Chris, Nancy, & Daniel Benoit found dead

[Guest KCook]

Reading Meltzer's reaction to the Kennedy blog I'm wondering, Does he really think Kennedy is stupid enough to go against Vince Mcmahon and say stuff like Mero and Graham have said.

Of course not, but reading between the lines it really seems like Meltzer is getting tired of trying to be more Catholic than the pope. He didn't denounce Kennedy, really. He didn't say that he couldn't understand why Kennedy would make such a fool of himself. He just called it pathetic.

 

The question everyone has really avoided is whether these people deserve to die. That's part of what makes Benoit's case in particular so horrible: his wife and especially his son obviously didn't. Benoit's probably a different story. I wouldn't say he flat out should have died—if nothing else, he left children without a father—but when someone has had so many close friends die so young because of drugs and doesn't go straight, at a certain point they abandon any claim on your sympathy. Same thing with Guerrero, the man who pimped his sobriety while taking any kind of pill in sight; same thing with most of these people.

 

At this point I think the marks are on to something. If Kennedy is stupid enough to have internalized the company line, fuck him.

[maxpower]

I have nothing to add at the moment (haven't seen any of the news shows tonight since I was at work) but those posts on the last page by TomK were perfect.

 

Great job, I couldn't have said it any better.

[CodySave]

People don't listen to what idiots like Bix have to say. He's just one of these typical anti-WWE smarks on the internet. He's just some goof who is obsessed with making claims of sleeze in wrestling. He is also known for having this mentality that he has to battle WWE cause he's the rightful owner of old time wrestling footage and wrestling history. He's a piece of trash ROHbot who thinks he's going to be the next Dave Meltzer.

Seth | 07.12.07 - 7:16 pm |

 

You want to be me? You can't handle this hair, son. I give your life a -**** rating.

 

So, what name does this Seth post under at the DVDVR board and what did you do to piss him off besides making rational points?

 

Who the hell would want to be the next Dave Meltze? I even graduated in journalism and enjoy writing, but I would never, ever want to handle the amount of work Dave is doing every week these days. Besides, he never gets to report on positive news anymore. No wonder he's moving from wrestling to MMA - it's much happier to cover.

[ohtani's jacket]

I suppose there's a distinct possibility that Benoit could have eventually died from the same causes as many other wrestlers. To me, the real unanswered question was how premeditated it was. In situations like this, I think it's natural for things to escalate to the point where people say it was bound to happen, but what exactly was going on when Benoit cancelled his PPV appearance and flew home? I guess we'll never know, but one way or the other he was a timebomb.

[Guest teke184]

In situations like this, I think it's natural for things to escalate to the point where people say it was bound to happen, but what exactly was going on when Benoit cancelled his PPV appearance and flew home?

He didn't fly home or officially cancel his PPV appearance... he never left Atlanta to start the week's run in Texas.

 

The WWE expected him to show up on Sunday in Houston for the PPC

 

 

The way things are laid out, it sounds like he killed Nancy on Thursday or Friday and then kept calling WWE Talent Relations to reschedule his flight as a way of buying time for himself.

 

After a point, they told him not to bother flying into Beaumont, TX, for the Saturday house show and told him to fly into Houston for the PPV. He agreed, which is why they thought he was coming to One Night Stand and didn't sub Johnny Nitro in his spot until the last second.

[Loss]

Hasn't Ryder already tried to use this stupid talking before?

[Al]

To suggest wrestling doesn't have a problem with premature deaths is ridiculous.

[Bix]

Well, he does work for TNA.

[ohtani's jacket]

He didn't fly home or officially cancel his PPV appearance... he never left Atlanta to start the week's run in Texas.

I see.

[Bix]

Ryder's new BS reminds me of this classic...

 

Dave,

 

 

 

I thought your comments in your news update yesterday were a cheap shot.

 

 

 

I didn’t twist Mushnick’s words. Nothing I wrote was misleading. It’s what he wrote…I didn’t put words in his mouth. He said what he said. I provided a link to the entire column so people could read the column if they wanted to. Unlike some people (not you), I won’t cut and past copyright protected material…so didn’t post his entire column and instead clipped the first few sentences and provided the link for the rest.

