Vince, Please Save Wrestlers from Themselves

Long past are the days of wrestlers destroying their bodies and careers due to snorting coke off the hotel table.

With stricter testing implied by the WWE, the hardcore drugs went away, but the problems didn't.

Instead of hearing stories of how Jim Neihart, Roddy Piper, and Bret Hart took turns snorting a line, you hear how wrestlers have turned to mixing alcohol and muscle relaxers. It's just substituting one drug for another.

But how does the blame fall on Vince McMahon? He can't control what wrestlers do to there bodies. True. And he's also offered to pay for any current or former employees stint in rehab, so why point at Vince? Also true and also a great move.

But the truth of the matter is the responsibility does sit with Vince. Although the boys aren't partying like they used to, they are still destroying there bodies in the ring 300 days a year.

Most are wrestling through injuries, which only makes the injuries worse. Others are simply tired and become homesick, and falling into depression, not wanting to take a vacation for fear of losing there spot.

This is where Vince comes in. Every other sport or television show has an offseason. It helps on so many different levels. This way fans will not get burnt out on seeing the same old same and the writers have time to come up new plots.

But more importantly the wrestlers will be able to heal their bodies and enjoy the much needed quality time with their families or themselves.

It's a win-win for everyone. We'd see less wrestlers depressed, and fewer deaths from wrestlers who push the pace.

You'd might argue that some wrestlers need to be on the road for their own sanity. And that's fine, during the off-season you could still have the occasional interview, autograph session and other outside the ring activities to keep the interest up and wrestlers sanity, well, sane.

Plus, with three brands, the WWE never has to be off the air. Raw could run from January to May. ECW from May to September. And Smackdown from September to January.

And to keep various characters in the limelight, they can make special appearance for a story line or so. This way everything is fresh and relevant.

This option allows more wrestlers to get noticed and will build a bigger draw for Mania. Well how would people care about Mania if wrestlers been off for eight months?

Easy cliffhangers. All the TV shows do it, and you haven't forgotten where The Sopranos, Lost or Heroes left off last season do you? Plus they can use Saturday Night Main Event to keep things fresh as the angles are revisited every few months.

An offseason is neither a new or original concept. Bret Hart speaks in his books on how the Hart's spent their time at a beach that Stu bought to earn some extra bucks and occupy their time during the offseason.

Vince could do the same. The boys are making enough money to hold them through the year. People would pay more for tickets, sorry for the ticket price increase but we will, since there will be a limited of branded shows.

This way Vince could make up to the boys for PPV payouts missed. Plus they can recoup with appearances and signings.

All in all, it would make for a much safer locker room and we'd have to read about our favorite stars in the obituary column less often.

This week on Hit the Ropes Radio, it's Indy Week. We'll have a couple Michigan based promotions on, plus the second installment of Turnbuckle to Turnbuckle and our TNA Trivia and giveaway.