Road Warrior Animal gives great interview on Scarborough Country on Benoit tragedy

[Wetzelbill]

Run time: 07:02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlgzdyGSPJw   Posted on YouTube: June 28, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 28, 2007 By DU Member: Wetzelbill Views on DU: 2497

 
This is very good. He talks about getting psychological help for wrestlers and a regulating body for the industry. He addresses the difficult schedule. He comes across very well, compassionate, articulate and intelligent. Very well done.

[Greeby]

1. Animal (Joe Laurinitis) has a lot of personal experience with this kind of tragedy

He had to watch as his childhood friend and tag team partner throughout his career, Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand, went off the rails with alcohol and drugs and died of a heart attack in 2003

[Wetzelbill]

2. Yeah, and Eddie too

He knew Eddie from way back. In Eddie's book he talks a lot about Laurinaitis and Hegstrand and their partying on trips etc. Laurinaitis and Benoit basically had to babysit their two best friends all the time. Hawk was just like Eddie, finally got his life turned around and was doing well, but the battles with the drugs etc, just took too big of a toll over time. Animal talks a lot about this stuff on the Road Warriors dvd too.

[MirrorAshes]

3. saw this last night, it was really good

for those of us who followed benoit, its good to see some people talking about him in realistic terms instead of just some lunatic to be crucified. theres no getting around how awful what happened is, but i do think the real issue here is depression and not steroids like so many people are making it out to be.

[Wetzelbill]

4. a person just doesn't snap from something like that

and murder your whole family over the course of a few days. It has to be deeper than that. Maybe something like steroids played a factor, sure, but it's beyond any one thing. Look at his personal life, that had some turmoil in it, from dealing with a stressful job, to having problems dealing with his son, and even coping with the death of his best friend. It was reported that he showed signs of mental illness as far as a year ago, he was paranoid that somebody was out to get him and his family and made his wife stay at home all the time. Just way too much going on to blame it on one thing, you know?

[skyounkin]

5. I wouldn't

be surprised if his wife said she wanted to leave him, and that made him snap............

I have been there and it feels like there is no way out.

They all are in my thoughts and heart.

[Prophet 451]

13. Well, that's rumour

If it's true though, the timescale would mean that he became ill just after Eddie died which makes sense, bereavment is often a trigger in mental illness.

[Prophet 451]

6. This was NOT roid rage

Benoit may or may not have been roiding but this was not a roid rage incident. Roid rage lasts a few moments, not 48 hours and the circumstances indicate deliberation, not a sudden snap.

Obviously, there was some serious mental issues going on here and the use of steroids may (or may not) have aggravated some mental health issue.

That said (and thank you Joe for bringing this up), this business has got to change. You've got guys on the road 200+ nights a year, no medical insurance, no benefits, often not making much money (starting WWE salary is $500 a week for development, $75K annual for main roster but road expenses eat half or more of that), the constant pressure to excel, the constant pressure to keep working despite numerous minor injuries, massive amounts of internal politicking. The travel schedule alone has caused many workers, talented workers to quit. Steroids are one issue, they're the one everyone's focusing on but they're not the most widely taken drug. The abuse of prescription painkillers is absolutely epidemic in wrestling because to maintain that schedule, night after night, month after month, you're virtually forced to dope yourself up to keep going.

Don't misunderstand me. I love wrestling, I loved to perform and if my health would allow it, I'd still be doing it. This business is like nothing on earth but this business also has a very sleazy underbelly and it's getting people killed. I don't want worker's dying, I want them to entertain the fans, retire gracefully and live long, mostly happy lives.

We need some kind of governing body. We need a union (somebody call Bob Slaughter, he was fired from WWF/E in 1984 for trying to start one).

[Wetzelbill]

7. painkillers are a dirty secret in society

These people in the media are pointing fingers at steroids because it's convenient and most people have never taken them. But I lived with someone addicted to painkillers and have had family members badly addicted too, and they are devastating. You want to see a depressive, suicidal and dark person go find a painkiller addict. Those things make life a living nightmare for the addict and everyone around them. The problem is I bet most of these media people have a prescription for something themselves in their cabinet, so it doesn't register to these numbskulls that something they may be taking could have a factor in all of this. Not saying it does, but painkillers would be more likely to have exacerbated long-term problems with Benoit than the idea that he somehow flew off into a roid rage and did this. It's waaaay too easy to blame steroids and avoid looking at the bigger picture.

Also, an unnamed wrestler said he felt that Chris became insane and he showed signs of mental illness in the last year. He said Benoit became paranoid and forced his wife to stay home because he thought someone was out to get them. Nancy reportedly saved up a safe deposit box filled with information about incidents of Benoit's problems in the event something happened to her. Not sure if that box has been located or if that has been substantiated but it could very well shed some light on his mental state. Moreover, Chris Jericho mentioned in an interview that he felt Benoit had a mental illness which had been harbored for years.

I love wrestling, I have read several books on it, many autobiographies, all of Mick Foley's books etc. I can tell you this, and you obviously know, when people are out on the road like that pounding their bodies, day in and day out for years if not decades, well, something has to give. Combine that with drug abuse, family stress, work problems etc and there is bound to be some problems. It's a harsh business for sure, and the industry doesn't do itself any favors by sweeping their problems under the rug. But yeah, the WWE has some viable problems, but in this case blaming this tragedy on steroids is just simplistic bullshit. Maybe it was a factor in some manner, but there is just too much involved to blame it on one thing like that.

[bigscott]

8. ding ding ding

we have a WINNER! painkillers are indeed America's dirty secret. Most addicts start off using for legitimate reasons and spiral downward. And you are so right that this is not reported due to the prevalence of painkillers in society - much of that prevalence for non-necessary reasons. Don't get me wrong - painkillers serve a purpose in medical treatment and many who really need them don't get them - but there are an awful lot of people on opiates for minor aches and pains - and once you're hooked - you're screwed. A friend of mine in AA said that getting off narcotic pain relievers was infinitely harder that kicking the bottle

[Erebus67]

9. Found a list of dead wrestlers

http://prowrestling.about.com/od/whatsrealwhatsfake/a/wrestlersdeaths.htm

It lists their names and their ages when they died. If you put them in wiki most come up or can be found.

ALOT of them dying tragically and young.

The amount of physical abuse they are put through almost every day it isn't a wonder that they get hooked on pain killers. I can't imagine how you couldn't.

[Prophet 451]

12. It's epidemic

Painpills are wrestling's nasty secret. You start out needing them because you're hurting and end up hurting because you need them. That's not to say that every wrestler is using but a massive number are abusing either prescription painkillers or they're trying to get the same effect through recreational drugs.

[Prophet 451]

11. I can believe that

I never had a problem with booze but getting off the painpills was a huge problem for me.

[Prophet 451]

10. Painkillers forced me out

I was a semi-pro wrestler and it was painkiller addiction which forced me out (or rather, made me sloppy and I injured myself).

I'm watching Jericho's interview with Nancy Grace in another window and he's making the point that, regardless of whether roids were in his system, this doesn't look like a roid rage incident. It's too simplistic a way of looking at it.

Whether Benoit had a mental problem, I don't know. Everything I heard (and admittedly, that's second and third hand) said he was the nicest guy but, people tend to think well of their buddies, so I dunno. If there was a safe deposit box (and that's just rumour right now), it hasn't been located.

The abuse of painkillers is a huge problem in this business and most of that is down to the schedule. No matter what kind of shape you're in, being slammed repeatedly on your back is going to take it's toll. Something has to change and I'm not sure yet what can be done (although I have a few ideas) but it's becoming obvious that it needs to change soon.