Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'd like to see some example of Meltzer and company being 'stuck' on Vince walking in the 90s while reporting on this. If a lot of their coverage on this seems negative, it's because it's hard for it to not to be.

[BUTT 0]

Do you have names? TNA hasn't been around that long, and started long after the supposed change in "culture" when they went from partying all hours of the night to, well, whatever they're doing now. So I'm surprised that they have a few names.

 

I'm gonna guess 3 of them are Crash Holly, Curt Hennig and Chris Candido...the other 3 I'm drawing a blank.

Hawk, Malice, Mike Awesome.

[justcoz 0]

Alvarez saying last night that he got his information about the WWE wellness policy straight from the press release and description they posted on their website

 

You seem to misunderstand. This was to prove the point that Kennedy and Finlay were both saying things contrary to what the WWE had publicly said. Both Alvarez and Meltzer have sources inside the WWE, and they have both apparently seen the wellness policy. They both have more information than you, whether you want to believe it or not. You or anyone else can also access a lot of that information by reading the WON. It's better than keeping one's head in the sand.

 

I read the Observer and they aren't always right. And I think Alvarez specifically said that he read the wellness policy online. I'm not sure though but that's how I took his comment on Nancy Grace. They've both stated that you get a pass if you present a prescription for whatever you test positive for. Finlay said the doctor they use looks into the details behind your prescription before deciding if you get a pass or not. If a doctor has a legitimate reason to prescribe Benoit steroids (low testosterone from previous sterod abuse) or a reason to give Rey Mysterio a prescription for pain killers (injuries) and xanax (trouble sleeping, anxiety) what can WWE do? Now granted the amounts of steroids that Benoit was receiving is frightening but was there any way for WWE to know he was receiving that much from that one doctor? That deal was struck between the doctor and Benoit.

 

 

 

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Meltzer's latest update has a great commentary on the handling, and debate, of the issues raised in light of current events:

 

--The biggest media target for comments as he left was Fit Finlay. What a bad idea last night turned out to be for him and actually, I thought he was lucky because Marc Mero and Bryan Alvarez have so much personal respect for him they could have made him look far worse. Well, also because there were times he opened himself up so badly and Alvarez wasn't on at those moments since the producers wanted Mero vs. Fit. But in the end, Nancy Grace made Fit look terrible. Fit needed a lot more than not knowing the policy he was defending and "only five deaths under our watch" (I presume Nancy & Daniel Benoit's deaths don't count because they weren't contracted employees, like the plethora of young deaths of guys who picked up or worsened habits under the watch who died in their 40s) and "we put smiles on faces" to go on a show like that. I felt sorry for him, but it was another example of everything wrong with how wrestling is handling this situation.

 

I can't comment on Mr. Kennedy's appearance on FNC because I didn't see it and won't until tonight. I did see Jon Stewart on O'Reilly, and as much as everyone in the profession will knock him because he hasn't been a major star in a long time, I thought he was very honest, which puts him well ahead of most who have been on these shows.

 

For the same thing, just a different day. Whether it's Kennedy, Finlay, or anyone else, instead of denying there is a problem, because three dead bodies speak that there is a problem, every WWE performer going public should spend far more time talking about a solution. Instead, they'll knock Nancy Grace, who was completely clueless on day one, and after only two plus weeks, has more depth of thought on this story and its true ramifications than any WWE contracted performer who has written or spoke publicly. They'll knock Marc Mero because he wasn't a big star (immaterial) or has an agenda. Who doesn't have an agenda in wrestling? Nobody publicly touches Konnan, who is essentially saying the same things, because it's easier to say Mero hasn't been in the business in years and is out of touch than say that about Konnan. I'm sure he's got an agenda, just like John Cena has an agenda and everyone has an agenda. I'm looking for positive improvements, not hiding (such as WWE taking its Wellness policy off its web site or the McMahon family's disappearing act in public when the media folks actually started learning the story after an embarrassing start), name calling

 

Again, why can nobody in WWE say what Dana White said after the Benoit murders. We want to work with all the governmental agencies when it comes to outside testing because after what happened. We don't want steroids in our sport. That was the most horrible crime I've heard of in a long time.

 

I'm not saying outside agency athletic commission testing is even a partial solution, but the fact WWE--and TNA--won't say anything of the sort advocating or coming up with any improvements after three weeks is telling. Defending the drug policy is futile at this point. It's failure was proven by Benoit having steroids in his home and huge quantities prescribed to him the entire year while being tested. Attempts to use the policy as proof things are fine doesn't work. If things were fine and the policy works, explain the contradiction.

