OAO WWE Wellness Policy Thread

[Guest Hemme]

Actually I was told today that this could be something very simple, a bad batch of perfectly legal painkillers. Apparently Raised enzymes in the Kidneys & a hagher than normal white blood cell count can happen when people take dodgy painlikkers & then overexert themselves.

[Enigma]

The webmaster of Matt Hardy's website said that Hardy's blood test showed trace amounts of the staph infection that plagued him a few months ago. He is being taken off the road as a precaution.

[Guest Oblivious Heel]

Whether these wrestlers know it or not Vince McMahon is adding more years to their lives by finding these problems when they're young. Some of these wrestlers might actually live to the ripe old age of 43 thanks to these test.

 

Put away your smark hatred and all praise Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

[Ultra Violence]

Whether these wrestlers know it or not Vince McMahon is adding more years to their lives by finding these problems when they're young. Some of these guys might actually live to the ripe old age of 43 thanks to these test.

 

Put away your smark hatred and all praise Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

 

To be honest Vince is roided up and coked to the gills and he's not exactly young.

[Guest Oblivious Heel]

He obviously made a deal with the devil.

[snuffbox]

Aceteminophen/Tylenol can do serious damage to the liver, so it doesnt have to be illegal painkiller usage. However, coincidentally, Vicodin contains between 250 and 1000 mgs of aceteminiphen per pill.

[Wrestlefreak]

And yet with all these problems, Smackdown is still producing a top quality wrestling show. I REALLY hope it turns out not to be Hepatitis C.

[Cheech Tremendous]

It's not Hep C. These guys have liver issues from painkillers and steroids.

[Vampiro69]

It's not Hep C. These guys have liver issues from painkillers and steroids.

 

What is your definitive proof then?

[Cheech Tremendous]

I don't have any proof. I'm just reading between the lines. The chances of it being Hep C (and us not knowing) are beyond minute.

[Vampiro69]

Glad to see you have rock solid prrof then.

[Cheech Tremendous]

Glad to see you have rock solid prrof then.

 

Ok sorry. Glad to see that it's okay to spend two pages talking about the extremely miniscule chance that these guys all have Hepatitis, but that it's out of line for me to suggest it was PEDs. Whatever.

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

Of all the people taken off the roster for kidney problems, one or two might have Hep C, but the chances of them all having it are very remote. It's far more likely it's a steroid related issue, especially in the case of Lashley.

[Open the Muggy Gate]

I'm doubting EVERY single person gone right now has Hep C, but how in the hell do you explain everyone getting taken off the roster all of a sudden, most with kindey and liver problems? There's got to be a connection somewhere.

[Cheech Tremendous]

I'm doubting EVERY single person gone right now has Hep C, but how in the hell do you explain everyone getting taken off the roster all of a sudden, most with kindey and liver problems? There's got to be a connection somewhere.

 

I know Vampiro69 might disagree, but to me this whole thing is easy to figure out. The WWE started doing wellness testing. Several wrestlers are taken off the road for kidney/liver problems. These kidney/liver problems are indicative of a certain type of ingestable steroid. What's so elusive about this scenario?

[Guest Oblivious Heel]

You can screw up your liver and kidneys by taking too many vitamins. These pills like Stackers aren't as safe as they would like you to believe. Especially if you're taking a few different things including some protein and weight gainer shakes.

[snuffbox]

Aside from the massive amounts of aceteminophen in Vicodin/Hydrocodone...there is also some in 5mg Oxycontins.

 

Example - If a wrestler has a prescription to take 3 pills of 5mg Vicodin a day, he would also be ingesting 1500 mgs of aceteminophen. Now, take into account how many pills the workers are probably actually taking in a day...

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

You can screw up your liver and kidneys by taking too many vitamins.

They ate too many oranges?

 

The WWE started doing wellness testing. Several wrestlers are taken off the road for kidney/liver problems. These kidney/liver problems are indicative of a certain type of ingestable steroid.

 

This is the most likely reason for so many people being taken off the road. Why are some people finding it so hard to accept that?

[snuffbox]

Vicodin and steroids destroy the liver; wrestlers use both of things like candy...so it must clearly be a HepC epidemic.

[Guest Brian]

You can screw up your kidney from taking too much Tylenol, and can actually die from it. Stop giving them the flavored chewables!

