What if pro wrestling was outlawed, following Benoit incident?

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

This is an idea I've been toying with for a Book This! mini-series for about a month now, and I thought I would pitch it to you, the other crazy people.

In 2007 Chris Benoit was found guilty of murdering his wife and son, before himself committing suicide. It was later revealed that a long history of concussions had led to Benoit experience severe dementia, likely leading to the mental break that casued this tragedy.

What if, in light of this incident and taking into account the laundry list of other wrestlers who had died suddenly or committed suicide, the US Congress passed a bill outlawing professional wrestling within the United States?

I've been thinking about it a lot, and through some research I think had Congress suggested this the perfect storm was there to potentially pass such a thing. The industry was painted in such a negative light at that point, following the deaths of Eddie Guerrero and so many others. Cheers of recklessness, drug addiction, and apathy for safe working conditions were being thrown around like candy at a parade. Normally, the US' Republican party and right-wingers would be against such a bill, but nearing the end of 2007 the party was desperate to save face and attract all sides as Obama looked poised to take the upcoming election. Linda McMahon was also readying her bid for the Connecticut Board of Education, effectively shutting her lips on the matter if she planned to move forward in politics at all.

I'm not saying it would have happened, nor is that the point of this thread, but the potential was definitely there at the time. The question then becomes, if such a bill were to be passed banning "sports entertainment" from the United States, how would the industry move forward? Would we see a surge in the UK and other European nations, as well as Japan? Or would most of the big names from the WWE and/or TNA find it too difficult to relocate their families, and end up changing careers?

Given that the WWE would have had at least a year before a passed bill (which would have taken months, if not longer on its own) to go into effect, it's safe to say they could have put on WrestleMania 24 before being shut down. How do you think the WWE would want to go out?

 

[Dagger Dias]

If pro wrestling got outlawed due to Benoit and similar incidents then we as fans in the states would have a few options. We could move on to other interests, protest until the outlaw is lifted, or begin watching wrestling from other countries. I've been watching for over two decades so I wouldn't simply move on, and I doubt I'm alone. It's not easy to simply move on to something else when you it has been a part of your interests for such a long time. As for the industry moving forward? WWE and TNA would likely both put on a Wrestlemania-level (or Bound For Glory-level in TNA's case) final show before they are forced to close, then the talent would surely all seek employment in international federations across the world. It'd be interesting to see who would end up where.

I'd try to find federations in other countries to follow in the meantime, which would only help my fandom of the product grow. I need to branch out beyond WWE, TNA, and old WCW/ECW footage in real life anyhow, so if this had happened I would have more of a reason to. If enough fans got together to protest the ban I'm sure it may have gotten lifted. We'll never know though, luckily that did not happen. Worst case scenario, if such a ban HAD happened and it did not get lifted, there's always MMA. I'd move on to that if I "had" to move on to something else.

 

[braveh]

It was later revealed that a long history of concussions had led to Benoit experience severe dementia, likely leading to the mental break that casued this tragedy.

I don't believe that for a second and honestly I find it offensive that you're trying to give him a pass on what he did.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I don't believe that for a second and honestly I find it offensive that you're trying to give him a pass on what he did.

You find science to be offensive? What is the motivation in continuing to view Benoit as the devil?


I highly doubt that Congress could have gotten such a motion passed in a country where alcohol and cigarettes are still legal. More deaths are attributed to car accidents per day than deaths directly linked to pro-wrestling in the entirety of its history.

That being said, it's really hard for me to conceive of a scenario in which WWE would not exist as a result. I would imagine that they would go out in a fashion much like WCW did, however.

 

[braveh]

You find science to be offensive? What is the motivation in continuing to view Benoit as the devil?


I highly doubt that Congress could have gotten such a motion passed in a country where alcohol and cigarettes are still legal. More deaths are attributed to car accidents per day than deaths directly linked to pro-wrestling in the entirety of its history.

That being said, it's really hard for me to conceive of a scenario in which WWE would not exist as a result. I would imagine that they would go out in a fashion much like WCW did, however.

You know he was on steroids, drugs, painkillers and god knows what else. How many patients with dementia commit mass murder?

And you want to sidestep and blame it all on some little study about aggression and dementia. That's offensive to me

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

You know he was on steroids, drugs, painkillers and god knows what else. How many patients with dementia commit mass murder?

And you want to sidestep and blame it all on some little study about aggression and dementia. That's offensive to me

...all of which play a role in exacerbating one's mental illness. I'm still not grasping why having a mental illness is more offensive than being the devil.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

If pro wrestling got outlawed due to Benoit and similar incidents then we as fans in the states would have a few options. We could move on to other interests, protest until the outlaw is lifted, or begin watching wrestling from other countries. I've been watching for over two decades so I wouldn't simply move on, and I doubt I'm alone. It's not easy to simply move on to something else when you it has been a part of your interests for such a long time. As for the industry moving forward? WWE and TNA would likely both put on a Wrestlemania-level (or Bound For Glory-level in TNA's case) final show before they are forced to close, then the talent would surely all seek employment in international federations across the world. It'd be interesting to see who would end up where.