 

The big problem here is the wrestling industry. They are not to blame for the Benoit murders. They are to blame for their attitude on the Benoit murders. I hate saying this, but while wrestlers are far more honest in general than baseball and football players when it comes to personal use of steroids (in most cases, there are exceptions), many (not all) are coming across as incapable of any depth of thought, and having zero balls or backbone. Instead of working within every means necessary to give suggestions to clean up problems, they are more concerned with protecting the business than saving future lives. They haven't even made the most simple of correlations. In the long run, saving lives is protecting the business. In fact, with every single WWE appearance on television, has one wrestler spoken up with a suggestion on how they can lower the death rate in the future? Or have they attempted, in most cases futilely, to deny what is obvious to anyone with eyesight and half a brain?

 

I'm begging one WWE wrestler on their blogs or in a public forum to make suggestions to clean up the industry that are viable. Not just WWE. The industry. Whether it be a change of standards of what a star is supposed to look like, schedule that would be more beneficial, or something. If I read one more "personal choice," thing, I want to ask every Mr. Personal choice these questions:

 

1) Whose personal choice was it to make Bobby Lashley and Dave Bautista two of the company's three most pushed stars. I'm not accusing them of steroids. At least in the case of Dave, the fans took him over the top after HHH handpicked him to be a future star. Why? Great in-ring? Great speaking? But in his case, he got over and drew money and did earn his spot, but what message does that send to 80% of the roster who work better and talk better? As for Lashley, that was Vince's personal choice. All year from within the organization it's been the constant talk of how the fans don't buy Lashley at the level we are pushing him. And did the push lessen? No, it accelerated. Was it because his promos have gotten better? Was it because he outworks the rest of the roster? What trait does Lashley have that one would look at him and say he's a headliner?

 

2) What personal choice did Nancy and Daniel Benoit make?

 

Instead of saying the profession isn't to blame, and it both is and isn't, stop being so defensive and address what can be done to make things better and save lives. I have not pushed for athletic commission regulation of pro wrestling for many years, probably not since the early 90s. However, I've seen what has happened in California with MMA and while I don't agree with every commission decision, they have done an excellent job on the drug issue. Armando Garcia has said he would test WWE wrestlers, and I'm sure the same would go for TNA if they ever came, for free, to help WWE. If the business has changed and we want to do everything possible to prevent problems, who will be the first person in WWE to say, "We welcome outside testing." Don't argue "We're not a sport." If nobody was dying, there is no issue. Wrestling, in the big picture, is more real than MMA or boxing, not less, because the body count of superstars is the ultimate reality. Don't argue "it's only five guys who died under out watch," when 40-year-old Chris Benoit had how many of his closest friend this Earth in recent years and every close friend of his that I've spoken with believes that played a part in his mental collapse.

 

3) Don't tell me about how clean the locker room is. Publicly when Eddy Guerrero died, one guy after another went on television to brag about how Eddy had been clean for years. And I don't know who knew what, but Eddy and I did have mutual very good friends who were constantly monitoring him because they knew he was always at risk. Eddy himself told me that every single day was a struggle fighting his addictions. And by wrestling standards, Eddy may or may not have been clean, but by real world standards, significant usage of pain medication, steroids and GH is not clean. When Fit Finlay went on TV last night and told Mero that there's no proof steroids played a part in Guerrero's death, they needed an advocate who has at least kept up with the business enough to know that Guerrero's death certificate specifically points to steroids as a major contributing cause of his death. If Finlay didn't know that, the company is at fault for not preparing him and allowing him to open himself up to that degree. If he did know, then he's at fault for trying to lie. I believe it's the former. The first time I heard the defense that those old guys don't know and it's a new breed of wrestlers was in the early 90s when Jim Duggan tried to say there were no more steroids in wrestling and it had changed from the days of Superstar Graham and Bruno Sammartino, who were saying there was a steroid problem.

 

When Nancy Gracie screams on television about the indictment and Dr. Astin prescribing 700 pills in one day, the name in the indictment who he prescribed to was a WWE wrestler. Keep in mind, this is just one doctor located in Carrollton, GA, with a hoard of wrestlers as clients. Why do wrestlers living hours away, in fact, one living hundreds of miles away and another living thousands of miles away, regularly see a doctor in Carrollton, GA? Why did Benoit get the quantity of drugs he did? Listen, if more of the locker room is clean today than eight years ago, that's positive. But don't tell me with that evidence the problems have suddenly vanished and we no longer have to be concerned. Not after three deaths three weeks ago.