 

 

 

Mushnick’s column was the right message (although should have been toned down without the smugness he holds for wrestling), but from the wrong messenger. I think Mushnick could care less about Eddie or any of the other wrestlers who have passed away. For Mushnick, the deaths appear to be just another excuse for him to continue his vendetta against Vince McMahon. Whether that’s the case or not, it’s how it appears. The column he wrote on Monday didn’t include one ounce of compassion towards Eddie or his family, and was just another in his never ending series of opportunities to blast McMahon and WWE. If not for the dozens of other columns he has written blasting WWE for practically everything they’ve ever done…I’d have probably written something praising Mushnick for what he wrote. I still wouldn’t have liked the “they’re just wrestlers” sarcasm, but would have focused on the message.

 

 

 

WWE took a huge step yesterday with the announcement of the strong drug policy. You and I have been around long enough to be skeptical of whether they’ll actually follow through on it…but I’d like to (even if it’s just this one time) see them get the benefit of the doubt. I doubt Mushnick will write anything about this…and if he does it will be dripping with sarcasm and doubt.

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Ryder

 

DM: Your headline read: "Mushnick: "They're only pro wrestlers; It's not as if they're real people." This headline gave the idea that Mushnick was insinuating a death of a pro wrestler wasn't important and the tone of his article would be that people are making a big deal out of nothing. In fact, the line was written to be critical of just that thinking, both from the media that had ignored the issue for years, and probably wrestling fans who have as well. In fact, your headline, taking that line out of its context couldn't have been more misleading. It's interesting that you say Mushnick's column was the right message, because in your original article, you mentioned nothing like that. And where do you come across saying Mushnick could care less about any of the wrestlers who have passed away, given he started writing on this subject before any other mainstream reporter did? I agree that Mushnick has come across to vigilant at times toward McMahon so it has weakened him as an unbiased voice, but where his he wrong in his article? But where you owe him an apology is this. The headline you wrote gave your readers a 180 degree different perception of his main point than what he actually was writing. And even here, while admitting his key points were largely accurate, instead of praising him for it, are critical of him again anyway. You think he doesn't care? Why would this be? Because it's easier to write that than to admit you agree with his points? You think he's using this as a way to get back at McMahon? I can see where people would believe that, but, what was inaccurate about what he wrote in the article? I agree he could have written more about Guerrero and wish he would have, but that wasn't the road he chose. I also think saying McMahon was skipping in the cemetary was way too strong given the events of the week, but his main point of the article is correct, and has been for a decade plus, that he's been writing it while you have been trying to pretend it's a made up issue. Since you can't take that position today without being laughed at, it's your hatred of the fact Mushnick's suppositions proved to be right from the start that lead to you twisting his words rather than admitting what he started writing about 14 years ago proved over time to be correct. Now that it has been proven correct, you're so blinded by hatred of Mushnick that you try and make him look bad anyway. Wrestlers have died too frequently while (and this time it's no longer the case) most of the media gave wrestling a free pass on the drug issue for the silliest of reasons, that match endings are predetermined. If you want to take issue with the main point of his article, be my guest. But when you both ignore it and distort it on a major issue like this because it's easy to rally wrestling fans against "evin Phil Mushnick," in the case of this article, that was a cheap shot. Personally, I believe he should write about the new drug policy. Given the long-term history regarding the last time he did so, such as who he decided to push while telling wrestlers to stay off steroids (Ultimate Warrior, Sid Eudy and Lex Luger, only ending up with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and others because his original choices to whom would lead the company flamed out or self destructed), what would the honest conclusion be of his thought process. If you don't have some skepticism and doubt, and I'm sure you personally do as well, you'd be asleep at the wheel on this one.

[Bix]

Meanwhile...

 

It's really impossible for me to comprehend how WWE is attacking the steroid issue publicly right. I understand being defensive and all that, but they've been comically inept at PR.

 

-The original "steroids don't cause asphyxiation" press release.

- Finlay's response to Alvarez relaying info straight from WWE's steroid policy and McDevitt being that it's "garbage" because he's not in the WWE lockerroom.

- Letting the wrestlers blog and get the policy wrong.

- The fact that the toxicology results will slaughter them in a few days while they're defending the hell out of their policy.

 

And so on.

 

Since it's Vince/WWE and they won't admit fucking up, they really need to shut up until they make any changes.

