Pro-Wrestling Wrestling With Death Page Pro-Wrestling Wrestling With Death Page
Last updated 16 September 1999
“The Droz” bouncing on his opponent at a WWF match. He was paralyzed from the waist down Tuesday after D’Lo Brown slammed him into the mat. (WWF)
Professional wrestlers may choreograph their moves, but the injuries and death they sustain while entertaining millions of fans are very real.
In fact, professional wrestlers have an unusually high chance of dying compared to other pro athletes, according to a recent study.
Now experts say that danger may be increasing as pro matches become more popular and wrestlers attempt ever-riskier moves to draw in fans. The paralyzing neck fracture suffered this week by Darren “The Droz” Drozdov’s and the death last May 23rd of Owen “The Blue Blazer” Hart’s are just the latest examples of what can happen.
“The injury rate is way higher than it’s ever been,” says David Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “There are guys who every night take too many risks. And those guys will probably pay for it.”
The ‘Power Bomb’ Backfires Professional wrestlers practice their moves hundreds of times and rarely make mistakes, Meltzer says. But the moves themselves are sometimes so risky that one wrong drop can be deadly.
Drozdov fractured his neck when D’Lo Brown threw him onto the mat in a routine move known as a “Power Bomb.” Drozdov is paralyzed from the waist down and his doctor says it’s too early to tell whether he’ll regain use of his legs.
Hart died after falling 50 feet when he dropped from a cable lowering him into the ring. His family is suing the World Wrestling Federation and its owner, Vince McMahon, for wrongful death. .
In an Indiana University study last year, researchers reviewed 50 WWF Raw episodes and counted 609 instances of wrestlers or others being struck by objects such as garbage cans or nightsticks.
“Even with scripts, even with people in good shape, ” says New York chiropractor Victor Dolan, “when you have this kind of physicality, if you’re just half an inch to the left or to the right, obviously, you can do a lot of damage because you’re dealing with such big, strong, fast athletes.”
Risky Lives
No doubt about it, America’s 250 or so professional wrestlers live high-risk lives. When Meltzer studied accident and death data, he found that at least 16 U.S. pro wrestlers had died in a six-year period, or roughly one of every 85 each year.
An equivalent rate in professional football, he says, would mean 14 player deaths every year. (The National Football League says no one has died on the field in the past six years, but does not keep track of how many players die off the field. A spokesman said he’s only aware of two who have died during that time period, as a result of accidents.)
In most cases, the wrestler deaths occurred outside the ring — and were usually linked to steroids, pain killers or other drugs, according to Meltzer.
WWF spokesman Greg Castronuovo wouldn’t comment on Meltzer’s data. But he characterizes the incidents involving Hart and Drozdov as unrelated.
“Are the dangers any better or worse than any other sport or any other event that requires athleticism and judgment?” Castronuovo asks. “I don’t think so. If you look at various sports events, you’ll see all types of different injuries.”
Getting Burned
While a number of states have wrestling rules on the books, Meltzer says Oregon is the only state that enforces its regulations. The state requires drug tests for wrestlers and forbids such practices as slashing foreheads with razor blades, one of many things wrestlers do to make it look as if they’re in a genuinely dangerous battle.
“Setting other wrestlers on fire makes the fans go crazy,” Meltzer says about one of other bizarre theatrics pro wrestlers depend on. “But these guys get third-degree burns all the time.”
Oregon has fined and banned wrestlers for such behaviors and as a result major wrestling leagues simply avoid the state. Although Meltzer and others argue that stricter regulations could help protect wrestlers, this would happen only if the laws are enforced in every state. Otherwise the leagues will simply continue to avoid regulated states — and we can probably expect to hear more reports of injuries and deaths in the pro wrestling ring.
Recent Wrestler Deaths
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter.Wrestler Age Cause of Death Date
Andre Roussmoff (Andre the Giant) 46 heart attack 1/27/93
Kerry Adkisson (Kerry Von Erich) 33 suicide 2/18/93
Adolpho Bresciano (Dino Bravo) 44 murder 3/11/93
Larry Cameron 41 heart attack during match 12/13/93
Ray Canty (Ray Candy) 43 heart attack 5/23/94
Art Barr (Love Machine) 28 alcohol and pain killers 11/23/94
Jerry Blackwell (Crusher) 45 pneumonia 1/22/95
Thomas Gilbert III (Eddie Gilbert) 33 heart attack after using cocaine 2/18/95
John Minton (Big John Studd) 46 liver cancer 3/20/95
Hart Richard Murdoch (Dick Murdoch) 49 heart attack 6/15/96
Neil Caricole (Neil Superior) 33 heart attack after steroid use 8/23/96
Brian Pillman 35 heart attack after using cocaine 10/5/97
Louis Mucciolo (Louie Spicolli) 27 heart attack after using drugs and alcohol 2/15/98
Sylvester Ritter (Junkyard Dog) 45 auto accident 6/2/98
Brian Hauser (Shane Shamrock) 23 shot by police during domestic dispute 8/17/98
Richard Wilson (Renegade) 33 suicide 2/23/99
Owen Hart (Blue Blazer) 34 fell from ceiling cable during match 3/23/99
Don't Try This at Home Wrestlers aren’t the only ones getting hurt. Fans, particularly young ones, often bang themselves up by mimicking wrestling moves they see on TV. And if they’re not careful, physicians say, the damage could be much worse.
New York chiropractor Victor Dolan says he sees at least one patient a month suffering from bruises, strains or sprains after imitating pro wrestling. Most common are neck and back sprains, concussions and even abrasions from being dragged on the floor. Patients describe being jumped on from above and hit over the head with heavy objects such as chairs and garbage cans.
A 10-year-old North Carolina boy broke his neck earlier this year while performing Stone Cold Steve Austin’s trademark “Stone Cold Stunner” move and was nearly paralyzed.
“Had he moved the wrong way or had they not treated it in time,” Dolan says, “He certainly could have become a paraplegic or quadriplegic or worse.”
Most wrestling-related injuries Dolan sees are in kids ages 8 to 15, though some are in their 20s.Dolan is concerned that young children who see wrestlers beat each other up and walk away may mistakenly think they can do the same.
“When a cartoon character like Wile E. Coyote goes off a cliff, it’s obviously imagination,” he says. “But when kids see human beings jumping a full story or hitting someone over the head with a chair, they don’t realize the chair is a prop and the athletes are stuntmen.”