Vince McMahon Initiates New Drug Policy

[Strummer]

 

In a joint meeting today with the RAW and SmackDown rosters in the United Kingdom, in Sheffield, Vince McMahon announced that within the next several weeks, a new drug testing policy will be implemented in which performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids, etc., recreational drugs, as well as abuse of prescription drugs will be banned.

 

In addition to the new drug testing procedure, there will also be an emphasis on cardiovascular examinations.

 

The specifics of the drug policy will be announced over the next several weeks. More details to follow. Check with WWE.com for the latest information.

 

Credit: WWE.com

411

 

 

WOW

[goodhelmet]

I'll believe it when I see it and when some guys suddenly slim down.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

as well as abuse of prescription drugs will be banned

Where do painkillers fall into this discussion?

[sek69]

This just smacks of PR so that the next time a wrestler dies Vince can point to this testing policy and deny they were taking drugs.

 

I just don't see how you can work the WWE schedule without painkillers, let alone the people taking steroids or HGH.

 

They definately need to start getting guys' hearts checked more often since most deaths are the result of wear and tear on the heart.

 

Somehow I don't think we'll be seeing the skinny 1994 WCW Triple H on Raw anytime soon though.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

The key word with prescription meds is "abuse". Guys can still take painkillers, they just can't abuse them. So what constitutes an abuse of something? Your guess is as good as mine, and is probably a lot more conservative than theirs. And I'm wondering if prescription meds also covers for steroids. *paging Dr. Zahorian*

[sek69]

You can bet HHH will get a prescription for muscle enhancers as part of his quad rehab.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Well, they already mention steroids in the earlier part of the paragraph, so no biggie there. The main issue, for me, is the painkillers. The message behind "don't abuse painkillers" rings a little hollow when you throw people on the road 350 out of 362 days. I assume anthetamines and other uppers fall under the "recreational drugs" portion as well, right?

 

I'd love to buy into it, but it doesn't seem realistic for the WWE, given their travel schedule and the physical demands of the business.

[Mad Dog]

My guess is that a few token undercard guys that barely appear on the main shows will get suspended for 2 months (more like a paid vacation) and you'll never see anything again. I say Val Venis, a Basham, Scotty II Hotty and Big Vito get suspended under this policy.

 

This'll never happen because 90% of the roster would fail this test.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

They listed Steroids under "performance enhancing drugs" NOT under "prescription meds". If they include that in the actual policy, the difference will be relevant.

 

http://www.answers.com/loophole&r=67

[sek69]

Right now Snitsky is shitting his pants, I'm sure.

[goodhelmet]

You know, if they instituted a mandatory time-off period where a guy has to disappear for a week every three months, I don't know how much easier it would be on the wrestlers, but I have a feeling if you staggered your roster, everyone could regroup and the show can still go on without missing a beat. It would be esp. easy to do during months where the other brand is featuring a PPV.

[Guest teke184]

I think that the emphasis will be on "recreational drugs" rather than "performance-enhancing drugs" or "prescription medication".

 

 

I also think this the drug-testing part is directly tied to the Nick Dinsmore incident that put him into rehab rather than Eddy's heart failure, although Eddy's death was a bigger PR nightmare.

 

Eddy's heart attack is more related to the "cardiovascular testing" provision, which is likely to determine that 1/2 to 2/3 of the roster have enlarged hearts due to "performance-enhancing drugs".

[Guest teke184]

Also, Meltz cleared up the Nick Dinsmore situation...

 

 

Apparently, he took too many Somas and passed out, a la Sean Waltman and Louie Spicoli during the mid-90s tours of Europe.

[sek69]

You think they'd recognize a theme. I know Europe is becoming the only place where they can guarantee a sellout every show, but the last thing a roster full of bodies sore from taking bumps needs is a trans-atlantic plane flight.

[Loss]

As Bryan Alvarez pointed out last night, too much time off is bad for some guys as well because they get in even more trouble. Sean Waltman and Scott Hall are great examples of this. Answers aren't easy, and this needs to be openly debated in and out of wrestling for a long time.

[Loss]

A look at today's announcement by Vince McMahon and the realities of the situation

 

by Dave Meltzer

 

[email protected]

 

Vince McMahon announced to all the talent this afternoon in Sheffield, England, a new drug policy, which would include performance enhancing drugs, recreational drugs as well as abuse of prescription drugs.