 

This is not a blame game. I don't blame anyone specifically other than Chris Benoit. I blame the environment and ultimately the people who made the decisions that led to this, not for murder, but for inaction. That's the people who ingested, the doctors who prescribed it to be buddies with wrestlers and the profession that has made some cosmetic changes, perhaps even some real changes, but has never once addressed the real issue of hirings, firings and pushes based on physique. Exactly how much punishment and how often, is healthy for an average person in the profession to take without a large percentage succumbing to addictive chemical help? Will WWE and TNA work together and fund a study regarding the deaths of wrestlers, including talking to the coroners who pulled these overly enlarged hearts out of one person or another, to find what consistent patterns we can find, what caused them, and most importantly, what can be doing to avoid it as much as possible in the future. Don't come up with "well, they didn't die under our watch," when the habits that killed them were done under your watch. Don't send out spineless wrestlers who claim Eddy Guerrero's problems were all in WCW, or, like Steve Blackman, who will say he's seen massive steroid use in wrestling, but only in Stampede Wrestling, never in WWF. We all know by the time their bodies expired from those habits many were in their 40s, and no longer under contract. Does anyone realize how bad that comes across to any thinking person?

 

Marc Mero is facing a heart valve replacement. It may or may not have been due to the steps he took to be a pro wrestler. Konnan is facing a kidney replacement, and nearly died last year. That was due to the steps he took both to be and to stay a pro wrestler. I knew Konnan at 25, and when it came to this issue, he was a far more intelligent version of Mr. Kennedy. For all I know, he may have gone on TV in Mexico and said he never did steroids. But he took steroids to be a star. He took pain pills to keep up the schedule. Made big money and didn't particularly care that much about the guys struggling to make it. He thought he was invincible and at 28, once told me and Art Barr that he didn't care if he lived past 35, because he was living a great life and we will all die of something. And I remember Art saying he had a three-year-old and he wanted to be there to watch him grow up. And I remember talking to the coroner several times after Art died and he was stumped. He couldn't figure out what killed him. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't have anywhere close to enough pain medication in him to be fatal, although he did have some. The coroner told me, "If I didn't know any better, his insides look exactly like a teenager from Washington who died from steroids." And then he said, "But that's impossible, because his father and brother told me that Art never took steroids."

 

With the benefit of the same hindsight, when today's wrestlers are on the scrap heap, and the company is no longer paying for their operations even though their health problems continue or worsen, many of them, facing mounting medical bills that kill your savings even if you were prudent during their career, will go on talk shows after the next death. And a whole new group of 30-year-old wrestlers who either don't know history or are able to somehow ignore it, and 48-year-old producers who actually do have full benefits packages that the rest of their brethren don't have, or fathers and uncles of guys wanting to break in who don't want to ire Stephanie McMahon and HHH, will kiss ass and claim those people were never really stars, are bitter, old and that there is no problem because they haven't even been in a locker room in eight years, and never address the guy who was in the locker room in the past week saying the same thing. And they'll try and tell people it's not the same business it was even two years ago.

 

And I'll save this column and write it again. It's not like I haven't written it 30 times before.

 

Wrestling should be a great industry. It should put smiles on faces. Hell, 80% of the time I've watched Fit Finlay wrestle this past year has been fun. And to me, who may know the industry a little better, by and large, my opinion is it is filled with sheep, cowards and people who in the end are so afraid of what they deep down know is the truth that they will not-so-gladly sacrifice families. In the end, they are avoiding what they think they are doing, which is actually protecting their business.

 

It's strong stuff, and he makes a lot of great points, even if they'll be ignored by the usual suspects.

[Guest kettley]

Do you have names?

Chris Adams

Gary Albright

Mike Alfonso

Randy Anderson

Rodeny Anoia

Chris Benoit

Nancy Benoit

Scott Bigelow

Shane Bower

Basil Bozinis

Herb Calvert

Chris Candito

Elisabeth Chase

Brian Cox

Michael Davis

Robbie Dicks

Dave DiMeglio

Bobby Duncam Jr

Anthony Durante

Mike Durham

Ray Fernandez

Terry Gordy

Edouard Guerrero

Russell Haas

Audie Hager

Emory Hail

Owen Hart

Shinya Hashimoto

Michael Hegstrand

Curth Hennig

Brian Hildebrand

Elizabeth Hulette

Dan Johnson

Marlon Kalkai

Trae Keller

Steve King

Marianna Komlos

Michael Lockwood

Michael Lazanski

Joseph Magliano

Gary Mize

Louis Mucciolo

Dean Peters

Ted Petty

Brian Pillman

Victor Quinones

Jeff Raitz

Sylvester Ritter

Alex Rizzo

Richard Rood

Sherry Russell

Peggy Simpson

Davey Boy Smith

Mitch Snow

Robert Swenson

John Tenta

Troy Thompson

Ray Traylor

Tomoni Tsuruta

Jerry Tuite

Richard Wilson

[World's Worst Man 0]

Oh, it's just Meltzer. What does he know, he's never been in da locker room! His information clearly isn't right.

