Owen Hart, Yokozuna, Kerry Von Erich, Brian Pillman, Eddie Guerrero, Davey boy smith, Rick Rude, Miss Elizabeth, the big boss man, earthquake, mike awesome, Dino bravo, Curt Henning, bam bam Bigelow, Junk Yard Dog, Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, Road warrior Hawk, Sherri Martel, and perhaps headlined by Chris Beniot. This is a very short list of wrestlers who have died before the age of 65, and quite frankly it really disturbs me. So of them by accident, some by excessive wear and tear, some drug overdose, and yes some by suicide. Whatever the reason it is unfortunate that these people be taken in there prime, and no I don’t mean in the prime of their wrestling career. Rather the prime of their lives.
We hear about it a lot, this wrestler or that wrestler, has lost their life and we salute them by a short moment of silence on the next addition of raw. Is that any way to pay tribute to the people that paved the way for wrestling to reach the level of popularity it has reached today. I for one think that’s not nearly enough. I mean lets think when wwe thought they could be to blame( Owen, Eddie) they have entire shows dedicated to that person. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I believe that is the right thing to do for everyone.
The reason I bring it up is because of a growing habit, almost an ugg boots like trend it would seem, seeing as how I hate both. Wrestler suicide attempts, or successful suicides. The most recent would be that of Sean Waltman. Once a high flying thrill machine in the ring and on top of his game, Waltman last week reportedly attempted to take his life by way of hanging.
So the question becomes, why? Why do wrestler feel the need to destroy their bodies by taking steroids to bulk up? Why is there a focus on huge guys being on top of the industry? When some of the greatest champs of all time have been average size at best . Why isn’t wwe or tna or anyone else for that matter doing something to help prevent this? Anyone can say that there are rules and test in place to help prevent this, but it doesn’t mean any thing unless it has some sort of effect.
Lets face it drugs is a HUGE part of the problem, but do you think all theses people need is to get off of drugs, no. they need psychological help as well. You can open up any psych book and see that it says suicide thoughts are a very big sign of depression , and can be help through therapy. So why not focus on getting theses guys some help with that first. I mean I can see why they would be depressed 200+ days on the road away from you family, your closest friend is trying to make it to the top and would sell you out in a sec to reach it. The flip side of that is the people that are all ready there and try to hold other people back and happen to be married to the bosses daughter.
So what’s the answer? That’s easy , I have no idea. The only thing that I know is that there needs to be some kind of support/help for these people. I say people because I think sometime we forget that even though they are larger than life pro wrestlers, and in some cases we idolize them. They are real people with real problems, and the best thing for them is to get some help. For every one in the wrestling business and any one who has lost someone dude to the same circumstance , I hope and pray that this problem gets solved.

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