[CBright7831]

Whatever happened to the days of the Flinstone vitamins?

[randomguy]

Probably they started testing for liver problems more carefully, then discovered these issues.

 

In way it's kind of crazy for WWE to not want wrestlers on roids or on painkillers, then ask them to all be really big and ripped and travel and work house shows constantly.

 

If they really want the wrestlers to be well they need to have them wrestle less often and/or expect them to be less buff.

[Vampiro69]

Whatever happened to the days of the Flinstone vitamins?

 

They still make them.

[CBright7831]

Whatever happened to the days of the Flinstone vitamins?

 

They still make them.

They do? Oh nice.

[Bruce Blank]

It's a work guys, it's a genius "shoot work" to make a huge heel. Think about it, what's put all these guys on the shelf? the blood test right? Hell that's put more people on the shelf than Mark Henry has been credited with (or damn near close enough)

 

The heel here is obvious blood Test!!! - He's about to become the biggest heel in the WWE

[Guest Felonies!]

You can screw up your liver and kidneys by taking too many vitamins.

They ate too many oranges?

Actually, Vitamin C is one of the safer vitamins. Any of it that your body doesn't need is just excreted. Vitamin A can be toxic in high doses, though.

[Guest wildpegasus]

I have heard a couple of stories about Vitamin C being bad for you over time if you take excessive amounts. However, you're always going to find stories like that. I certainly hope it's not true because I do tend to take a lot of Vitamin C.

 

I have heard negative things about taking too much Vitamin A as well.

 

 

People here are suspecting that the problems the WWE wrestlers are having may be suffering from the Hepatitis C instead of other things for the simple fact that it's been reported that the WWE is worried about it. If the WWE is indeed worried about it than that means there's a definite possibility that the WWE has a HEatitis C problem as they would have better knowledge of the situation than we do.

[Vampiro69]

Wildpegasus, get out of this thread and go back to hardcore discussion. We don't care if you take alot of Vitiam C.

[Guest Felonies!]

HEY YOU!

You're losing

You're losing

You're losing

You're losing your Vitamin C

Your Vitamin C

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

From the latest Figure Four Weekly:

 

According to the Mayo Clinic website:

 

“A laboratory report of elevated liver enzymes is common. It doesn’t indicate a specific disease. However, it may be due to a liver disorder, even if you don’t have any symptoms of liver problems. To determine the underlying cause of elevated liver enzymes, your doctor may recommend further testing. Liver enzymes help maintain a variety of chemical and metabolic processes that occur in the liver. Normally, only very small amounts of these enzymes are present in your blood. Common causes of elevated liver enzymes include: Medications, such as certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cholesterol-lowering medications, antibiotics and anti-seizure medications; Drinking too much alcohol; Obesity; Diabetes; Elevated triglycerides; Infection, such as viral hepatitis and mononucleosis; Autoimmune disorders of the liver and bile ducts, such as autoimmune hepatitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis; Metabolic liver disease, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson’s disease; Excessive use of vitamin supplements and certain herbal supplements; Tumors of the liver or bile ducts.”

 

In the bodybuilding world, it’s common knowledge that liver issues are often a side effect of oral steroid use (which is why as much as some people hate needles, injectable steroids are considered safer). Lashley has not failed a steroid test, though the fact that he’s put on nearly 100 pounds of solid muscle in the past few years (he wrestled at 177 in college) seems to strongly indicate his liver enzymes issues are related to heavy steroid use (not to mention the fact that most doctors would tell you that putting 100 pounds of solid muscle and no bodyfat on in a few years is completely impossible naturally).

 

Things got worse. On Saturday, Great Khali was also pulled from the show due to a diseased liver. Before coming to WWE, Khali also had a completely unnatural physique (far less natural than even today), looking like pretty much the tallest competition bodybuilder there has even been.

 

Again, neither man has been suspended and both will be allowed to return to action once the situation is cleared up. In one of the most surreal PPV moments ever, Teddy Long called out Lashley on the PPV and addressed the situation pretty much in carny, saying Lashley had some issues to deal with, they needed to look at the long-term health of their performers, and that when the problems were addressed he could come back.

 

A few weeks ago the Wellness Policy looked like a joke. This week, things are much different. The full list of Wellness Victims at press time follows.