[Enigma 0]

The 6 who worked for TNA:

 

-- Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)

-- Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly/Mad Mikey)

-- Mike Hegstrand (Road Warrior Hawk)

-- Mike Alfonso (Mike Awesome)

-- Jerry Tuite (The Wall/Malice)

-- Chris Candito

 

Candito, Lockwood, and Awesome are circumstantial because their situations had nothing to do with the issues being discussed. Awesome committed suicide due to depression over his marital troubles. Lockwood also committed suicide due to his ex-wife getting full custody of their daughter. Candito died due to a blood clot that formed in his leg after surgery for a wrestling injury that had nothing to do with drugs or steroids.

 

Hennig's death was a coke overdose. Former TNA guy Jason Cross is a friend of mine. He said he had dinner with Hennig two weeks before he died and said he was clearly screwed up on something. That one could be a debate about the conditions wrestlers work in.

 

The only ones that really need to be scrutinized under the pain killer/steroid talk are Hawk and The Wall, since their prior drug use clearly contributed to their early demises.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Kennedy said he doesn’t use steroids.

Haha. Maybe not now, but he was pretty jacked when he came up to Smackdown. Didn't he have a couple typically-steroid-related injuries while on SD?

 

Kennedy was considered one of the most jacked up guys back in his old indy fed.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Kennedy said he doesn’t use steroids.

Haha. Maybe not now, but he was pretty jacked when he came up to Smackdown. Didn't he have a couple typically-steroid-related injuries while on SD?

 

Kennedy was considered one of the most jacked up guys back in his old indy fed.

Kennedy was in the IWA MS Ted Petty Invitational in 2002, and if you see how he looks then as compared to now, he looks completely different. He's put on a good 30lbs of muscle.

[Guest kettley]

The 6 who worked for TNA:

-- Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)

-- Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly/Mad Mikey)

-- Mike Hegstrand (Road Warrior Hawk)

-- Mike Alfonso (Mike Awesome)

-- Jerry Tuite (The Wall/Malice)

-- Chris Candito

Mike Alfonso: Mike Awesome died at 42 of suicide on Feb 17 2007, likely over a failing marriage, although his health had been ruined in the last year of his life due to years of heavy steroid use.

Chris Candito: Candito, who wrestled as Chris Candido, is listed as dying from an infection after surgery on April 28 2005. He was 34. He was working for a wrestler for TNA at the time. Candtio was a heavy steroid, GH and pain killer user and had some near death experiences from the painkillers. Unlike most states, New Jersey doesn't make public the resuls of autopsies except to the immediate family.

Michael Hegstrand: The legendary Road Warrior Hawk passed away on October 19 2003 at 45 from a heart attack. While Hegstrand had cleaned himself up later in life after more than one nearly fatal health scare (the only drugs in his system at the time of death were marijuana), he was one of the heaviest steroid users and recreational drug users of his era.

Curt Hennig: The one time Mr Perfect was 44 when he passed away on Feburary 10 2003 atfer doing cocaine in his hotel room in Tampa. He didn't overdose. The cocaine threw his heart out of whack and he went into cardiac arrest. He had a damaged heart from years of both steroid and other drug use. By doing cocain, it blew his heart out and he died. The coronor who pulled out his greatly enlarged heart said it would be incredibly naive to say that steroids in specific didn't play a part in his death.

Michael Lockwood: Lockwood, better known as Crash Holly and Erin O'Grady, died on November 6 2003, at 32 of a drug overdose which may have been as much a suicide as anything, as it corresponded with the break-up of his marriage. Lockwood had an alcohol problem as well as a pain pill problem and used a significant amount of steroids. Ironically, in pro-wrestling, he had a reputation for the first several years of his career for being a health nut who wouldn't even put sauce on his spaghetti, although he was a drinker before going to WWF. He died shortly after being fired by WWF.

Jerry Tuite: Jerry the Wall, who briefly headlined WCW due to his size, passed away at 34 of a heart attack while on tour with All Japan on December 5 2003, right after the final night of the annual tag team tournament. Tuite had a reputation for heavy usage of painkillers and also used steroids.

