletes live a life that ensures that there are numerous high risks for injury; in order to entertain the fans, the performers take what are called 'bumps' whether it be falling from high altitudes, getting hit with tables, ladders or chairs. In order to recover from injuries that are the result of these risks, wrestlers eventually turn to performance enhancing substances in order to recover from the injuries so they can keep working. This is something that is a culture in the industry of pro-wrestling as a performer can be one missed event away from not being to feed their family or take care of themselves. Of course we know the downside of using steroids, cocaine and painkillers as they played roles in the deaths of numerous wrestlers. Once again, this is not something done by the WWE, but an inherent culture in the industry itself.
I apologize for digressing, as I wanted to really put emphasis on the injury side of the business and how razor thin the margin of error is for some performers; I can now see why if someone has slipped a disc in their back after falling 15 feet onto a thinly padded mat would take Vicodin or Percocet rather than go to a doctor and take time off to rehab the injury. I also can see that when is living on the road over 300 days per year, one can develop some some dangerous 'off the job' habits such as illicit drug use and alcoholism.
Scott Levy, better known as 'Johnny Polo' or 'Raven' in the 'sports entertainment' industry along with two other wrestlers are bringing suit against the WWE in regards to their status as 'independent contractors'. In their 'booking contracts' there are numerous clauses in them that have to do with elements an employer would ask an employee to do such as: a training regimen, how physically fit they are to be, and behavioral clauses. All of this, plus asking one to be one the road a majority of the year, not entitled to workman's compensation, health insurance, life insurance or accidental death insurance. This is something that is demanded of them even when not working for the WWE (for instance a house for a small regional brand). Wow. It has not been revealed what Levy or the other plaintiffs are seeking in damages, but it makes for a good case to examine. To be totally honest, now that I am looking at wrestling differently, I can see why performers can be looked upon as disposable. The promoter has no ties to them at all except paying for the performance or taking credit for 'developing' their character. In the late 1990's, a slew of older wrestlers left what was then called the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) and went to WCW(World Championship Wrestling) not because they wanted to stick it to Vince McMahon, but because they were offered guaranteed contracts and a lighter workload...that's it. Now that McMahon has virtually monopolized the industry since the acquisition of WCW in 2001, performers are relegated to the independent circuit where their situation can be tenuous at best or go to another company called TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) where all of the older performers are residing now. Once again the same conditions will more than likely apply for many wrestlers; the contract can be terminated at will by the promoter.
The bottom line is this: I never in my wildest dreams would have thought the life of a pro wrestler would be so difficult. The promoters do a great job of dressing up a hard, ugly industry and making it palatable for public consumption. It makes me think deeper about the business when I watch the older matches from my youth...'was he injured when he fell like that?' or 'what is his/her life like when the cheers stop, the lights go out and there is no more money?' 'How does this lifestyle affect wives and children?' On the other end, to be fair, what is a promoter to do in a case where he has assets that can be seriously debilitated at any moment? The wrestlers have no union so everyone is pretty much in it for their own well being for the most part. In the NFL, there is a similarity in that an individual can lose the ability to play in a matter of seconds and the team still has the right to terminate a contract if it is felt a player is not playing well enough; the risk doesn't warrant a total commitment. If there was a total commitment by owners in these high risk sports, the league would be subject to financial difficulty by paying for all of the injuries, especially after a career is finished; and this is why I cannot wait for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the NFL between owners and players. The players are guaranteed signing bonuses even though the rest of the their contract isn't; so the players are not walking away from the negotiation table with nothing in hand. I am not YET well versed in labor law, so I cannot really get into the nuts and bolts of this but I can say at least the NFL has a a union and pension fund complete with a drug prescription plan, albeit a grossly underfunded one. Do the wrestlers deserve a similar structure based on the demands placed upon them to entertain us?
I will try to keep an ongoing update in regards to the goings on of Levy's case as the WWE is preparing a motion for summary judgement. I will post any new information as I receive it.
I was looking at old Youtube.com videos of wrestling from the old days, reflecting on my youth and decided to look into the business of pro wrestling; when I was younger back when Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were ruling the roost as the top drawers in the industry, I actually thought it was a real sport, complete with legitimate beefs, titles, agendas and in-match injuries. As I got older, I wanted to know what the life a pro wrestler was OUTSIDE of the ring. Do they really ride in limos and fly in private jets? Do they lay up with super models and have tailor made suits made of silk? Do they say their prayers and take their vitamins, thus enuring another hard fought victory? Well, now that I have the time to look into that aspect, I can explore and write about it.
