These Days It's Hard to Watch Wrestling

Wrestling is becoming incredibly hard for me to watch these days. No, it’s not because the build-up to the biggest show of the year in WrestleMania XXV is lackluster at best, but rather due to a cold reminder of the toll performers take in the business.

To me, professional wrestling is one of the greatest forms of entertainment. Nonbelievers can knock me all they want, but I dare you to find something that, if done correctly, can seamlessly combine athleticism, comedy, drama, and raw emotion into one.

Sure, my beloved football and basketball might give us moments like that, but wrestling is guaranteed to do that, all through the year.

You see, wrestling doesn’t have an off-season. Guys like Randy Orton and John Cena are on the road for over 75 percent of the year, most of the time wrestling.

The wrestling matches themselves aren’t cakewalks either. Predetermined or not, the average wrestler can leave a match with injuries that could have resulted in a minor car accident on a daily basis and much worse if they take a bad bump.

But the question is why do these men put their bodies on the line?

The answer is simple, yet complex. Most wrestlers love going out and entertaining hundreds to thousands to millions of fans. Much like “real sports,” not every wrestler hits the big time or main events.

Some wrestlers don’t even make it to the pros or at least wrestling promotions that could be considered that—World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Ring of Honor (ROH), among other companies.

Unlike “real sports,” while there is money to be made in wrestling, some receive considerably less than others. A veteran like Triple H or The Undertaker may earn six figures via salary, merchandise, bonuses, etc.

Yet, a wrestler not signed to a major promotion might earn as much as a few thousand dollars to as low as a couple hundred, depending on their skills and drawing power.

Here’s something the average fan or non-fan probably doesn’t know. Most professional wrestlers, particularly WWE Superstars, do not receive health benefits.

Yes, performers who consistently put their bodies on the line in WWE do not receive any kind of medical insurance.

Now hold your horses. This column is not meant to bash WWE whatsoever. The company does pay for their workers’ surgeries, rehab, and majority of travel expenses to the best of my knowledge.

Some would argue that WWE views their performers as independent contractors due to being cheap. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is sad that wrestlers cannot receive pension, 401(k) benefits, and health insurance. Then again, wrestling, much like the music and movie industries I plan on immersing myself in are cutthroat businesses.

Whoever does not make the cut is quickly replaced, making competition that much greater, especially after the deaths of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the last two serious threats to WWE’s stranglehold on the business.

Unfortunately, fans like me were able to overlook some of those flaws in wrestling because we’re fans. I mean who has time to worry about a wrestler’s benefits when Stone Cold Steve Austin is showering Vince McMahon with beer?

The reason I am even writing about these things is a result of something I am sick and tired of doing—watching my old tapes/DVDs and noticing that more often than not, the wrestlers featured in them are dead.

Here’s of a list of just some of the wrestlers featured in my cherished video collection that became deceased WAY TOO SOON:

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