[Vanhalen 0]

I still cant believe this fucking story and thread is still going on, enough already!

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The 6 who worked for TNA:

 

-- Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)

-- Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly/Mad Mikey)

-- Mike Hegstrand (Road Warrior Hawk)

-- Mike Alfonso (Mike Awesome)

-- Jerry Tuite (The Wall/Malice)

-- Chris Candito

 

Candito, Lockwood, and Awesome are circumstantial because their situations had nothing to do with the issues being discussed. Awesome committed suicide due to depression over his marital troubles. Lockwood also committed suicide due to his ex-wife getting full custody of their daughter. Candito died due to a blood clot that formed in his leg after surgery for a wrestling injury that had nothing to do with drugs or steroids.

 

Hennig's death was a coke overdose. Former TNA guy Jason Cross is a friend of mine. He said he had dinner with Hennig two weeks before he died and said he was clearly screwed up on something. That one could be a debate about the conditions wrestlers work in.

 

The only ones that really need to be scrutinized under the pain killer/steroid talk are Hawk and The Wall, since their prior drug use clearly contributed to their early demises.

 

sounds like wrestlers need marriage counseling as well..

[bob_barron 0]

I still cant believe this fucking story and thread is still going on, enough already!

 

Then stop reading it you moron.

[TheFranchise 0]

The 6 who worked for TNA:

 

-- Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)

-- Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly/Mad Mikey)

-- Mike Hegstrand (Road Warrior Hawk)

-- Mike Alfonso (Mike Awesome)

-- Jerry Tuite (The Wall/Malice)

-- Chris Candito

 

Candito, Lockwood, and Awesome are circumstantial because their situations had nothing to do with the issues being discussed. Awesome committed suicide due to depression over his marital troubles. Lockwood also committed suicide due to his ex-wife getting full custody of their daughter. Candito died due to a blood clot that formed in his leg after surgery for a wrestling injury that had nothing to do with drugs or steroids.

 

Hennig's death was a coke overdose. Former TNA guy Jason Cross is a friend of mine. He said he had dinner with Hennig two weeks before he died and said he was clearly screwed up on something. That one could be a debate about the conditions wrestlers work in.

 

The only ones that really need to be scrutinized under the pain killer/steroid talk are Hawk and The Wall, since their prior drug use clearly contributed to their early demises.

 

sounds like wrestlers need marriage counseling as well..

Actually, a very valid point.

 

I can't imagine distance apart and time apart could be good.

 

[dubq 0]

I still cant believe this fucking story and thread is still going on, enough already!

 

So what didn't you get about the first god knows how many times we told you that if you don't like it, then fuck off and don't come into the thread?!

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

I still cant believe this fucking story and thread is still going on, enough already!

Jesus, what is wrong with you? Because the story *isn't* neatly wrapped up within a week of its occurrence, you're pissed off? How the hell does that make sense? This isn't old news, and its not about to go away any time soon. You, on the other hand, very well should.

[dubq 0]

I can't even fathom how VH expects what is pretty much the biggest event to hit the wrestling world to just go away within two weeks... unreal.

[World's Worst Man 0]

Gimmick.

[Mecca 0]

I don't have a problem with anything Dave said honestly, other than the part where he expects WWE guys to bash the company they work for. Even if any of them really feel that way it would be a completely idiotic move that would cause serious repercussion.

 

I'm pretty sure if someone who works for Dave at the Observer got in a public forum that could easily be seen and totally bashed him and how he does things, saying a place like the Torch is so much better, he'd face serious repercussion from it likely being fired.

 

You don't talk shit on your employer like that you just don't it's not a "wrestling sheep thing" it's a life thing of wanting to keep your job. If any of you go and shit talk on your company where they can see you do it, do you really think they are going to continue to employ you?

 

A WWE wrestler would essentially sacrifice his career if he did what Dave wanted them to do, which would be moronic on the wrestlers part.

 

The WWE guys are in a no win situation here, if you were to "not be a sheep" like Dave wants you just ended your career. If you feel it's best to not say anything then "well you are hiding because you aren't out there talking", or you can say what Finlay or Kennedy said and get blasted as a moron or a sheep.

 

As i said before this isn't a wrestling or a "sheep" thing this is a life thing. You do not blast your employer in public if you want to keep your job simple as that.

 

If a WWE wrestler were to say the drug policy isn't good he thinks there should be change and go into that side of the arguement.....Would it even take till the next day to read "we wish such and such best in all his future endeavors" I think asking a guy to commit career suicide is a bit much personally.

[Guest •]

Vanhalen isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, is he.

