Test speaks out on Eddie:

[Downhome 0]

I posted this in the Eddie thread, but thought it was enough to start a topic over.

 

From PWInsider:

 

Former WWE star Andrew "Test" Martin posted a long statement looking at the state of the wrestling business, brought on by the passing of Eddie Guerrero. Martin wrote, "I've been up all night and haven't really slept as everyone knows by know Eddie Guerrero has passed away. Everybody knows Eddie had his demons but he had been clean for a long time, it was way to soon for him to go and he leaves behind to beautiful young daughters and a wonderfull life my heart goes out to them. Eddie was a huge help to me he helped me progress in the ring and we even wrestles at Wrestlemania in Houston in 2001 for the European championship."

 

Martin questioned who the next death in the business would be, writing, "I'm actually wondering who's next? who's next to die? I can think of at least 15 to 20 people who have died from various things mostly prescription pain killers. For all you wanna be wrestlers who wanna get in this business..especially now when WWE doesn't pay you anymore than you would make at a 9 to 5 job let me break some things down for you. When I started wrestling I had never seen or heard of vicodin or percocet or soma. How come so many wrestlers die from these medications and football players and hockey players don't? The answer is simple..wrestlers especially wwe wrestlers work 5 days a week all year long taking bump after bump in the ring, a doctor explained it to me like this..everytime you take a fall in the ring it's like getting rear ended by a car going 20mph so how many bumps in the ring a night do you take? multiply that by how many times a week you work all year long..that's a hell of a lot of whiplash and pain. I can remember hearing a conversation from some unnamed wwe head guys talking about how this certain person needs to go to rehab but they couldn't send him because he was to important to the show..that's the reality people that is how we are treated..."

 

Martin then recounted his own injuries and subsequent release from World Wrestling Entertainment while rehabbing his neck following fusion surgery, noting, "...when Johnny Ace called me and told me they were releasing me which of course he put all the heat on Vince...I said to him what kind of message are you sending the boys that if they get hurt they are going to get fired? So all the guys who don't want to lose their jobs what do they do...pop a couple of percocet or vicodin and mask the pain cause god forbid they say they are hurt and lose their job...I'm not going to name any names but I know at least a dozen or so wrestlers who are addicted to these things for that very reason...get hurt lose your job...I just turned 30 my back aches everyday, I have a metal plate in my neck and yes I got in the business at the right time and have a lot of nice things but is it all worth it? you guys don't see the ugly side of this business..yes wrestling is entertainment but the bumps and bruises are real and sometimes they don't go away...so think long and hard before you get in this business cause I can tell you first hand that if your not working or making them money they don't give a shit about you....and the sad part is Eddie was clean and I guarantee he won't be the last one to die in the next 12 months..so that's why i say who's next? Don't take your life for granted it's a gift..don't go to bed mad and tell the people you care about you love them because you never know..."

 

To read the entire statement by Martin, visit www.AndrewTestMartin.com.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Test must have gotten a phone call from Jose Canseco or something.

[Dogbert 0]

Well... he makes a very valid point.

[chaosrage 0]

Maybe it's time to finally have an off season. Or at least limit the days per week they perform.

 

You know he's right about what he said about Eddie not being the last one to die. Something needs to change.

[Annabelle 0]

test is right.

 

imagine abusing your heart with pills & steroids while smashing your head with steel chairs. compound that on top of the general grind 300 days/year. its time to wake up, folks. this isn't something i'm going to support anymore. the shows are awful, but i won't watch anymore because i can't support the damage it does on human beings.

 

fuck has this entire thing turned me into an emo pussy.

[Guest Leelee]

Andrew is 100% right.

 

The mix of likely far too many steroids and painkillers does very bad things to your body. Just like so many former wrestlers are dying before they're 50... the same is going to happen with the current guys. And it will probably never change due to the competition of the business.

[reign 0]

The fallout of this could be bigger than we can even imagine right now...with an MSNBC special on the way we may see some big changes in the way WWE does business, especially now that they are considered the "only" big promotion...did any one hear Batista say that Eddie was in pain "all the time"...this may lead to either Vince changing his schedule or an influx of wrestlers to TNA who want a lighter schedule....

[2GOLD 0]

As deep as this company is, they should be totally able to allow guys off weeks at a time to heal their bodies. The company is big enough.

