Cena: Wellness Policy Not Necessary

[axl626]

I just saw that post about Cena saying the Wellness Policy wasn't needed since they're entertainers and not pro athletes. I can see a bit of what he's talking about but I disagree with it 100%. I won't make any insinuations here about the effectiveness but I thought the policy was to help prevent things like another Eddie Guerrerro dying due to abuse and even Benoit was linked to drugs, alongside other things but that's not the point.

There are a lot of guys who were clearly on stuff that was harmful to them. I'm not a big sports fan but MLB and the NFL would have probably gotten a lot less flack than they did if they admitted there was a problem and did something about it. At least WWE had the gall to do so and try to keep their guys OK. I'm actually a bit worried for some guys in TNA, one specifically even though he's my favorite, because I don't believe they test as regularly or little to nothing's done about it.

So do you guys think the Wellness Policy is necessary or just a reactionary measure, or something else?

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

If you look at the vast majority of jobs in the United States, employees are held to a certain wellness policy. Why? Employers want to ensure that employees are safe on the job. Furthermore, if drugs are harming employees, then they will be less productive/may not be able to work at all. Thus, any kind of policy to dissuade workers from using drugs is a good idea from the employer's standpoint.

So...yes...the wellness policy IS necessary. Working for a concrete company isn't professional sports, either...but those concrete workers definitely have to be tested.

 

[Davi323]

Axl626...go back and re-read what Cena said again...because you missed the entire point. He was praising the WWE for being proactive, even though they weren't required to. He was most definitely not sayng that the wellness policy was bad in any way. He was saying the WWE was going above and beyond expectations in keeping its wrestlers healthy.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I mostly agree with Cena. I don't think it was necessary, but I think it was the right thing to do. They are not competitors. This isn't a real competition. The playing field can be as level as they want to set it. In baseball, football, basketball, etc. you have REAL, legitimate competition. In real sports, testing for steroids is done not just to show younger people that it is wrong and hurtful to ones body, but to also level the playing field. You can't have one team filled with jacked-up roid cases battling another team with guys who do it the right way. With narcotics, like cocaine, the wellness policy in the NBA, NFL, etc. is there not only to protect the players from personal harm, but so those leagues can look good in the eye of the public.

But in professional wrestling, it is done for a few reasons as well. It is done to help stop these untimely deaths that seem to be occuring across the board. You have wrestlers in their 30's and 40's dying of massive heart attacks. You have one guy who murdered his family. That shit isn't normal. It has something to do with what these guys were putting into their bodies.

But also, the WWE has to do it to for public acceptance. How long would the public, and wrestling fans, have put up with the deaths and unhealthy lifestyles of so many of these performers? Vince knew he had to do this. He has been in trouble for this kind of thing before, and he didn't want it to happen again. I don't think Vince is a mean or evil person, but this was most definitely more about protecting his own ass than those wrestlers he has employed over the years. The man has to protect what he has built, at any cost.

 

[justinept]

John Cena gave one of the great PR responses in a long time. Most people don't look at the Wellness policy as anything but a response to Eddie Guerrero's death ... Cena's response gives you another twist to the matter.

And he's right. The policy is not necessary. The WWE is not the NFL, MLB or the Olympics. Steroids don't give wrestlers an advantage in the ring because they aren't really competing. Vince McMahon did not have to put a testing policy into place like he did. He wasn't forced to by Congress --- not that time, at least. He chose to do it ... either because he cared about the well being of the wrestlers or because he wanted to deflect negative press.

But still. By saying the policy is not necessary, Cena is shining a really positive light on the efforts of WWE. It is nothing but a positive comment.

 

[lineo]

He was praising the WWE for being proactive, even though they weren't required to.

Exactly. John Cena wasn't saying anything bad about the policy, but the way he worded this makes him sound kind of stupid. I understand John Cena the person is apparently a very nice guy, but he probably shouldn't be allowed to freely answer questions anymore. Remember the quote from John when CNN asked if he's done steroids? "I can’t tell you that I haven’t, but you’ll never be able to prove that I have."