[Tim Evans]

Like I said on DVDVR, Vince won't shut up. It's not his style. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on Nancy Grace or Bill O next week. I hope they have security on set because of Vince's behavior with reporters. Does Bob Costas still have a show on HBO? Maybe he'll go on there.

 

But your right, WWE shouldn't have wrestlers blog or talk for a while.

[sek69]

Dave's latest WO update, as he seems closer every day to saying "fuck this shit":

 

--The biggest media target for comments as he left was Fit Finlay. What a bad idea last night turned out to be for him and actually, I thought he was lucky because Marc Mero and Bryan Alvarez have so much personal respect for him they could have made him look far worse. Well, also because there were times he opened himself up so badly and Alvarez wasn't on at those moments since the producers wanted Mero vs. Fit. But in the end, Nancy Grace made Fit look terrible. Fit needed a lot more than not knowing the policy he was defending and "only five deaths under our watch" (I presume Nancy & Daniel Benoit's deaths don't count because they weren't contracted employees, like the plethora of young deaths of guys who picked up or worsened habits under the watch who died in their 40s) and "we put smiles on faces" to go on a show like that. I felt sorry for him, but it was another example of everything wrong with how wrestling is handling this situation.

 

I can't comment on Mr. Kennedy's appearance on FNC because I didn't see it and won't until tonight. I did see Jon Stewart on O'Reilly, and as much as everyone in the profession will knock him because he hasn't been a major star in a long time, I thought he was very honest, which puts him well ahead of most who have been on these shows.

 

For the same thing, just a different day. Whether it's Kennedy, Finlay, or anyone else, instead of denying there is a problem, because three dead bodies speak that there is a problem, every WWE performer going public should spend far more time talking about a solution. Instead, they'll knock Nancy Grace, who was completely clueless on day one, and after only two plus weeks, has more depth of thought on this story and its true ramifications than any WWE contracted performer who has written or spoke publicly. They'll knock Marc Mero because he wasn't a big star (immaterial) or has an agenda. Who doesn't have an agenda in wrestling? Nobody publicly touches Konnan, who is essentially saying the same things, because it's easier to say Mero hasn't been in the business in years and is out of touch than say that about Konnan. I'm sure he's got an agenda, just like John Cena has an agenda and everyone has an agenda. I'm looking for positive improvements, not hiding (such as WWE taking its Wellness policy off its web site or the McMahon family's disappearing act in public when the media folks actually started learning the story after an embarrassing start), name calling

 

Again, why can nobody in WWE say what Dana White said after the Benoit murders. We want to work with all the governmental agencies when it comes to outside testing because after what happened. We don't want steroids in our sport. That was the most horrible crime I've heard of in a long time.

 

I'm not saying outside agency athletic commission testing is even a partial solution, but the fact WWE--and TNA--won't say anything of the sort advocating or coming up with any improvements after three weeks is telling. Defending the drug policy is futile at this point. It's failure was proven by Benoit having steroids in his home and huge quantities prescribed to him the entire year while being tested. Attempts to use the policy as proof things are fine doesn't work. If things were fine and the policy works, explain the contradiction.

 

The big problem here is the wrestling industry. They are not to blame for the Benoit murders. They are to blame for their attitude on the Benoit murders. I hate saying this, but while wrestlers are far more honest in general than baseball and football players when it comes to personal use of steroids (in most cases, there are exceptions), many (not all) are coming across as incapable of any depth of thought, and having zero balls or backbone. Instead of working within every means necessary to give suggestions to clean up problems, they are more concerned with protecting the business than saving future lives. They haven't even made the most simple of correlations. In the long run, saving lives is protecting the business. In fact, with every single WWE appearance on television, has one wrestler spoken up with a suggestion on how they can lower the death rate in the future? Or have they attempted, in most cases futilely, to deny what is obvious to anyone with eyesight and half a brain?