 

For Smackdown: Lashley, Khali, Kid Kash, Super Crazy, Joey Mercury and Matt Hardy. Lashley and Khali are out with the liver issues. Kid Kash and Jamie Noble are both out, and while some sources are saying it’s attitude-related, one WWE source stated that only Noble did not deserve to be included on the Wellness List. Kash, therefore, appears to be out due to issues related to the last round of medical testing (liver enzymes, etc.). Crazy was pulled due to elevated liver enzymes. Hardy is being pulled, and while we don’t have confirmation as to why, the WWE source did not say he was placed on the Wellness List unfairly. Hardy claims his blood test found traces of staph. Mercury was sent to rehab several months back.

 

For ECW: Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam. Angle was pulled from the road due to serious issues with pain medication. Theoretically he could be back next week, but with his past I strongly suspect he’ll need to pass a test first, then continue to pass regular tests from that point forward. Because of the issues that have caused him to rely on the pills for so many years, there is at least a chance that he won’t ever be able to return. RVD failed a test, but it was an IQ test and not a drug test. He should be back within a couple of weeks. WWE has the right to test him regularly for marijuana, but my gut feeling is that they will not.

 

For Raw: Chris Masters and Rene Dupre. Masters was sent to rehab for non-steroid-related issues. There is no timetable listed for his return. Dupre failed a steroid test in June and was suspended. He ended up with a lot of heat because during his suspension he went on tour for his father Emil Dupre in the Maritimes.

 

For developmental: Ryan Reynolds. Formerly of Tough Enough and now under developmental, he failed a drug test in June.

 

The Smackdown list is the biggest of all because Smackdown was tested independently of Raw and ECW. Privately, WWE officials are expecting several more guys to go down within the next few weeks, and some are saying that by WrestleMania 2007 the full impact of the new policy will be very apparent. According to the source, there is actually a sense of relief about all of this because if any of the guys end up having hepatitis C a potential major disaster could be avoided. Bob Orton Jr. was fired last year after it was discovered that he’d had hepatitis since he was a teenager and bled all over Undertaker during Taker’s Hell in the Cell match this past fall with Randy Orton. Thankfully, Taker ended up testing clean, but it was a major issue (Undertaker was as mad as some people have ever seen him), and there was major heat on John Lauranitis since he apparently knew Bob had hepatitis before the match and never said anything about it. I don’t know if there is heat on Lauranitis at this point, but there should be. Nearly every single person I’ve ever talked to has praised Jim Ross for the job he did as Head of Talent Relations, adding that Lauranitis is completely incompetent in comparison. Ross had a reputation for seeking out guys that might become something down the road, and coaching/counseling them on certain issues. Lauranitis has a reputation of hiring guys strictly on whether or not they’re the kinds of guys Vince would like (meaning BIG). Plenty of obvious neon signs have been signed (check the list), and the feeling is that Lauranitis figures it’s his job to hire them and their job to not fail any tests. Clearly, if WWE is going to continue taking this policy seriously (and it appears they are, as besides these suspensions, at least one Smackdown wrestler who was in a very prominent position at Great American Bash was told flat-out to get off steroids), that philosophy isn’t going to work.

 

Major changes are expected to be made to the Smackdown roster with so many guys out of action. There are plans to turn Fit Finlay babyface, which will be easy since he’s great and the fans are already into the midget. Once Raw wrestlers start dropping like flies, that roster will probably be shuffled around quite a bit as well. One of the biggest reasons there is a major drug issue in wrestling (at least in terms of steroids, as pain pill abuse exists for an entirely different reason) is that many guys have been brought up over the last two decades to understand that you have to look a certain way to get pushed to the top. There is still that feeling today, though if we continue to get weeks like this, and if guys like Fit Finlay end up getting better spots because they actually can pass drug tests, we may very slowly over the next few years see a positive shift in this business. Unfortunately, we’re a good decade away from being at the point where early deaths are a thing of the past, because even if everyone in WWE went cold turkey today, many of them have already done a lot of potentially irreversible damage. Plus, with no testing in TNA or the indies, it’ll take years of WWE promoting drug-free athletes before the trickle-down effect causes the rest of the wrestlers in this country to determine that they can make it big without the drugs.