 

The solution I thought of was one month RAW/SMACKDOWN belong to one group of guys, the next month it belongs to the next group.

 

Means they work six months out of the year. Or, go six months and then switch rosters. It's not insanly pratical, but at least it gives guys time with their families and time to heal their wounds.

[The Mandarin 0]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

[reign 0]

The problem that WWE faces is that wrestling is a show and that show needs continuation week after week and that even with the deep roster the guys WON'T take time off for fear of losing their spot(if they have one) or not moving up...I would agree though that if they did cycle the workers in that they could elevate newer talent all the while letting the other guys heal themselves...

[The Niggardly King 0]

As deep as this company is, they should be totally able to allow guys off weeks at a time to heal their bodies. The company is big enough.

 

The solution I thought of was one month RAW/SMACKDOWN belong to one group of guys, the next month it belongs to the next group.

 

Means they work six months out of the year. Or, go six months and then switch rosters. It's not insanly pratical, but at least it gives guys time with their families and time to heal their wounds.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's very easy to do, plus it would build up some new stars in the process. Say after a big feud where both guys are working against each other almost every night, they should be given at least a month off from wrestling. Do some pre-taped promos, or just sell an injury angle.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I think Raw and Smackdown should alternate months except for March and August for Wrestlemania and Summerslam, respectfully.

[Guest Leelee]

It remains to be seen if an off-season would work for WWE... I doubt it would because there does need to be continuity, but maybe fans would just want the product more if they didn't have it for a few months. If this was 2000, maybe they could try it... but, I think the biggest thing WWE has going with its fans now, is the force of habit.

 

I think the best option is to give certain wrestlers a break during the year... with the depth of WWE's roster, they can afford to sit a couple main eventers for 2-3 months during the year. Plus, this should get easier once SD is cancelled, and there's only 1 show per week.

[2GOLD 0]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the point he is trying to make is they tell you to do these things (roids, painkillers) to remain in the company and then when your body starts breaking, you have no options because taking time off costs you your spot and could get you fired. He's not wrong.

[Failed Bridge 0]

The problem that WWE faces is that wrestling is a show and that show needs continuation week after week and that even with the deep roster the guys WON'T take time off for fear of losing their spot(if they have one) or not moving up...I would agree though that if they did cycle the workers in that they could elevate newer talent all the while letting the other guys heal themselves...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, the problem with WWE is rather than bring it back to actual wrestling they continue to have their workers take high risk spots week in and week out along with getting bludgeoned with foreign objects.

 

I remember back when I was little you'd hardly ever see somebody use a chair on another guy's head. When it was done it was done rarely and actually escalated feuds quite a bit. Today they just have people constantly scramble one another's brains with whatever is around.

 

Bring back the actual wrestling aspect and don't treat these guys like glorified crash test dummies.

[Guest Leelee]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the point he is trying to make is they tell you to do these things (roids, painkillers) to remain in the company and then when your body starts breaking, you have no options because taking time off costs you your spot and could get you fired. He's not wrong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And let's face it... the only reason Martin is even in the business is because of his physique.

[2GOLD 0]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the point he is trying to make is they tell you to do these things (roids, painkillers) to remain in the company and then when your body starts breaking, you have no options because taking time off costs you your spot and could get you fired. He's not wrong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And let's face it... the only reason Martin is even in the business is because of his physique.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You mean his promo skills and great ring work didn't hold people?

[Downhome 0]

I'm not saying he's a great worker, we all know he isn't, but I've been hearing from a few people that he's been having a pretty solid series of matches with someone (I forget who though) wherever he is working at right now.

 

What he says is nothing new, we've all known it for years, but just like I said on this very board a year or two ago, it's time for some sort of change.

[reign 0]

I tend to see a lot of punches, kicks, knees and chinlocks these days...not many arm drags or even body slams...but they over use the suplexes and finishers...espcially with guys like Batista...and the constant whipping into the ropes or the ring posts must be devestating...they need to invest some serious money in a new ring design, one that minimizes the impact and STOP using chair shots and blading like they do every other month...HBK and Flair must be superhuman to have endured all that they have over the years...

