SasuurKaNaathi
Dark Match Winner
When the WWE introduced their wellness policy shortly following the tragic death of Eddie Guerrero, there seemed to exist a resounding approval for the amendment in WWE policy due to the profound history of steroid, illegal substances, enhancer, supplement, and other drug related usage that has marred the credibility of the sport over the past few decades. Perhaps they got the memo from Congress and learned from their counterparts in other major professional sports leagues such as the NFL,NBA, NHL, and MLB. I for one was a major proponent of the change because I felt it would separate the natural talents from the artifical talents in thw world of wrestling. However, in the past few months, we have already wirnessed a myriad of wrestlers get busted in this policy such as Mercury,Masters, RVD, Angle(rumored) and possibly Super Crazy, Kid Kash, Great Khali, and Bobby Lashley since it is dubious that Super crazy, Great Khali, and Bobby Lashley are all suffering from the cognate ailment of elevated liver enzymes.
The wellness policy is far reaching and even includes pedestrian substances for wrestlers such as pain killers, marijuana, anti inflammatory drugs, anti seizure drugs, etc. However, I think the policy has been far drawn to the extent that it is serving as a counterproductive force to the appeal of the product. I would understand if the policy was limited to agents such as steroids, marijuana, cocaine, and other "enhancers" that are either illegal substances or substances utilized only for personal gain. However, I do not understand how Vince can expect these wrestlers to work an arduous year round schedule that requires them to travel through nearly every state and continent without ever reaching a breaking point that requires wrestlers to take over the counter drugs for their therapeutic benefiit to deal with the immense stress of their jobs rather than for abusive purposes. I think that most of us would agree that wrestlers are human beings and that they are clearly not immune to the profusive amounts of stress that take major tolls from their body. I do not see any rhyme or rhythm behind abrogating these over the counter drugs and expecting an optimal effort two to three nights every week a year when the wrestlers do not have any external means to deal with the ailments at hand. Most of all, Vince is placing himself in a precarious situation with his sponsors as illustrated by the fact that all viable sponsors pulled their support from the Bash due to the absence of Khali,Lashley, Super Crazy, and Henry(patella). Thus, the PPV was sponsored internally by WWE Mobile and it will probably produce an abysmal buy rate due to some abrupt changes that might have percipatated from the wellness policy.
Before the wellness policy, Vince did not set lofty expectations from the wrestlers in the substances they were ingesting. However, after the wellness policy has been instituted, I feel he is taking a colossal step that his wrestlers have possessed ostensible difficulty trying to follow. I think the WWE would be better off with a gradual escalation in the stringence of its wellness program because most wrestlers are ill-fit in attempting to immediately amend their drug habits, resulting in futile suspensions that tend to enervate the appeal of the holistic product and hurt WWE's relationship with its sponsors. This is analagous to expecting a three year old to learn geometry before they have even learned how to add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
Unlike any other professional sports organization, WWE does not have an offseason, thus, they cannot afford to send off some of their most crucial, yet drug-infested stars to drug rehabilitation during the year because the WWE will put their sponsorships at stake and lose considerable television revenue if they send too many stars to rehab over a given period of time. This is the central reason why I do not ever think a comprehensive drug policy like the Wellness Program will ever subsist since Vince will(and should) always place his business at a higher priority than the so called "safety" of his wrestlers and the reputation of the company in the eyes of the media. The Wellness Program simply does not offer much clemency or reasonability from the subjects(wrestlers) they claim to be protecting.
The wellness policy is far reaching and even includes pedestrian substances for wrestlers such as pain killers, marijuana, anti inflammatory drugs, anti seizure drugs, etc. However, I think the policy has been far drawn to the extent that it is serving as a counterproductive force to the appeal of the product. I would understand if the policy was limited to agents such as steroids, marijuana, cocaine, and other "enhancers" that are either illegal substances or substances utilized only for personal gain. However, I do not understand how Vince can expect these wrestlers to work an arduous year round schedule that requires them to travel through nearly every state and continent without ever reaching a breaking point that requires wrestlers to take over the counter drugs for their therapeutic benefiit to deal with the immense stress of their jobs rather than for abusive purposes. I think that most of us would agree that wrestlers are human beings and that they are clearly not immune to the profusive amounts of stress that take major tolls from their body. I do not see any rhyme or rhythm behind abrogating these over the counter drugs and expecting an optimal effort two to three nights every week a year when the wrestlers do not have any external means to deal with the ailments at hand. Most of all, Vince is placing himself in a precarious situation with his sponsors as illustrated by the fact that all viable sponsors pulled their support from the Bash due to the absence of Khali,Lashley, Super Crazy, and Henry(patella). Thus, the PPV was sponsored internally by WWE Mobile and it will probably produce an abysmal buy rate due to some abrupt changes that might have percipatated from the wellness policy.
Before the wellness policy, Vince did not set lofty expectations from the wrestlers in the substances they were ingesting. However, after the wellness policy has been instituted, I feel he is taking a colossal step that his wrestlers have possessed ostensible difficulty trying to follow. I think the WWE would be better off with a gradual escalation in the stringence of its wellness program because most wrestlers are ill-fit in attempting to immediately amend their drug habits, resulting in futile suspensions that tend to enervate the appeal of the holistic product and hurt WWE's relationship with its sponsors. This is analagous to expecting a three year old to learn geometry before they have even learned how to add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
Unlike any other professional sports organization, WWE does not have an offseason, thus, they cannot afford to send off some of their most crucial, yet drug-infested stars to drug rehabilitation during the year because the WWE will put their sponsorships at stake and lose considerable television revenue if they send too many stars to rehab over a given period of time. This is the central reason why I do not ever think a comprehensive drug policy like the Wellness Program will ever subsist since Vince will(and should) always place his business at a higher priority than the so called "safety" of his wrestlers and the reputation of the company in the eyes of the media. The Wellness Program simply does not offer much clemency or reasonability from the subjects(wrestlers) they claim to be protecting.