[justsoyouknow 0]

Hey, remember when you guys all wanted Czech, me, Vitamin X, Slayer, and CWM suspended and/or banned because we thought you guys needed to get over it? That was at like page 7, I think.

[CBright7831 0]

They showed some clips of Nancy & Daniel's funeral on CNN. Out of everyone, I just noticed Jim Ross, there were droves of people there.

[Nate 0]

Vanhalen isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, is he.

 

doesnt seem like it, i'll be surprised if this whole story disappears completely by the end of the year, this is far too big a news story to just sweep under the rug and move on, even if Benoit was the only person to die, we within the wrestling community would still be talking about it, but it wouldnt be a big news story

[Celtic Jobber 0]

Here's Fit Finlay and Marc Mero on last night's Nancy Grace:

 

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83u0PULb2C4

 

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvot5PVkVdU

 

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip2CNMHfxbM

[Celtic Jobber 0]

And here's Mr. Kennedy on FoxNews Friday night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rH4czm3JIU

[Vern Gagne 0]

It's strange seeing a wrestler admit the matches are pre-determined.

[milliondollarchamp 0]

Interesting Mark Henry article

 

Keeping it real

Wrestler tired of drugs and their effect on his peers, his sport.

 

By John Maher

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Saturday, July 14, 2007

 

Professional wrestler Mark Henry, all 390 pounds of him, is used to drawing stares. Even people who haven't seen him perform at an arena or on television can't help but notice his vending-machine build or the Hummer he drives, the one he received for winning a 2002 strongman competition promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Lately, though, Henry said, "I've been getting dirty looks from people. I was talking to this guy at the airport and he said, 'You guys are all getting exposed.' When people make generalizations about me they're usually wrong. I don't do drugs. I'm not some animal. I'm not some Neanderthal."

 

Laura Skelding

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

 

Family man: Pro wrestler Mark Henry (with his wife, Jana Perry-Henry, and their son Jacob, 21 months) says he sticks to himself to avoid being linked to drug users.

 

Laura Skelding

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

 

Mark Henry, with son Jacob, says he will never forget the death of fellow wrestler Chris Benoit and Benoit's family last month. 'The thing is, no one saw it coming,' Henry said. 'This is never going to leave me. I'll be on my deathbed and still thinking about it.'

 

 

Henry is dealing with the shock and grief stemming from the recent death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, whom police said killed his wife and 7-year-old son before committing suicide in the family's Georgia home. In the wake of the tragedy, wrestling's excesses, including steroid use, are again coming under fire from critics, some of whom have called for a Congressional investigation of the business.

 

The 36-year-old Henry, an Austin resident who's been a wrestler for more than a decade, also has to grapple with trying to lead a normal life in a surreal world.

 

"The travel alone would kill most people. We might do 250 shows a year," he said.

 

Henry doesn't ride with other wrestlers to any World Wrestling Entertainment matches. A husband and father of a 21-month-old son, Henry said one reason he drives solo is for safety, that he has less chance of getting in an accident that might cause an injury that could affect his career. The other reason, he said, is that he doesn't want to be in a car if recreational or performance-enhancing drugs belonging to another wrestler are discovered by law enforcement officials.

 

"If they get caught, then I'd be (considered) guilty, too. If we get pulled over we're both going down," Henry said.

 

Henry said of the 75 wrestlers he works with, he's close friends with maybe five or six. He said that's pretty typical in the business, because wrestlers are independent contractors.

 

One of the reasons Henry, a two-time Olympic weightlifter, is still in wrestling is Benoit.

 

At a show 31/2 years ago, Benoit slapped a cross-face hold on Henry and dislocated Henry's already injured shoulder, knocking him out of action and raising his doubts about whether to continue in his line of work.

 

"Chris Benoit is the one who kept me going. He's the one who would call and say, 'You have to come back.' He didn't have to do that," Henry said.

 

Henry was at a WWE event in Beaumont on Saturday, June 24, when Benoit didn't show. "Then, when he didn't show up for the pay-per-view-event in Houston," Henry said, "we're thinking, 'Darn, he never misses a show.' "

 

On Monday, June 26, the WWE live event in Corpus Christi was canceled because of the Benoit family deaths, but at that time Henry said the wrestlers thought the killings might have been the result of a home invasion.

 

Authorities, however, said Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and their son, Daniel, before hanging himself from a pulley on a weight machine.

 

"How he did what he did ... ," Henry said, shaking his head. "We were torn up. The thing is, no one saw it coming. This is never going to leave me. I'll be on my deathbed and still thinking about it."