Leave the tough questions to Vince, John...

 

[twentytwo]

Remember the quote from John when CNN asked if he's done steroids? "I can’t tell you that I haven’t, but you’ll never be able to prove that I have."

Leave the tough questions to Vince, John...

I actually thought that was a real smart answer coming from Cena and I'll tell you why. He can't say yes, and he can't say no. He can't say no because any old school body-builder/power lifter will tell you that before Cena was ever even in Ohio Valley he was a humoungous f'ing body builder. There are pics of him in old body building mags dating back to the 90's. One look at him then (probably close to 280 -300lbs.) and there is no way he could say he didn't take roids back then.

Had he answered that question any differently and all it would have taken is one of those pics to surface and he looks like a liar. So really, he handled it perfectly.

 

[WWE Manster03]

He didn't feel the Wellness policy was unneccessary, but that he felt the chair shot edition was not needed. Then he went on to say that he appreciates that they are being proactive in trying to protect their performers. Never once did he say he didn't feel the whole wellness policy was not needed. People need to re read things a few times before they rush to internet message boards and post crap.
Also, I agree 100% with twentytwo in saying he handled the steroid question correctly. I think you would be hardpressed to find a wrestler that has a bigger body type that has NEVER used some kind of steriod/hgh/testosterone/etc at some point in their lives. Most of the bigger guys were bodybuilders/bouncers(Cena and Batista) or needed to rehad themselves quickly(HHH). You can't tell me that when HHH came back after the quad injury he wasn't juiced up JUST A LIL BIT? lol. It was part of the business. Do I think any of those guys have touched the stuff in the last few years since they started testing? No I don't. That is why Cena/HHH/Batista all look a bit smaller then they did earlier on in their careers.

 

[Ghost of Benoit]

I actually thought that was a real smart answer coming from Cena and I'll tell you why. He can't say yes, and he can't say no. He can't say no because any old school body-builder/power lifter will tell you that before Cena was ever even in Ohio Valley he was a humoungous f'ing body builder. There are pics of him in old body building mags dating back to the 90's. One look at him then (probably close to 280 -300lbs.) and there is no way he could say he didn't take roids back then.

Had he answered that question any differently and all it would have taken is one of those pics to surface and he looks like a liar. So really, he handled it perfectly.

Actually Cena wouldn't look like a liar because what he said was 100% correct. You wouldn't be able to prove that he was on steroids based on "visual images". Unless blood tests were taken at the time and the results were still available a picture that just makes him look big is nothing more than a picture taken while he was a full-time bodybuilder 100% dedicated to getting ripped and nothing more!!! Last time i checked, pictures dont test for roids...blood/urine tests do. I would love to see someone in court hold up a picture and say heyyy heres the proof...they will either get laughed at or thrown out or both!

 

[vampirek]

He didn't feel the Wellness policy was unneccessary, but that he felt the chair shot edition was not needed. Then he went on to say that he appreciates that they are being proactive in trying to protect their performers. Never once did he say he didn't feel the whole wellness policy was not needed. People need to re read things a few times before they rush to internet message boards and post crap.
Also, I agree 100% with twentytwo in saying he handled the steroid question correctly. I think you would be hardpressed to find a wrestler that has a bigger body type that has NEVER used some kind of steriod/hgh/testosterone/etc at some point in their lives. Most of the bigger guys were bodybuilders/bouncers(Cena and Batista) or needed to rehad themselves quickly(HHH). You can't tell me that when HHH came back after the quad injury he wasn't juiced up JUST A LIL BIT? lol. It was part of the business. Do I think any of those guys have touched the stuff in the last few years since they started testing? No I don't. That is why Cena/HHH/Batista all look a bit smaller then they did earlier on in their careers.