 

I'm begging one WWE wrestler on their blogs or in a public forum to make suggestions to clean up the industry that are viable. Not just WWE. The industry. Whether it be a change of standards of what a star is supposed to look like, schedule that would be more beneficial, or something. If I read one more "personal choice," thing, I want to ask every Mr. Personal choice these questions:

 

1) Whose personal choice was it to make Bobby Lashley and Dave Bautista two of the company's three most pushed stars. I'm not accusing them of steroids. At least in the case of Dave, the fans took him over the top after HHH handpicked him to be a future star. Why? Great in-ring? Great speaking? But in his case, he got over and drew money and did earn his spot, but what message does that send to 80% of the roster who work better and talk better? As for Lashley, that was Vince's personal choice. All year from within the organization it's been the constant talk of how the fans don't buy Lashley at the level we are pushing him. And did the push lessen? No, it accelerated. Was it because his promos have gotten better? Was it because he outworks the rest of the roster? What trait does Lashley have that one would look at him and say he's a headliner?

 

2) What personal choice did Nancy and Daniel Benoit make?

 

Instead of saying the profession isn't to blame, and it both is and isn't, stop being so defensive and address what can be done to make things better and save lives. I have not pushed for athletic commission regulation of pro wrestling for many years, probably not since the early 90s. However, I've seen what has happened in California with MMA and while I don't agree with every commission decision, they have done an excellent job on the drug issue. Armando Garcia has said he would test WWE wrestlers, and I'm sure the same would go for TNA if they ever came, for free, to help WWE. If the business has changed and we want to do everything possible to prevent problems, who will be the first person in WWE to say, "We welcome outside testing." Don't argue "We're not a sport." If nobody was dying, there is no issue. Wrestling, in the big picture, is more real than MMA or boxing, not less, because the body count of superstars is the ultimate reality. Don't argue "it's only five guys who died under out watch," when 40-year-old Chris Benoit had how many of his closest friend this Earth in recent years and every close friend of his that I've spoken with believes that played a part in his mental collapse.

 

3) Don't tell me about how clean the locker room is. Publicly when Eddy Guerrero died, one guy after another went on television to brag about how Eddy had been clean for years. And I don't know who knew what, but Eddy and I did have mutual very good friends who were constantly monitoring him because they knew he was always at risk. Eddy himself told me that every single day was a struggle fighting his addictions. And by wrestling standards, Eddy may or may not have been clean, but by real world standards, significant usage of pain medication, steroids and GH is not clean. When Fit Finlay went on TV last night and told Mero that there's no proof steroids played a part in Guerrero's death, they needed an advocate who has at least kept up with the business enough to know that Guerrero's death certificate specifically points to steroids as a major contributing cause of his death. If Finlay didn't know that, the company is at fault for not preparing him and allowing him to open himself up to that degree. If he did know, then he's at fault for trying to lie. I believe it's the former. The first time I heard the defense that those old guys don't know and it's a new breed of wrestlers was in the early 90s when Jim Duggan tried to say there were no more steroids in wrestling and it had changed from the days of Superstar Graham and Bruno Sammartino, who were saying there was a steroid problem.

 

When Nancy Gracie screams on television about the indictment and Dr. Astin prescribing 700 pills in one day, the name in the indictment who he prescribed to was a WWE wrestler. Keep in mind, this is just one doctor located in Carrollton, GA, with a hoard of wrestlers as clients. Why do wrestlers living hours away, in fact, one living hundreds of miles away and another living thousands of miles away, regularly see a doctor in Carrollton, GA? Why did Benoit get the quantity of drugs he did? Listen, if more of the locker room is clean today than eight years ago, that's positive. But don't tell me with that evidence the problems have suddenly vanished and we no longer have to be concerned. Not after three deaths three weeks ago.

 

This is not a blame game. I don't blame anyone specifically other than Chris Benoit. I blame the environment and ultimately the people who made the decisions that led to this, not for murder, but for inaction. That's the people who ingested, the doctors who prescribed it to be buddies with wrestlers and the profession that has made some cosmetic changes, perhaps even some real changes, but has never once addressed the real issue of hirings, firings and pushes based on physique. Exactly how much punishment and how often, is healthy for an average person in the profession to take without a large percentage succumbing to addictive chemical help? Will WWE and TNA work together and fund a study regarding the deaths of wrestlers, including talking to the coroners who pulled these overly enlarged hearts out of one person or another, to find what consistent patterns we can find, what caused them, and most importantly, what can be doing to avoid it as much as possible in the future. Don't come up with "well, they didn't die under our watch," when the habits that killed them were done under your watch. Don't send out spineless wrestlers who claim Eddy Guerrero's problems were all in WCW, or, like Steve Blackman, who will say he's seen massive steroid use in wrestling, but only in Stampede Wrestling, never in WWF. We all know by the time their bodies expired from those habits many were in their 40s, and no longer under contract. Does anyone realize how bad that comes across to any thinking person?