I'd try to find federations in other countries to follow in the meantime, which would only help my fandom of the product grow. I need to branch out beyond WWE, TNA, and old WCW/ECW footage in real life anyhow, so if this had happened I would have more of a reason to. If enough fans got together to protest the ban I'm sure it may have gotten lifted. We'll never know though, luckily that did not happen. Worst case scenario, if such a ban HAD happened and it did not get lifted, there's always MMA. I'd move on to that if I "had" to move on to something else.

I wonder, since the WWE is such a global company, whether they would relocate their headquarters to London, or possibly Japan. They have a presence in near every established country, so finding a market outside of the US is possible, however much it may hurt their bottom line. I have a feeling that members of the McMahon family - chiefly Vince - would have likely retired, leaving the company in the hands of Hunter, Stephanie and Shane (who had no yet left, to my memory). It just seems relocating and re-launching a product would be a good time for everyone to start fresh.

I would say Japan probably has the biggest market for pro wrestling outside of the US, but I'm also not sure the country itself is conducive to WWE's business model. I wouldn't be surprised to see the family buy out an already established promotion, and turn it into their own machine.

I suppose it's also plausible that the McMahon family would just retire on their millions, and let the industry take care of itself... If it survived, with enough of the US talents moving over they could restart the territories throughout Europe.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I suppose it's also plausible that the McMahon family would just retire on their millions, and let the industry take care of itself... If it survived, with enough of the US talents moving over they could restart the territories throughout Europe.

I highly doubt that. Vince is an entrepreneur before he is a millionaire. That's why he's a millionaire and not a billionaire. I imagine that he has too much of his money directly invested in the company to just call it quits.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I highly doubt that Congress could have gotten such a motion passed in a country where alcohol and cigarettes are still legal. More deaths are attributed to car accidents per day than deaths directly linked to pro-wrestling in the entirety of its history.

Don't sell Congress short; smoking pot is still illegal on the federal level. I read a publication a few months back that linked the cigarette industry to almost every single level of the government. I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but the study showed how almost every single political office, including the members of Congress and the House, stand to lose millions upon millions of dollars if cigarettes became illegal. The companies that own the tobacco companies are generally owed by the campaign contributors of major politicians. In short, there's a very good reason that cigarettes, despite being the cause of a large chunk of this countries annual deaths, are still both legal and promoted throughout our culture. (not that I want them to be illegal, mind you. I'm completely against adding more federal control. I just want some level of consistancy).

I don't think it's hard to believe that on a hot-button issue like the Chris Benoit incident, Congress couldn't could at least get a bill through to the next level. Especially if something else had happened in the months following Benoit; say another big WWE name was busted for drugs or god-forbid somebody else died. The US government has over-reacted to so much less before...

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

Don't sell Congress short; smoking pot is still illegal on the federal level. I read a publication a few months back that linked the cigarette industry to almost every single level of the government. I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but the study showed how almost every single political office, including the members of Congress and the House, stand to lose millions upon millions of dollars if cigarettes became illegal. The companies that own the tobacco companies are generally owed by the campaign contributors of major politicians. In short, there's a very good reason that cigarettes, despite being the cause of a large chunk of this countries annual deaths, are still both legal and promoted throughout our culture. (not that I want them to be illegal, mind you. I'm completely against adding more federal control. I just want some level of consistancy).

I don't think it's hard to believe that on a hot-button issue like the Chris Benoit incident, Congress couldn't could at least get a bill through to the next level. Especially if something else had happened in the months following Benoit; say another big WWE name was busted for drugs or god-forbid somebody else died. The US government has over-reacted to so much less before...

That's kind of what I was implying about the continued legality of cigarettes in our culture (as well as alcohol for that matter). So much money would be lost that it would have a detrimental effect on the entirety of the economy. I would imagine that the abrupt ending to sports-entertainment would have a smaller, but similar effect on the economy.

 

[HBsam31]

I kind of liked the poster's idea that said Vince might just up and move his headquarters to another country and continue on. That is not far fetched at all. I imagine they would go out much like WCW did though with one big last show. I as a fan like Dagger Dias said, would look to other countries for my wrestling like Japan. I need to broaden my horizons as a fan anyway so that is probably what I would do. MMA is another option, but I tried that and while watching a ppv here and there is ok for me it's not something I could get into full time. All in all I think if it was banned we as fans could protest enough to get it lifted eventually