 

A longtime, vocal critic of steroid use

 

Authorities said they found anabolic steroids at Benoit's home, and Benoit's doctor, Phil Astin, has since been charged with improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs.

 

World Wrestling Entertainment was quick to issue a statement that said "roid rage" was not a factor in the deaths.

 

"WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time to the motive for these acts," the statement read.

 

Henry has long been vocal about the problems tied to steroids.

 

Growing up in Silsbee, he was a weightlifting prodigy as a teenager and has long had an extraordinary build.

 

The 6-foot-3-inch Henry has a 24-inch neck and biceps, and his ring size is 18. He has set powerlifting records and also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

 

"My whole life I competed against people who used steroids," said Henry, who as an Olympian was subject to frequent drug testing, including nine tests in 1995 alone.

 

He's still chafed about an "HBO Real Sports" segment he did in 1996 because he contends host Bryant Gumbel made him sound like a crybaby for bringing up the performance-enhancing drug use of other weightlifters.

 

Henry now points to the steroid scandals that have hit some Olympic sports and Major League Baseball as evidence he knew what he was talking about back then.

 

As much as he has spoken out against steroid use, Henry didn't point to 'roid rage as a simple answer for the Benoit deaths.

 

"Steroids may contribute, but there are bodybuilders who have taken a lot more," Henry said.

 

Painkillers also are abused by some wrestlers and have sometimes been linked to their deaths. Bobby Duncum, a former University of Texas football player and a wrestler, died in 2000 at age 34 after overdosing on a painkiller while attempting to cope with injuries.

 

Henry has not been immune from injury despite his size. Probably his most serious wrestling injury happened last July when, in a six-man tag team event, he tore his patella tendon and split his kneecap in two.

 

After surgery Henry did not wrestle in another WWE bout until May, but he said that painkillers don't have to become a part of performing.

 

"It's just sucking it up and going," Henry said.

 

Although he once wrestled as Sexual Chocolate, Henry's weakness is barbecue.

 

When he can, he likes to go to Lockhart or Taylor for brisket and sausage.

 

Henry, who has studied acting and would like to have a career in that field when he's done wrestling, is also big on martial arts films.

 

As for fame, he said the weirdest thing is that strangers will just walk up and punch him in the ribs or slap him on the chest — hard — as if they are some kind of long-lost friend.

 

"I'm not some big, jovial fat guy," Henry warned. "Don't hit me."

 

so he rides by himself to avoid possibly getting busted for steroids and other drugs. and people are claiming the wellness policy is definitely at work and any wrestler who isnt with the e, doesnt know what they are talking about? well, theres a nice hint from a guy who does work for wwe that steroids and other drugs are going around a bit.

[Nate 0]

Interesting Mark Henry article

 

Keeping it real

Wrestler tired of drugs and their effect on his peers, his sport.

 

By John Maher

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Saturday, July 14, 2007

 

Professional wrestler Mark Henry, all 390 pounds of him, is used to drawing stares. Even people who haven't seen him perform at an arena or on television can't help but notice his vending-machine build or the Hummer he drives, the one he received for winning a 2002 strongman competition promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Lately, though, Henry said, "I've been getting dirty looks from people. I was talking to this guy at the airport and he said, 'You guys are all getting exposed.' When people make generalizations about me they're usually wrong. I don't do drugs. I'm not some animal. I'm not some Neanderthal."

 

Laura Skelding

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

 

Family man: Pro wrestler Mark Henry (with his wife, Jana Perry-Henry, and their son Jacob, 21 months) says he sticks to himself to avoid being linked to drug users.

 

Laura Skelding

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

 

Mark Henry, with son Jacob, says he will never forget the death of fellow wrestler Chris Benoit and Benoit's family last month. 'The thing is, no one saw it coming,' Henry said. 'This is never going to leave me. I'll be on my deathbed and still thinking about it.'

 

 

Henry is dealing with the shock and grief stemming from the recent death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, whom police said killed his wife and 7-year-old son before committing suicide in the family's Georgia home. In the wake of the tragedy, wrestling's excesses, including steroid use, are again coming under fire from critics, some of whom have called for a Congressional investigation of the business.

 

The 36-year-old Henry, an Austin resident who's been a wrestler for more than a decade, also has to grapple with trying to lead a normal life in a surreal world.

 

"The travel alone would kill most people. We might do 250 shows a year," he said.

 

Henry doesn't ride with other wrestlers to any World Wrestling Entertainment matches. A husband and father of a 21-month-old son, Henry said one reason he drives solo is for safety, that he has less chance of getting in an accident that might cause an injury that could affect his career. The other reason, he said, is that he doesn't want to be in a car if recreational or performance-enhancing drugs belonging to another wrestler are discovered by law enforcement officials.