 

Marc Mero is facing a heart valve replacement. It may or may not have been due to the steps he took to be a pro wrestler. Konnan is facing a kidney replacement, and nearly died last year. That was due to the steps he took both to be and to stay a pro wrestler. I knew Konnan at 25, and when it came to this issue, he was a far more intelligent version of Mr. Kennedy. For all I know, he may have gone on TV in Mexico and said he never did steroids. But he took steroids to be a star. He took pain pills to keep up the schedule. Made big money and didn't particularly care that much about the guys struggling to make it. He thought he was invincible and at 28, once told me and Art Barr that he didn't care if he lived past 35, because he was living a great life and we will all die of something. And I remember Art saying he had a three-year-old and he wanted to be there to watch him grow up. And I remember talking to the coroner several times after Art died and he was stumped. He couldn't figure out what killed him. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't have anywhere close to enough pain medication in him to be fatal, although he did have some. The coroner told me, "If I didn't know any better, his insides look exactly like a teenager from Washington who died from steroids." And then he said, "But that's impossible, because his father and brother told me that Art never took steroids."

 

With the benefit of the same hindsight, when today's wrestlers are on the scrap heap, and the company is no longer paying for their operations even though their health problems continue or worsen, many of them, facing mounting medical bills that kill your savings even if you were prudent during their career, will go on talk shows after the next death. And a whole new group of 30-year-old wrestlers who either don't know history or are able to somehow ignore it, and 48-year-old producers who actually do have full benefits packages that the rest of their brethren don't have, or fathers and uncles of guys wanting to break in who don't want to ire Stephanie McMahon and HHH, will kiss ass and claim those people were never really stars, are bitter, old and that there is no problem because they haven't even been in a locker room in eight years, and never address the guy who was in the locker room in the past week saying the same thing. And they'll try and tell people it's not the same business it was even two years ago.

 

And I'll save this column and write it again. It's not like I haven't written it 30 times before.

 

Wrestling should be a great industry. It should put smiles on faces. Hell, 80% of the time I've watched Fit Finlay wrestle this past year has been fun. And to me, who may know the industry a little better, by and large, my opinion is it is filled with sheep, cowards and people who in the end are so afraid of what they deep down know is the truth that they will not-so-gladly sacrifice families. In the end, they are avoiding what they think they are doing, which is actually protecting their business.

He actually touches on something I tried to mention on the DVDVR thread and got no sold, that Finlay as an agent is in a different category than Joe Wrestler who has no say on who gets pushed (and lacks the benefits agents.........err......"producers" get).

[Tim Evans]

He's right but why did he have to bring up Dana White? Does Meltzer still think UFC= Wrestling?

[kjh]

From the file marked Jim Ross really is a vile human being, he used Nancy and Daniel Benoit's funeral as a platform to try to deflect attention away from the steroid issue again. Here's the direct quote:

 

"This is not a steroid issue. That horse has got to be put in the barn and unsaddled. It's not a steroid issue. It's a domestic issue. But more than anything, it's a tragedy because a mother and little boy are dead."

[Bix]

It's the closest parallel Re: regulation/drug testing.

[Guest BilJim2]

Meltzer was a great read today. And he's right, he'll most likely write that article again.

 

I get closer every day to saying "fuck this shit" too. What a stupid fucking business.

[Al]

How does WWE keep the cat in the bag regarding steroids. This is nothing that a major sport like Major League Baseball hasn't dealt with, and they've produced the same PR strategy. "There is no steroid problem." Of course there is. The problem is that what can WWE realistically do to prevent steroids in wrestling? Guys can beat the testing program. On paper, WWE's policy is far stronger than other professional sports. On paper. They can take a hard line to prevent it, but then they still have to deal with wrestlers taking HGH and other undetectable drugs.

 

Recreational drugs have likely declined in wrestling, and that was half the problem. Unfortunately it will be ten years before we know if WWE's approach is truly effective or is just posturing. The deaths we've seen in the last decade were the product of the 1990s more or less.

[Bix]

Mark Henry is awesome, though he's about to be buried for it...