Well HHH did admit to using steriods when recovering from his injury. You say it is part of the business as to why he took them, that is incorrect. HHH was given the steriods (also known as performance enhancing drugs) by a doctor for medical use which is perfectly legal and with the type of injury any man would have needed them (Pretty sure they are allowed in other sports on those grounds, soccer being one). Add to that the months of training, you can see how HHH got so big like he did.
Now I'm going to say something that many ignorant fools will disagree with. Steriods don't kill wrestlers unless they are extremely stupid with them. Yes, that basically means I'm agreeing with the Warrior on the matter. Once more painkillers seem to be the most dangerous drug when it comes to wrestlers (something the media seem to forget), hence many precautions to prevent wrestlers taking too much damage.
Cena is correct, the WWE didn't need to do anything however by putting in such measures they can prevent deaths and not necessarily linked to drugs (i.e. MVP). It isn't just drug testing, its giving wrestlers time off rather than pushing them to the put to having to use drugs to deal with things. Other health issues, such as being overweight (Viscera for example). The Wellness Program isn't just aimed at stopping drug use but also stop wrestlers being stupid with their health because its clear someone needed to do it.

 

[WWE Manster03]

Vampire, I agree completely with you. He was given them for injury purposed by a doctor, and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying that people seem to forget that they get taken by alot of guys. You are also correct that steroids don't kill the wrestlers. They might make them angry and lead them to do stupid things that make them need painkillers, which as you said are the real problem. Then they get the painkillers and mix them together, or mix them with alchohal or recreational drugs and then they drop dead. It's really sad that steroids get all the blame. I'm not saying they are good, because they aren't but you can't tell me taking shots that make your muscles big and your nuts shrink are the reason people are dropping dead left and right.

 

[trendkiller]

but you can't tell me taking shots that make your muscles big and your nuts shrink are the reason people are dropping dead left and right.

Well, that's not really all that happens, Dr Silly...

And I think you're also forgetting that the HEART is a muscle. Don't really want that to grow too much, now do we?

But to keep on topic, I just wonder what the hell this thread really is about. I think the OP misunderstood Cena and then along comes a lot of people that have probably not even read the news post and they sure as hell haven't looked at the interview, and base their opinions around a premise that is entirely, well, wrong.

Reading comprehension, people. That news post on WZ was honestly very badly done, because it doesn't give context or even the question that was asked. Very poor journalism, really. It's like when the tabloids pull crap out of context to make it seem like celebrities are breaking up, but it turns out they really just want to get kids (or whatever). Sloppy reporting.

Either way, the WWE wellness policy WAS necessary. Maybe not from the indiviudal entertainers' point of view (which is understandable, MOST of them can handle using all sorts of drug - USING, not ABUSING), but from a company standpoint you've just slapped a huge PR band-aid on the ugly wound of wrestler deaths. Maybe it wasn't because Eddie passed, maybe Vince really DOES care about his wrestlers.

Or, well, started finally caring for the health of his wrestlers after, ya know, 20-ish years of running a wrestling company (is that right? Roughly). Yeah, that seems likely

 

[HBK-aholic]

I'd hate for the WWE to not have a policy which regulates drugs and steroids. First of all, use of some drugs can be harmful to your mental and physical health - long term and short term. Now, can you imagine watching a match, and one of the wrestlers being high on a specific drug? That's putting their competitor in danger. You need to be focused 100% on the match and their safety, or you could end their career, and possibly their life.

Secondly - things such as Benoit. While the effect of steroids on his health and what he did is debatable, it didn't help him. We also have Guererro, another death related to steroids; things we can't have happening. I have no doubt that the only reason some wrestlers don't use steroids or other drugs is that they could lose their job, and anything that stops drug use is fine by me.

 

[D-Man]

Cena's comments are really out of character for the man that the WWE portrays him to be. He couldn't be more wrong.

What about bodybuilders? They don't compete in anything besides posing for the cameras, and yet they have a drug testing policy. It just goes to show... cosmetics in the pro-wrestling business matter just as much as they do in the business of bodybuilding. So how are things different? Especially with the PHYSICAL side-effects of steriods and drugs in a PHYSICAL sport such as pro-wrestling?