Wrestling and Injuries

After viewing this past Friday’s SmackDown and seeing how Jeff Hard got hurt it made me think of how others have been hurt. If pro-wrestling is “supposedly” faked then how do these things happen? We all know that some things are staged or scripted often to give a performer a break or to sell a feud. Hulk Hogan “injured” by King Kong Bundy led to a cage match at Wrestle Mania 2. Being involved in pro-wrestling myself I know that all my injuries where unfortunately real and painful. I never did any cuts or bleeding out side of once having a slight nosebleed from hitting the mat too hard with my face. Mine where mostly chair shots or on one occasion I went into the corner and missed the padded turnbuckles and my back hit the metal cables “Ropes”. It felt like my back exploded. Months later when I went to see the doctor he found that, I had damaged my lower back and required surgery. I ended up having the disc at L5/S1 removed and replaced with a metal cage, 2 rods and 4 screws. Two years following that surgery I had further aggravated that injury and did more damage that it needed to be fused and the hardware removed. I actually had broken one of the rods. I appreciate the adrenaline factor that we carry into a match but being caught up in it led me to another injury. I was in a match where I was supposed to fight over a folding chair. Now my hands had been sweaty and it was hard to keep a firm grip on the chair. I lost my grip and the chair slammed into my right side. I said I was ok and continued. It was too early to end the match and I wanted to give a great show so I went on to impress the crowd and did what no one expected out of my. With my hurt ribs, I managed to pick up my 320lb opponent and slam him to the ground. It worked great but the pain was overwhelming and I innocently fell on top of him gaining the pin and the victory. When we got backstage, we instantly broke character as he had an ice pack and trainer ready for my injured ribs.

There was another time where Jeff Hardy was injured that reminds me of a time when breaking character was necessary. He had climbed to a near 30ft high platform and did a Swanton bomb. This inevitably injured or appeared to injure both men involved. Several wrestlers can out with EMT’s and backstage officials.

Times like these make us wonder if it was real or very elaborate stunt work. I am inclined to believe since the announcing stopped and we see face’s and heels working together which is usually a no-no it destroys “Kayfabe”. Just what is Kayfabe you ask? It can be traced back to the early 1950. Kayfabe means shut out or keeping the fans believing that what they are seeing is real. A face and a heel should never be seen helping one another. Kayfabe has to be consistent and it still works today. Part of the Kayfabe process is for an “injured” individual to “sell” (make their alleged injury as real as possible) his aliments and make it believable. When the audio stops and cameras continue to roll or show stops it is a sign that something might actually be wrong especially when “Kayfabe” is broken.

A tragic example of this is when Owen Hart was to come down to the ring from the ceiling in a harness. The harness broke and Owen’s head hit the metal ring post. The camera’s and arena where immediately darkened and the decision to reschedule the event was immediately made. Another show-stopping event that was very scary involved Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker. During this match, the Undertaker was to give the Hulk his finishing move the Tombstone piled river. Something went wrong and the Hulk lay motionless on the mat. A camera caught him telling the referee that he could not move at all. Things immediately went very quiet and everyone was immediately concerned about Hulk wiether you liked him or not. He to this day has neck problems.

Triple H had damaged his quadricep in a match and ended up having a referee and Stephanie help him back to the locker room area. He underwent surgery to repair the damage and was out for quite a while.

We all hear the warning and promo’s about not trying this at home and how these are trained professionals. How can entertainment and fake lead to these very real and scary experiences. Its part of the sports that I believe people tend to forget in the title “Sports Entertainment”. In any sport or for that matter any staged events like theater. Accidents can and will happen. It is something that is understood or if your trainer and promoter are worth anything will warn you about. Mine for example took me aside and said there was no guarantee that I would not get hurt. Yes, there is training and certification that the talent goes through but there are things that happen. When you put your body through 200 fights a year, every weekend, then train in the gym for hours a day and prepare for your next show it is nearly impossible to fully rest your body. Wrestling has no off-season you are constantly expected to perform. We do not get sick pay. It’s performed or go hungry and no roof over your head.

However not all injuries seem to be legit. Now back to the statement I made earlier referring to some injuries being staged. It is questionable if Shawn Micheals actually had back surgery as there is no visible scar and he was fired by WWE. This may explain the story. He left for surgery (he was let go) Years later he gets drug treatment and is given another chance. The WWE covers for him not saying he had problems but had “surgery” who would really question it anyway. I am not saying that this is the case but it would answer a few questions. What I am stating is opinion of what is conceivable. The same for Randy Orton and Batista had “surgery” on their arms but there is no scar. Ric Flair also had “back surgery” yet no scar showed up. I have had two operations on my back in the same spot and the scar then and now is very noticeable. Perhaps these other so-called surgeries did happen. I feel it does open the floor for debate and raise a question. Since most view pro-wrestling as fake then it is assumed that the injuries are also faked. Our society has to justify everything nothing is left to imagination or innocence remembers that there is no Santa Claus. However, a man can fall off a ten or twenty feet from a platform, hit the ground landing around the exploding of power boxes and miraculously be ok in a week or two. The only recent surgical patient/superstar sporting a visible scar is John Cena. He had to undergo surgery after his match with Batista. You can physically see his scar on his neck and Jim Ross mentioned it.

I know in my case I wish my injuries had faked. It would have been nice not to be physically hurt or today live with the aches and pains form being in the ring. But I would not trade my chance to live my dream.

What I think is interesting is we watch shows like Lost or so called reality shows and don’t take then seriously or really criticize them but we tend to hammer the sports entertainment business. Always analyzing and making conclusions based off the fact that everything must be staged or fake. Yet we see our favorite soap star shot multiple time or stabbed, blown up and often worse than what any wrestler has ever had to go through to sell his story and be just fine for the next story line. Why can’t we give these guys the same break or courtesy as the television performers? They give us a great show and put themselves on the line for us. We should appreciate that leave it to our imagination and let it tell the story that has been developed. Sure, we can criticize the story as it gives the writer something to reflect on and something to use when writing the next story. If the writer does not grow or get experience then how are they expected to get better or keep us coming back? In just starting my writing career, I appreciate constructive comments as it has helped me to create a better product. I am not perfect and mistakes happen. It is the reward to take then and make the “better mouse trap”.