 

Keeping it real

Wrestler tired of drugs and their effect on his peers, his sport.

By John Maher

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Saturday, July 14, 2007

 

Professional wrestler Mark Henry, all 390 pounds of him, is used to drawing stares. Even people who haven't seen him perform at an arena or on television can't help but notice his vending-machine build or the Hummer he drives, the one he received for winning a 2002 strongman competition promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Lately, though, Henry said, "I've been getting dirty looks from people. I was talking to this guy at the airport and he said, 'You guys are all getting exposed.' When people make generalizations about me they're usually wrong. I don't do drugs. I'm not some animal. I'm not some Neanderthal."

 

Henry is dealing with the shock and grief stemming from the recent death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, whom police said killed his wife and 7-year-old son before committing suicide in the family's Georgia home. In the wake of the tragedy, wrestling's excesses, including steroid use, are again coming under fire from critics, some of whom have called for a Congressional investigation of the business.

 

The 36-year-old Henry, an Austin resident who's been a wrestler for more than a decade, also has to grapple with trying to lead a normal life in a surreal world.

 

"The travel alone would kill most people. We might do 250 shows a year," he said.

 

Henry doesn't ride with other wrestlers to any World Wrestling Entertainment matches. A husband and father of a 21-month-old son, Henry said one reason he drives solo is for safety, that he has less chance of getting in an accident that might cause an injury that could affect his career. The other reason, he said, is that he doesn't want to be in a car if recreational or performance-enhancing drugs belonging to another wrestler are discovered by law enforcement officials.

 

"If they get caught, then I'd be (considered) guilty, too. If we get pulled over we're both going down," Henry said.

Henry said of the 75 wrestlers he works with, he's close friends with maybe five or six. He said that's pretty typical in the business, because wrestlers are independent contractors.

 

One of the reasons Henry, a two-time Olympic weightlifter, is still in wrestling is Benoit.

 

At a show 31/2 years ago, Benoit slapped a cross-face hold on Henry and dislocated Henry's already injured shoulder, knocking him out of action and raising his doubts about whether to continue in his line of work.

 

"Chris Benoit is the one who kept me going. He's the one who would call and say, 'You have to come back.' He didn't have to do that," Henry said.

 

Henry was at a WWE event in Beaumont on Saturday, June 24, when Benoit didn't show. "Then, when he didn't show up for the pay-per-view-event in Houston," Henry said, "we're thinking, 'Darn, he never misses a show.' "

 

On Monday, June 26, the WWE live event in Corpus Christi was canceled because of the Benoit family deaths, but at that time Henry said the wrestlers thought the killings might have been the result of a home invasion.

 

Authorities, however, said Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and their son, Daniel, before hanging himself from a pulley on a weight machine.

 

"How he did what he did ... ," Henry said, shaking his head. "We were torn up. The thing is, no one saw it coming. This is never going to leave me. I'll be on my deathbed and still thinking about it."

 

A longtime, vocal critic of steroid use

 

Authorities said they found anabolic steroids at Benoit's home, and Benoit's doctor, Phil Astin, has since been charged with improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs.

 

World Wrestling Entertainment was quick to issue a statement that said "roid rage" was not a factor in the deaths.

 

"WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time to the motive for these acts," the statement read.

 

Henry has long been vocal about the problems tied to steroids.

 

Growing up in Silsbee, he was a weightlifting prodigy as a teenager and has long had an extraordinary build.

 

The 6-foot-3-inch Henry has a 24-inch neck and biceps, and his ring size is 18. He has set powerlifting records and also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

 

"My whole life I competed against people who used steroids," said Henry, who as an Olympian was subject to frequent drug testing, including nine tests in 1995 alone.

 

He's still chafed about an "HBO Real Sports" segment he did in 1996 because he contends host Bryant Gumbel made him sound like a crybaby for bringing up the performance-enhancing drug use of other weightlifters.

 

Henry now points to the steroid scandals that have hit some Olympic sports and Major League Baseball as evidence he knew what he was talking about back then.

 

As much as he has spoken out against steroid use, Henry didn't point to 'roid rage as a simple answer for the Benoit deaths.

 

"Steroids may contribute, but there are bodybuilders who have taken a lot more," Henry said.