 

In addition, the company is going to mandate more comprehensive cardiovascular examinations for its athletes. All performers under full-time contract will be subject to frequent, unannounced and random testing.

 

Unlike with the McMahon drug policy instituted between 1992-96, there will be a completely independent, and presumably autonomous figure in control of handling the testing, punishments and potential rehabilitation. The figure will report first to the talent to advise them of any positive results or alarming signs, and then report his findings to Vince McMahon afterwards. In the original policy, the doctor who headed the policy would report first to McMahon and generally, J.J. Dillon, and they would decide what action to take.

 

There are two other major differences between the old policy, dropped in 1996 for a number of reasons, basically financial (the policy cost $1 million plus annually and the company was running deeply in the red at the time) and because the WWF was involved in a promotional war with a company that wasn't nearly as strict on the steroid issue, and the fact is, bodies sell and it made a difference in the wrestling war at the time.

 

One is the emphasis on extensive cardiovascular examinations because of the deaths of so many relatively young wrestlers due to heart ailments, presumably brought on by use of both recreational drugs and abuse of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids That was a given due to the circumstances surrounding the heart damage Guerrero had, likely from years of abuse.

 

The other is more careful monitoring of prescription drugs, in particular pain killers. One of the flaws of the old testing was that wrestlers, who knew doctors in many cities, would get multiple prescriptions for the same ailment from doctors who liked being around the stars. Since the wrestlers had prescriptions for those drugs, when they showed up in their system, they were allowed to continue. While not made clear, it is believed this policy would monitor levels of pain killers, whether prescribed or not, and those with high levels would be addressed and likely taken off the road and put into rehab if necessary.

 

Shortly after the death of Brian Pillman, the WWF banned certain well-known doctors from its dressing rooms and told talent to stay away from them. There were two reasons for this, the obvious one of being concerned and reacting to Pillman's death, but the other reason that they had already been through a Zahorian trial and a McMahon trial. Indeed, one of the doctors in question at the time was feared to be "hot" (in that the feds were onto him) and his being linked with a substantial number of wrestlers if there was an arrest would have been disastrous. Even so, some major talent ignored the warnings and continued to see the doctors in question for their prescriptions. In the case of one of those doctors talent was warned to stay away from, Dr. Joel Hackett of Indianapolis, many wrestlers he was closely associated with in the 90s, are dead today. At least two, and likely more, of those who passed away, ignored the company directive and continued to see him.

 

It goes without saying, this was brought on by the death of Eddie Guerrero. We can be critical that prior warning signals were ignored, and probably should be. It would have been far worse for issues of this magnitude, particularly after a second scare this week involving Nick Dinsmore, who passed out after taking too many somas in the lobby of a hotel in Manchester, England, be ignored.

 

As far as discussions of what would come out of the death of Guerrero, it is believed they started as early as the day after, and the Dinsmore situation may not have even played a part.

 

No details were announced to talent because all the procedures will not be written up or finalized for several weeks. McMahon in a very short speech, that lasted less than five minutes, seemed to hint at suspensions for violations of non-prescription drugs, and rehab for abuse levels of prescription drugs.

 

One would suspect, and while this hasn't been said, that wrestlers will have fair opportunity to rid themselves of current issues, most notably steroids, some of which can stay in the system for lengthy periods of time. Using 1991 as an example, McMahon made a similar announcement to talent in July, after a damaging steroid trial. In November, months after everyone was told to get off steroids, 50% of the wrestlers in the company (and that percentage included both male and female talent) tested positive on the first test. The company policy became that those wrestlers had to show decreasing levels of steroids in future tests or be suspended. That policy was criticized at the time by some leading steroid doctors who stated to us that levels of steroids when it comes to being in tests fluctuate up and down, and levels themselves could increase even upon cessation of usage, but still, there were not a lot of policy violations, although numerous big stars, both in terms of bulk and stature in the industry, quit that year. The key point to look at was in late 1992, when business was falling badly, and depth of talent was not there as in years past, when Vince McMahon believed Davey Boy Smith and Jim Hellwig were using Growth Hormone to get around the company's policy, he fired both of them. Vince McMahon himself was also under fire at the time, with a governmental investigation going on, so had tremendous pressure to keep the wrestlers clean.