[Guest Ransome]

I think the best option is to give certain wrestlers a break during the year... with the depth of WWE's roster, they can afford to sit a couple main eventers for 2-3 months during the year.  Plus, this should get easier once SD is cancelled, and there's only 1 show per week.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think this would be doable, because it also helps to keep certain maineventers from becoming overexposed. Even now, we just recently saw Triple H take three months off, and Undertaker seems to spent months every year away from TV completely. In theory, it would both give wrestlers a chance to rest up/avoid injuries and keep their characters fresh, but it might be hard to implement in practice.

[Downhome 0]

I've been saying for years that it is time to slowly phase out much of the hard stuff. Stop blading so much, stop using weapons like chairs and everything on every single show. Cut down on the gimmick matches using the ladder and different types of cages.

 

Now only would it be easier on the workers, but when you do see stuff like that it would mean so much more. Put aside the well being of the wrestlers if you want to, I think it'd also just make for a better industry right now.

 

Even though WWE has adopted a "safer style", it seems to me like the guys get hurt more these days than they used to.

[Secret Agent 0]

Why not just have the wrestlers do two shows a week? Raw or Smackdown and one house show. Three on PPV weeks. Then they could have 4 days at home.

[reign 0]

safer style needs to mean no steroids or shoot...less at least...then tone down down the matches so the can cut down on the somas and other pain killers...

[Downhome 0]

It's time to cut down on the really hard stuff, and put more focus back on match psychology.

[Guest *KNK*]

It's time to cut down on the really hard stuff, and put more focus back on match psychology.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Workers in Japan, ROH and even TNA work harder matches then what WWE workers do and they aren't stockpiling injuries at an alarming rate.

 

the difference is the schedule. It's not the work. It's the fact they are on the road 300 days a year at the least and they have to resort to substances to kill the pain.

[EricMM 0]

There's no way I can actually speak for an industry that I just don't work in...

 

but I'm always amazed that wrestlers work something like 300 days a year.

 

Add to that their travel schedules, it must be just awful.

 

I've always wished that they could be phased out, but don't they get paid a portion of a gate, etc?

 

Not to mention losing your spot when you're "phased out"

 

It's something I don't think all the workers would be in favor of being FORCED to do.

[Downhome 0]

When I say hard stuff, I'm talking about the blatant overuse of weapons and gimmick matches. You can work a stiff and realistic looking match in a very safe way, but only if you know what you are doing. I will say this though - I wouldn't trust a few of the new WWE guys to do so, because so many of them don't even seem to have the most basic of techniques down.

 

And yes, of course the schedule has a lot to do with it. It wouldn't surprise me to see more and more guys leave WWE, especially after what we've seen the past two days, and what we're likely to see in the upcoming weeks.

[chaosrage 0]

I've been saying for years that it is time to slowly phase out much of the hard stuff. Stop blading so much, stop using weapons like chairs and everything on every single show. Cut down on the gimmick matches using the ladder and different types of cages.

 

Now only would it be easier on the workers, but when you do see stuff like that it would mean so much more. Put aside the well being of the wrestlers if you want to, I think it'd also just make for a better industry right now.

 

Even though WWE has adopted a "safer style", it seems to me like the guys get hurt more these days than they used to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Even with the safer style, WWE gets more injuries than more violent promotions ever did such as ECW. So I doubt blading and chairs have much to do with it. It's more what Test said, wrestling 5 days a week every week with no breaks. How can any of them stand it? As can be seen with all the neck surgeries and deaths, they can't stand it. Human beings need some type of recuperation time.

[Guest Leelee]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the point he is trying to make is they tell you to do these things (roids, painkillers) to remain in the company and then when your body starts breaking, you have no options because taking time off costs you your spot and could get you fired. He's not wrong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And let's face it... the only reason Martin is even in the business is because of his physique.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You mean his promo skills and great ring work didn't hold people?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well, I'm sure there were another 6 or 7 stupid girls who liked Horseface for his looks!

[The Niggardly King 0]

Didn't Test gain a huge amount of muscle mass recently due to suspected steroid abuse or am I just crazy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the point he is trying to make is they tell you to do these things (roids, painkillers) to remain in the company and then when your body starts breaking, you have no options because taking time off costs you your spot and could get you fired. He's not wrong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And let's face it... the only reason Martin is even in the business is because of his physique.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You mean his promo skills and great ring work didn't hold people?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well, I'm sure there were another 6 or 7 stupid girls who liked Horseface for his looks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Lex Luger?