 

Painkillers also are abused by some wrestlers and have sometimes been linked to their deaths. Bobby Duncum, a former University of Texas football player and a wrestler, died in 2000 at age 34 after overdosing on a painkiller while attempting to cope with injuries.

 

Henry has not been immune from injury despite his size. Probably his most serious wrestling injury happened last July when, in a six-man tag team event, he tore his patella tendon and split his kneecap in two.

 

After surgery Henry did not wrestle in another WWE bout until May, but he said that painkillers don't have to become a part of performing.

 

"It's just sucking it up and going," Henry said.

 

Although he once wrestled as Sexual Chocolate, Henry's weakness is barbecue.

 

When he can, he likes to go to Lockhart or Taylor for brisket and sausage.

 

Henry, who has studied acting and would like to have a career in that field when he's done wrestling, is also big on martial arts films.

 

As for fame, he said the weirdest thing is that strangers will just walk up and punch him in the ribs or slap him on the chest — hard — as if they are some kind of long-lost friend.

 

"I'm not some big, jovial fat guy," Henry warned. "Don't hit me."

 

[email protected]; 445-3956

 

The essential Mark Henry

 

Height: 6-3

 

Weight: 390

 

Born: June 21, 1971, in Silsbee

 

Lives in: Austin

 

Career highlights

 

1992: Barcelona Olympics, competed in super-heavyweight weightlifting.

 

1995: Pan American Games, won gold, silver and bronze.

 

1996: Began WWE career.

 

2002: Earned first prize in 'World's Strongest Man' competition at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic.

[CodySave]

As for fame, he said the weirdest thing is that strangers will just walk up and punch him in the ribs or slap him on the chest — hard — as if they are some kind of long-lost friend.

 

"I'm not some big, jovial fat guy," Henry warned. "Don't hit me."

Fantastic

[sek69]

He's right but why did he have to bring up Dana White? Does Meltzer still think UFC= Wrestling?

Partly that and partly when someone in UFC fails a drug test Dana doesn't go batshit crazy and act like it's a personal vendetta against the sport. He's made it clear that UFC doesn't tolerate drug use and they've punished guys who've failed without the play-the-victim bullshit.

[Loss]

How does WWE keep the cat in the bag regarding steroids. This is nothing that a major sport like Major League Baseball hasn't dealt with, and they've produced the same PR strategy. "There is no steroid problem." Of course there is. The problem is that what can WWE realistically do to prevent steroids in wrestling? Guys can beat the testing program. On paper, WWE's policy is far stronger than other professional sports. On paper. They can take a hard line to prevent it, but then they still have to deal with wrestlers taking HGH and other undetectable drugs.

 

Recreational drugs have likely declined in wrestling, and that was half the problem. Unfortunately it will be ten years before we know if WWE's approach is truly effective or is just posturing. The deaths we've seen in the last decade were the product of the 1990s more or less.

I think the drug testing is obviously part of the problem, but it's not the major issue here. The major issue is that Vince McMahon favors big guys over small guys, and will give big guys more opportunities to main event than small guys. You can argue that he's only giving the fans what they want, but this is also an industry that justifies racism and sexism and homophobia because they are just giving their audience what they want. They primarily cater to filthy people that shouldn't be catered to, in terms of their fanbase, and that's the big issue. The type of fans that prefer roided up big guys to smaller guys don't deserve to get what they want if it's resulting in premature death after premature death.

 

Stop pushing guys based on their physiques. That's the biggest thing WWE could do.

[Bix]

Posted by Meltzer in the "When Did Superstar Graham stop being a McMahon-apologist?" thread at WC:

 

The world isn't black and white. I don't want to defend Graham overall because this isn't the time or place. But having spoken with him and seen the shows, this is a gist of his viewpoint. He's only inconsistent if you say pro-Vince or anti-Vince and that's the whole world. There's a bigger picture.

 

1) He doesn't blame Vince for his steroid use, given that he started doing steroids around 1966 (give or take a year) and didn't start wrestling until 1969. However, Mr. Kennedy claimed he said it to knock him, which tells me that Graham is on the Vince **** list right now when they make things up you say to knock you over them.