 

Nevertheless, no matter how it may be phrased, steroids, as an example, were tacitly approved of by the company, and while never verbally said so, in reality, encouraged based on decisions on who to push at what levels, combined with no testing or penalties involved with use. They were until recently in baseball as well. And there is no sport that has gotten the handle on controlling performance enhancing drugs. The top wrestlers, like top athletes in other sports, can find access to doctors who can teach them to beat the tests, and there is still Growth Hormone, that can't be tested for, and is known to enlarge hearts.

 

The only true cure is this. Promoters can't push people based on physique, and judge talent for jobs based on physique. The public can't be impressed by talent with better physiques in thinking that helps make them bigger stars. The talent itself has to no longer care how their physique looks. All three are impossible in the business as we know it. There is no true cure, only an attempt to do the best possible on all accounts. The fact there is no cure does not mean steps shouldn't be taken to help, and this appears to be a giant step, as compared to two weeks ago.

 

The reality is if there is a test in three weeks based on the standards that would be the goal, many would likely fail. McMahon stated they would be fair. However, it is also imperative McMahon discuss openly what that policy would be, such as how long wrestlers had to get steroids, just as an example, out of their system. It's a killer, because it would only admit to issues, but if there is testing one month from today, even if everyone involved goes cold turkey today, many would still fail. Half the performers failed four months after a similar meeting. If McMahon doesn't publicly explain, and take whatever early heat there would be, and if the public is told there are no failures, the credibility would have to be questioned. The point here is, it would be easy to just say suspend everyone who tests positive. There may not be enough guys to fill a roster, let alone two, not to mention the p.r. nightmare if major names suddenly disappear. They could wait six months and hope people clean out, and if that's the case, they also need to be open about this. During the 90s, there were wrestlers who tested positive that were allowed to stay on the road, but they were working without pay, under the guise they would both protect their reputations and also not interrupt existing storylines. If that's the case, the company also has to be open about this ahead of time. I don't care about pointing fingers and holding up examples of suspended guys to prove they are serious. But I do believe all aspects of the policy have to be open and honest, and not misleading.

 

If word spreads that things happen, such as a wrestler who failed a steroid test and then worked a European tour for several weeks because he was booked in main events and the depth was down at the time, in 2005, this will backfire. Also, talent will know if the policy is adhered to unfairly, and it's a very different world at this time, because if talent knows, we will all know soon enough, and all credibility will be lost. I believe that is a major reason why McMahon is going to have someone autonomous in control of the policy.

 

But the most important thing is to remember what the goal is. The goal for everyone is the health of the performers and hopefully never having to go through another week like we did, and far more importantly, that no more families will have to go through a lifetime of which they have been unfairly sentenced.

 

It is natural to be skeptical of this, and if McMahon is serious, we will see major physical changes in much of the talent, both men and women. It's going to be a tough pill for a lot of people, wrestlers, fans and management, to swallow. We will have to accept the standards of real bodies, as opposed to bodies by science, and perhaps of a standard of physical punishment in matches diminished to a degree based on not using artificial means of recovery.

 

If the changes are not significant, people are not stupid and will know this is a fraud. This is not just physiques, but the entire nature of the business and lifestyles of many of the performers, if this is an honest policy, will have to change.

 

This is, after all, pro wrestling, which hardly has a sterling track record for honesty. I also was in the same place Vince McMahon was this past week, and please don't think for a minute that he doesn't care. You couldn't be human without this making a huge impression and wanting to do everything in your power to keep this from happening again.

 

But even from a cold business perspective, the circumstances of why this happened and very different from any other period. We not only had the death of a popular performer, but judging from feedback, the fan base, and the media, are a whole lot more savvy on this subject than they were in 1991 or 1996. It is horrible it took what it did for these problems to be addressed. We've all heard many times that the only consolation is that Eddie is in a better place. Maybe a second consolation is that Eddie's most important legacy in this business is that it took his death to save the lives of others. We can't turn back the clock. We can only look to the future.

[Guest Some Guy]

I hope he means it this time. And I hope that Vince actually stands by the guys who do clean up and as a byproduct lose a fair amount of muscle mass. I wonder if Chris Benoit will get any type of push when he gets off the juice and drops 20lbs. I wonder how Angle will be used when he drops weight and can no longer take stupid bumps because he is no longer on steroids and copious amounts of pain killers.