One thing that I did not know up until at least 72 hours ago is that pro wrestlers are entitled to little to no protection against injury as they are not employees of the various (and dwindling) wrestling promotions. They are considered 'independent contractors' who are not provided with W-2's for tax filing or given medical, dental or life insurance. They are paid weekly and if they are legitimately injured, it is up to them to foot the bill for getting better. Granted they are paid moderately well, are in the public spotlight and pretty much can use pro wrestling as a springboard into other endeavors, I thought this to be rather odd. In the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) for instance, the wrestlers are required to license themselves in the areas where they are to perform and if they need help, the WWE will charge them for assistance in doing so. In looking at the industry from my old perspective, I thought it was more like a team traveling from town to town where the company had a roster of paid employees who were taken care of, but now I look at the industry sort of like a circus where if the Elephant is injured and cannot stand on it's hind legs (compete) within 6 weeks of the injury, the boss reserves the right to put them to sleep (or in WWE's case, to terminate the contract). Some of the performers are provided perks such as first class plane tickets, hotel accommodations, and a certain percentage of the merchandise sales bearing their images. However, if I am a lay wrestler that has not yet made a name for myself in the business or generated a buzz with a fancy tag line or gimmick (which if developed while in WWE, belongs to them), not only do I pay for my transportation, I pay for living expenses, insurance, licenses, a place to live and other miscellaneous expenses...not exactly the most glamorous life huh?
As far as injuries are concerned, these athletes live a life that ensures that there are numerous high risks for injury; in order to entertain the fans, the performers take what are called 'bumps' whether it be falling from high altitudes, getting hit with tables, ladders or chairs. In order to recover from injuries that are the result of these risks, wrestlers eventually turn to performance enhancing substances in order to recover from the injuries so they can keep working. This is something that is a culture in the industry of pro-wrestling as a performer can be one missed event away from not being to feed their family or take care of themselves. Of course we know the downside of using steroids, cocaine and painkillers as they played roles in the deaths of numerous wrestlers. Once again, this is not something done by the WWE, but an inherent culture in the industry itself.
I apologize for digressing, as I wanted to really put emphasis on the injury side of the business and how razor thin the margin of error is for some performers; I can now see why if someone has slipped a disc in their back after falling 15 feet onto a thinly padded mat would take Vicodin or Percocet rather than go to a doctor and take time off to rehab the injury. I also can see that when is living on the road over 300 days per year, one can develop some some dangerous 'off the job' habits such as illicit drug use and alcoholism.
Scott Levy, better known as 'Johnny Polo' or 'Raven' in the 'sports entertainment' industry along with two other wrestlers are bringing suit against the WWE in regards to their status as 'independent contractors'. In their 'booking contracts' there are numerous clauses in them that have to do with elements an employer would ask an employee to do such as: a training regimen, how physically fit they are to be, and behavioral clauses. All of this, plus asking one to be one the road a majority of the year, not entitled to workman's compensation, health insurance, life insurance or accidental death insurance. This is something that is demanded of them even when not working for the WWE (for instance a house for a small regional brand). Wow. It has not been revealed what Levy or the other plaintiffs are seeking in damages, but it makes for a good case to examine. To be totally honest, now that I am looking at wrestling differently, I can see why performers can be looked upon as disposable. The promoter has no ties to them at all except paying for the performance or taking credit for 'developing' their character. In the late 1990's, a slew of older wrestlers left what was then called the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) and went to WCW(World Championship Wrestling) not because they wanted to stick it to Vince McMahon, but because they were offered guaranteed contracts and a lighter workload...that's it. Now that McMahon has virtually monopolized the industry since the acquisition of WCW in 2001, performers are relegated to the independent circuit where their situation can be tenuous at best or go to another company called TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) where all of the older performers are residing now. Once again the same conditions will more than likely apply for many wrestlers; the contract can be terminated at will by the promoter.
The bottom line is this: I never in my wildest dreams would have thought the life of a pro wrestler would be so difficult. The promoters do a great job of dressing up a hard, ugly industry and making it palatable for public consumption. It makes me think deeper about the business when I watch the older matches from my youth...'was he injured when he fell like that?' or 'what is his/her life like when the cheers stop, the lights go out and there is no more money?' 'How does this lifestyle affect wives and children?' On the other end, to be fair, what is a promoter to do in a case where he has assets that can be seriously debilitated at any moment? The wrestlers have no union so everyone is pretty much in it for their own well being for the most part. In the NFL, there is a similarity in that an individual can lose the ability to play in a matter of seconds and the team still has the right to terminate a contract if it is felt a player is not playing well enough; the risk doesn't warrant a total commitment. If there was a total commitment by owners in these high risk sports, the league would be subject to financial difficulty by paying for all of the injuries, especially after a career is finished; and this is why I cannot wait for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the NFL between owners and players. The players are guaranteed signing bonuses even though the rest of the their contract isn't; so the players are not walking away from the negotiation table with nothing in hand. I am not YET well versed in labor law, so I cannot really get into the nuts and bolts of this but I can say at least the NFL has a a union and pension fund complete with a drug prescription plan, albeit a grossly underfunded one. Do the wrestlers deserve a similar structure based on the demands placed upon them to entertain us?
I will try to keep an ongoing update in regards to the goings on of Levy's case as the WWE is preparing a motion for summary judgement. I will post any new information as I receive it.
Totally new spin on the wonderful world that is pro wrestling. Kudos!!!!
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