Randy Poffo a.k.a. Randy 'Macho Man' Savage passed away on May 20th of this year. He had an apparent heart attack while at the wheel of his automobile and crashed into a tree. His wife was also in the car with him, but she escaped with only minor injuries. He was 58. He was a true legend in the sports entertainment industry, pioneering the way performers acted both in the ring and out of it. Even if you weren't a wrestling fan, you still likely knew who he was from his lengthy sponsorship for Slim Jims (Snap into a Slim Jim OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH!). While he has lived longer than many of his peers from the same era, his life was still cut relatively short. A CNN.com article has the average age for an American man to receive a heart attack at age 66, so 58 is a little left on the bell curve. But as I mentioned, there were many that went before him at a much earlier age, which speaks to a much larger issue for wrestlers, especially "Old School" ones, with regards to steroid use and drug abuse.
"The List"
Most people have heard of at least some of the bigger name wrestlers passing away. Owen Hart died in the ring performing an entrance stunt while descending from the rafters at an arena in Kansas City, when his harness release let go and he fell to the ring. He later died of internal bleeding. There was also Chris Benoit, who made international headlines when he murdered his wife and son and then killed himself. What exactly caused him to snap is unclear, but the medical examiner found elevated levels of testosterone in his body, most likely from steroids, but precluded "roid rage" as a contributing factor.
The headliners aside, there is still loads of talent from the wrestling industry who have passed much before their time had come. The bulk of these deaths were caused directly or indirectly from steroid use or substance abuse. Here's the list of wrestlers, the year they died, their age and the cause:
- The Von Erich Family, David (1984; 25) Acute Enteritis, Mike (1987; 23) suicide, Chris (1991, 21) suicide, Kerry a.k.a. The Texas Tornado (1993, 33) suicide
- Andre The Giant (1993, 46) heart attack
- Sapphire [Dusty Rhodes' manager] (1996, 61) heart attack
- Brian Pillman (1997, 35) heart condition exacerbated by drugs/alcohol
- The Renegade (1999, 23) suicide
- "Ravishing" Rick Rude (1999, 41) heart attack
- Yokozuna (2000, 33) fluid in lungs
- "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith (2002, 39) heart attack
- Curt Hennig a.k.a. Mr. Perfect (2003, 44) drug overdose
- Miss Elizabeth (2003, 42) drug overdose
- Mike Hegstrand a.k.a. Legion of Doom's Hawk (2003, 46) heart attack
- Mike Lockwood a.k.a. Crash Holly (2003, 32) asphyxiation
- Ray Traylor a.k.a. Big Boss Man (2004, 42) heart attack
- Eddie Guerrero (2005, 38) heart failure
- Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow (2007, 45) drug overdose
- Bad News Brown (2007, 63) heart attack
- Brian "Crush" Adams (2007, 43) natural causes - I ask how it can be natural causes at age 43?
- Umaga (2009, 36) heart attack
- Andrew "Test" Martin (2009, 34) drug overdose
And that's just the short list of the most notable wrestlers who have passed. There are hundreds of others who wrestled in independent circuits, or were just much less famous on the bigger stages, that have passed on. There are others, such as Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who have struggled with drug addictions their whole lives, and continue to do so.
The larger issues
The obvious observations are that through the 1980s and 1990s there was rampant steroid and drug abuse. While the steroid use continues to this day, it's a little bit different. Doctors better understand the effects of steroids on the body, and it can be easier to monitor than it was 20 years ago. The WWE started a Wellness Program after the passing of Eddie Guerrero in order to screen their talent for drug abuse or pre-existing conditions and treat them accordingly, as well as to monitor steroid use. They have also committed to helping all former WWE superstars who decide to enter drug rehab, which is a good start.
But this is clearly a reactive program. Being a private enterprise for much of its existence. the WWE (WWF, WCW, NWA and all the rest) had little regard for its talent. Any thoughts of "unionizing" like the MLBPA were quickly squashed, and if the talent didn't like it, they could just go elsewhere. This sort of hard-handedness by then-owner Vince McMahon made him unpopular with much of the talent, which is why many of the big names (Savage, Hogan, Hart) left the WWF in the 1990s; management didn't care about its workers.
So in conjunction with steroid use, many performers took to painkillers or other drugs as a way to cope with everyday stress and pains (and for those that don't think wrestling is dangerous, consider Owen Hart's death). Test died from Oxycodone overdose, Eddie Guerrero from a conjunction of steroids and cocaine abuse. The rash of suicides brings to mind the deaths of ex-NFL players who were found to have CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a degenerative brain disease from repetitive blows to the head. Perhaps the grip of CTE goes beyond the gridiron or hockey arena.
Regardless of your views of sports entertainment (wrasslin'), of its "fakeness" or over-the-top spectacles, these guys (and gals) are literally putting their lives on the line every time they go through the curtains to make their way to the ring. Not necessarily from what they do in the ring, but from what they have to do outside of it to eventually see the inside of the squared circle. Make no mistake, this is the biggest stage for these people. We know what athletes in "real" sports are willing to do to reach the highest level possible (Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire anyone?), and this extends to sports-entertainment as well.
Sources:
- information on wrestler deaths found at www.prowrestling.com and www.wrestlerbiographies.com
- CNN.com article
Michael Clifford - I'm a sports fan that follows all major sports, with hockey, baseball, basketball and American football being my most closely watched ...
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