 

2) He believes it's a crime that wrestlers don't have benefits, such as retirement, health care, etc. when all other company employees have them. Anti-Vince

 

3) He believes wrestling shouldn't be regulated by outside forces because it's not a sport. Pro-Vince

 

4) He believes Marc Mero should speak to schools about the problems of steroids in sports. by being pro-Mero on this count, I guess that makes him anti-Vince

 

5) He disagrees with Mero that Congress should investigate wrestling, because wrestling is not a sport. Pro-Vince

 

6) He has infinite respect for Bruno. I guess that makes him anti-Vince

 

7) He has infinite respect for the Shawn Michaels to today. I guess that makes him pro-Vince

 

8) Was apparently skeptical of Debra Marshall (I could be wrong on this, as I didn't see that specific show and have never once brought up Marshall with him). That makes him a Vince apologist, even though half this board was knocking Marshall as well.

 

The world isn't about pro or anti-Vince, except in Vince's mind and in the wrestling bubble which allows wrestlers to argue status quo while people continue to die. Every situation is different. I agree with 2 & 4, disagree with 3 and 5. So am I also bought and paid for by the side of Graham or a flip-flopper because I don't either agree or disagree with every viewpoint of is?

 

Look, you can knock his credibility and I won't try and defend it overall. He said things in the early 90s that should kill his credibility, and he wrote a book a couple of years ago that is right at the top of the most honest wrestling books ever written.

 

But I do know where he's coming from and his supposed flip-flops are actually his consistent views during this thing. He is generally pro-Vince because they were friends (at least as of three weeks ago, I would almost be certain Vince considers him his enemy today although Billy probably doesn't know that yet because Vince only knows black and white as well). At least he should be, I don't want to say congratulated, but give him credit for being a Vince employee who will at least go so far as to not pretend that wrestlers don't need health benefits, that nobody has ever died or been damaged by steroid use, and was genuinely sympathetic to Penny Durham (I know this as a fact because he and his wife after the show tried to befriend her for what she went through) while others in wrestling were swearing at her and even making her feel bad because they felt she broke ranks and was knocking the profession when all she was is a young widow telling the honest story of her life. Graham did more than a lot of people who don't even work for the company were willing to say when put on the spot, even though privately they would agree.

 

The whole situation has become shallow and people have missed the big point here. A guy killed 2 people. And the system that was supposed to keep guys off drugs failed. Both the system in place by WWE, and the system in place in the medical profession and the laws of our country. They all failed. It was his personal choice. If he never took steroids he would have never had a job in WWE. People will jump on me for saying this but anyone who knows the business knows it is the truth. However, this is not a personal choice issue and it burns me up whenever I hear anyone say that. In any sport, the minute steroids are involved, it effects competition and forces those who go clean to have to suffer a competitive disadvantage. When you argue wrestling isn't a sport, you're even more shallow because if anything, wrestling is more competitive than most sports when it comes to physiques because of the whims of the man who picks who gets pushed. Plus, the argument that wrestling is no different than other sports and they all have steroids lasts about 30 seconds until you bring up the death rate and health issues in wrestling as compared with football and hockey.

 

Most of all, anyone who argues personal choice, explain this. He killed two people.

 

Is that Vince McMahon's fault? No. Did the system put in place by Vince McMahon to keep his wrestlers off drugs fail in this case. Yes. Did the medical profession that is supposed to keep guys from taking so much that they harm themselves, let alone harm those they love, fail in this case. Absolutely and with the worst consequences. And those are the real issues and people want to not answer those questions because they are so afraid of changes in a screwed up business.

[Loss]

Also, at this point, I don't think the media coverage is as bad as it's being made out to be. This has obviously shifted from coverage of one incident involving one pro wrestler to coverage of an entire industry that was ignited by the Benoit story. WWE is behind the curve if they truly believe the story is only about Benoit and whether or not he used steroids at this point, and I can't imagine that they really believe that. It's dishonest and a little sick.

[Bix]

Also, at this point, I don't think the media coverage is as bad as it's being made out to be. This has obviously shifted from coverage of one incident involving one pro wrestler to coverage of an entire industry that was ignited by the Benoit story. WWE is behind the curve if they truly believe the story is only about Benoit and whether or not he used steroids at this point, and I can't imagine that they really believe that. It's dishonest and a little sick.

Agreed. Benoit is being mentioned less and less in each story, and it will keep going that way onto the tox results are all back.