[sek69]

The biggest test of this policy will be to see if Vince himself drops any size.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

Given the amount of roids Benoit has taken and for how long, if he goes off them, I imagine he'd implode and create a black hole, sucking in all matter.

[Mad Dog]

Given the amount of roids Benoit has taken and for how long, if he goes off them, I imagine he'd implode and create a black hole, sucking in all matter.

Nah, his neck would just swallow his head.

[Guest Big Papi]

ESPN has picked up on this story:

 

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Following the death of one of pro wrestling's biggest stars, World Wrestling Entertainment says it is starting random drug testing to detect illicit drugs, steroids and prescription drug abuse among its performers.

 

 

John Shearer/WireImage.com

Largely as a result of Guerrero's death, the WWE is starting random drug testing.

Eddie Guerrero, 38, had struggled with drug abuse for years before he was found dead last month in a Minneapolis hotel shortly before a show.

 

 

The medical examiner has yet to rule on the cause of death, but Guerrero's widow has said she was told an autopsy showed signs of heart disease, which she blamed on his past alcohol and drug abuse combined with an aggressive workout regimen.

 

 

"This is the first time a superstar of this magnitude has passed away on a national promotion," Dave Meltzer, editor of Wrestling Observer, said. "I'm sure they are going to have to do a lot of thinking."

 

 

WWE, whose wrestling programming is among the highest-rated on cable television, said it will announce details of the new testing procedure in the coming weeks. Chairman Vince McMahon told wrestlers last week that the new policy would involve frequent, random tests conducted by an independent agency.

 

 

"The policy is going to be very fair. No special consideration for any one," McMahon said.

 

 

The issue isn't new to McMahon or pro wrestling.

 

 

In 1994, McMahon was acquitted of charges alleging he pressured his athletes to bulk up on steroids. Jesse Ventura, a flamboyant pro wrestler before he was elected governor of Minnesota, has admitted using steroids. Another pro wrestler, Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, died in 2003 of a cocaine overdose. When Brian Pillman, a wrestler and former NFL player, died in 1997 of heart disease, empty bottles of prescription painkillers were found in his hotel room.

 

 

Bruno Sammartino, who held the World Wrestling Federation title for 11 years in the 1960s and '70s, refused to be inducted into a wrestling hall of fame this year because he believes today's wrestling is vulgar and bad for children. He said he was sickened to hear young wrestlers were hooked on drugs, pain killers and steroids.

 

 

"We believe that this new policy is appropriate and important to ensure the health and well-being of our talent," WWE spokesman Gary Davis said in explaining the change.

 

 

Previously, WWE tested for drugs only when it saw a need.

 

 

Davis also cited the current focus on drug and steroid use in sports; Major League Baseball recently strengthened its steroids policy under pressure from Congress.

 

 

Although wrestling is entertainment, some experts say a grueling number of matches, high acrobatics and expectations placed on wrestlers contributes to the use of steroids and painkillers.

 

 

The pressure to perform is even greater on smaller and older wrestlers, Meltzer said.

 

 

"You're expected to look a certain way," Meltzer said. "The public expectation for these guys is very difficult to live up to. To do it 200 times per year, it's very hard on the body what they do."

 

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

Dont forget the always insightful asshole extrodanaire Jim Rome saying somethig to the affect of "It shouldnt matter if wrestlers take steroids cause theyre not real athletes and it doesnt give them an actual competetive edge" and then going on to draw comparisons between them and the actors on Lost "theyre like soap opera actors".

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

Is it really Jim Romes fault that professional wrestling isn't taken seriously?

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

Is it Jim Romes fault that hes an asshole?

 

 

 

as a matter of fact, yes.

 

 

Jim Rome annoys me on all levels, his comments towards Wrestling are just the most recent. I havent ment ANYONE who likes Jim Rome, son.

[Guest Big Papi]

I like Rome, his opinion was just that of the mainstream, non-wrestling fan. It should never suprise you to hear people speak of wrestling like that. To 'them' we are redneck, backwater, sister fucking trailer monkeys. They don't know, don't care to know and will never understand the business like we do. It doesn't bother me anymore.