WWE: Pro wrestling - How far is too far?

Undertaker vs Mankind at King of the Ring 1998

They say that in professional wrestling, respect is not given but earned. Many of the greatest legends in the business earned the respect of their peers and their fans, and haven’t had it easy when they were making a name for themselves in the business. Someone like Mick Foley had to endure unimaginable pain to be known as the ‘Hardcore legend’, while guys like Undertaker and Stone Cold performed even though they were injured.

It’s a matter of pride for these performers to put on a show for the fans who spend their hard earned money on their product. Professional wrestlers believe in the old saying of “The show must go on”, and even though they go through concussions and broken bones, they still put on a match till the very end.

I can go on and list the examples of people finishing matches even after tearing their quadriceps or breaking their necks, and that’s what separates these guys from everyone else. That’s why these “performers” are tougher than any other athletes, and earn the respect and love of the fans. On last week’s episode of RAW, Sin Cara got injured mid way through his match, and the match was stopped.

There were reports from the doctors that had he continued the bout, he would’ve aggravated his injury, and it was wise on the referee’s part to stop the match. But there were also reports of Cara having backstage heat for not finishing the match, as the old school mentality of these performers is to end the bout, no matter what.

Another such example was when the Daniel Bryan – Randy Orton bout was stopped when the officials felt Bryan was injured. This was followed by Bryan’s angry outburst in front of Triple H in the Gorilla position, leading to a heated argument between the two. Daniel Bryan’s reason was that he would know when he was hurt, and he was upset with the officials stopping the match midway.

While the WWE’s argument made more sense; with the recent string on injuries and concussions, one cannot be too careful while protecting their employees, and that was what the WWE did. But with the mentality of WWE’s performers to continue even though they’re hurt, one has to wonder; how far is too far in professional wrestling?

While the WWE is taking every step necessary to ensure the safety of its wrestlers, such as banning dangerous moves and getting hit on the head, some of the veterans and wrestlers with old school mentality prefer making it look realistic and continuing through the injury and finishing the bout. There was a recent event in Ring of Honor when two performers attempted a piledriver on the ring apron, and the guy at the receiving end was temporarily paralyzed, leaving everyone around him scared and confused. Although in the end, nothing was broken, and this once again sparked the debate about how professional wrestlers need to be safe, and not push the envelope.

Sin Cara was injured last Monday during the RAW supershow

With Del Rio recently landing some stiff kicks to Cara although the referee called an audible, there were certain people who claimed Cara should have continued with the match. One needs to understand that these performers are human, and nothing is worth putting their safety and lives in danger.

With the old school mentality of finishing the bout still prevailing, the performers have to wonder if it is worth it. With guys like Hardcore Holly continuing matches with a broken arm or a gashed back, one needn’t be surprised that professional wrestling has seen more deaths in a decade than any other contact sport in the world.

With injury comes a lay off time, during which these performers don’t get their pay checks. There was a time when they either refused to get treated as it used to come out of their pocket, or they returned too soon since their spots would be in jeopardy. What resulted was them getting addicted to pain killers and other narcotics, leading to early deaths in an industry which is considered to be “fake” and “scripted”.

Although that aspect has been reduced to a great extent, the mentality of these performers needs to change, with their safety being more important than continuing with the show. But once again, the performers need to think about their well being first, and not put their lives on the line for one night’s “pop”.