 

"If they get caught, then I'd be (considered) guilty, too. If we get pulled over we're both going down," Henry said.

 

Henry said of the 75 wrestlers he works with, he's close friends with maybe five or six. He said that's pretty typical in the business, because wrestlers are independent contractors.

 

One of the reasons Henry, a two-time Olympic weightlifter, is still in wrestling is Benoit.

 

At a show 31/2 years ago, Benoit slapped a cross-face hold on Henry and dislocated Henry's already injured shoulder, knocking him out of action and raising his doubts about whether to continue in his line of work.

 

"Chris Benoit is the one who kept me going. He's the one who would call and say, 'You have to come back.' He didn't have to do that," Henry said.

 

Henry was at a WWE event in Beaumont on Saturday, June 24, when Benoit didn't show. "Then, when he didn't show up for the pay-per-view-event in Houston," Henry said, "we're thinking, 'Darn, he never misses a show.' "

 

On Monday, June 26, the WWE live event in Corpus Christi was canceled because of the Benoit family deaths, but at that time Henry said the wrestlers thought the killings might have been the result of a home invasion.

 

Authorities, however, said Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and their son, Daniel, before hanging himself from a pulley on a weight machine.

 

"How he did what he did ... ," Henry said, shaking his head. "We were torn up. The thing is, no one saw it coming. This is never going to leave me. I'll be on my deathbed and still thinking about it."

 

A longtime, vocal critic of steroid use

 

Authorities said they found anabolic steroids at Benoit's home, and Benoit's doctor, Phil Astin, has since been charged with improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs.

 

World Wrestling Entertainment was quick to issue a statement that said "roid rage" was not a factor in the deaths.

 

"WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time to the motive for these acts," the statement read.

 

Henry has long been vocal about the problems tied to steroids.

 

Growing up in Silsbee, he was a weightlifting prodigy as a teenager and has long had an extraordinary build.

 

The 6-foot-3-inch Henry has a 24-inch neck and biceps, and his ring size is 18. He has set powerlifting records and also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

 

"My whole life I competed against people who used steroids," said Henry, who as an Olympian was subject to frequent drug testing, including nine tests in 1995 alone.

 

He's still chafed about an "HBO Real Sports" segment he did in 1996 because he contends host Bryant Gumbel made him sound like a crybaby for bringing up the performance-enhancing drug use of other weightlifters.

 

Henry now points to the steroid scandals that have hit some Olympic sports and Major League Baseball as evidence he knew what he was talking about back then.

 

As much as he has spoken out against steroid use, Henry didn't point to 'roid rage as a simple answer for the Benoit deaths.

 

"Steroids may contribute, but there are bodybuilders who have taken a lot more," Henry said.

 

Painkillers also are abused by some wrestlers and have sometimes been linked to their deaths. Bobby Duncum, a former University of Texas football player and a wrestler, died in 2000 at age 34 after overdosing on a painkiller while attempting to cope with injuries.

 

Henry has not been immune from injury despite his size. Probably his most serious wrestling injury happened last July when, in a six-man tag team event, he tore his patella tendon and split his kneecap in two.

 

After surgery Henry did not wrestle in another WWE bout until May, but he said that painkillers don't have to become a part of performing.

 

"It's just sucking it up and going," Henry said.

 

Although he once wrestled as Sexual Chocolate, Henry's weakness is barbecue.

 

When he can, he likes to go to Lockhart or Taylor for brisket and sausage.

 

Henry, who has studied acting and would like to have a career in that field when he's done wrestling, is also big on martial arts films.

 

As for fame, he said the weirdest thing is that strangers will just walk up and punch him in the ribs or slap him on the chest — hard — as if they are some kind of long-lost friend.

 

"I'm not some big, jovial fat guy," Henry warned. "Don't hit me."

 

so he rides by himself to avoid possibly getting busted for steroids and other drugs. and people are claiming the wellness policy is definitely at work and any wrestler who isnt with the e, doesnt know what they are talking about? well, theres a nice hint from a guy who does work for wwe that steroids and other drugs are going around a bit.

 

i wonder if Mark Henry is gonna get heat for speaking out about that, i wouldnt doubt it what the stars do outside the ring is out of WWE's hands at that point

[Vern Gagne 0]

Henry will probably say he was talking about recreational drugs like pot.

[Celtic Jobber 0]

Here's Jim Ross talking about the Benoit case outside of Nancy and Daniel's memorial service:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRNlspStLpc