I鈥檓 going to let you know right here and now that this week鈥檚 column talks about one very specific subject, and that is the 鈥榮port鈥� of professional wrestling.聽 To be even more specific, the number one company in the world when it comes to this fun pastime, World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE.
There, I鈥檝e given you the proverbial heads up in case you want to bow out gracefully and turn to something else because you don鈥檛 care for 鈥渢hat lousy fake stuff on TV鈥�.聽 Fair enough, hope I鈥檒l grab your attention more next week.聽 But if you stick around, you may be interested to know about some of the alleged business practices that WWE has been allowed to get away with on its way to building its billion-dollar empire.
Pro wrestling, to me, is the purest form of escapism.聽 It鈥檚 two people in a ring who mimic a fight, and in the end, there is one winner and one loser.聽 In a world of entertainment that is increasingly becoming more and more politically-influenced, this is something that the world of pro wrestling has largely avoided to give its audience what they want.
I like to call it 鈥榓thletic theatre鈥�.
And no, it鈥檚 not real.聽 It鈥檚 scripted.聽 They鈥檙e trained athletes who 鈥渒now how to land鈥�, and they don鈥檛 really hate each other.
But that kinda sounds like everything else on TV these days, doesn鈥檛 it?聽 I鈥檝e seen reality shows that were faker than pro wrestling, and even the daily news headlines have a portion of society screaming 鈥淔AKE!鈥�.聽 Isn鈥檛 that right, Trump supporters?
I don鈥檛 care that pro wrestling isn鈥檛 real for the same reason I don鈥檛 care that my favorite action movie isn鈥檛 real either.聽 It鈥檚 entertainment.聽 Divisive entertainment depending on who you ask, but entertainment, nonetheless.
It鈥檚 also not going away anytime soon.聽 In case you鈥檙e unaware of just how huge pro wrestling has become since the days of Stampede Wrestling and 鈥渢he wrasslin鈥� matches鈥� held in smoky bingo halls and armories, here鈥檚 a little refresher.
Hulk Hogan鈥檚 rise in the 1980鈥檚 put WWE on the map (WWF back then) on a national basis, amassing millions of dollars and mainstream acceptance as far as a top entertainment choice.聽 In the 1990鈥檚, it was 鈥楽tone Cold鈥� Steve Austin who largely picked up where Hogan left off as the top dog, taking the WWF to even greater heights in popularity and financial heaven.聽 In 2001, the WWF鈥檚 premier pay-per-view showcase known as WrestleMania garnered more than one million pay-per-view buys, a shocking number for the pro wrestling industry at the time.
In 2000, the WWF went public, ultimately making owner Vince McMahon a billionaire.
By 2006, WWE had established a movie studio.
By 2014, WWE had launched its own live streaming service known as the WWE Network, which carries all their pay-per-view events.
Last year, WWE signed a TV rights deal with major network FOX worth $2 billion to carry one of its primetime weekly shows on Friday nights.
Add to this the fact that WWE has accrued over a billion social media followers, and raked in $930 million in revenue in 2018, and yeah, you can see how 鈥渢hat fake wrassling stuff鈥� has most definitely changed over the years.
One thing that seemingly hasn鈥檛 changed though is Vince McMahon鈥檚 business practices, ones that have helped him keep an iron grip on the industry and propelled him to the top of his mountains of money.
This past Sunday night, a news talk show on HBO called 鈥楲ast Week Tonight鈥� lit up the wrestling world when it took WWE to task in a big way over the mistreatment of its wrestling talent over the years, including the absence of any medical health insurance, as well as the absolutely insane contract rhetoric that classifies WWE wrestlers as 鈥榠ndependent contractors鈥欌��.while holding them to exclusive contracts that basically own them for their professional lives.
That last part is the big one with a lot of wrestling fans.聽 The men and women who do this for a living are apparently 鈥榠ndependent contractors鈥�, but they鈥檙e signed exclusively to one company, which technically designates them as employees, but they receive virtually none of the employee benefits.
Isn鈥檛 that kinda like trying to sign a plumber or an electrician to become *your* plumber or electrician?聽 To be there to perform any job or task at your beck and call?
Not only that, but WWE鈥檚 talent contracts state that by signing on the dotted line, the company is released from all liability in the event of permanent injury or death, even if caused by the company鈥檚 own negligence.
That last one sure has to hit close to home for the infamous Hart Family of Calgary, which is synonymous with pro wrestling in Canada.聽 In 1999, Owen Hart was killed when an elaborate ring entrance stunt went wrong, as the release clip of the harness he was strapped to gave way and he plummeted almost 80 feet to his death during a live pay-per-view event.聽 In the ensuing drama of the court case, Owen鈥檚 family was eventually awarded $18 million by the then-WWF.
How the United States government has allowed Vince McMahon and WWE to get away with these kind of business practices for almost 40 years is nothing short of ridiculous.
The show also brought up the troubling statistics to do with the untimely deaths of wrestlers, both current and retired.聽 These deaths are routinely tied to heart disease and other conditions, but they鈥檙e more often than not linked back to the rigors of the ring, including the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids, as well as painkillers and other substances.
The usage of such substances can be linked back to the schedule that McMahon鈥檚 wrestlers have had to keep for decades.聽 There鈥檚 no 鈥渙ff season鈥� in WWE; these men and women hit the road week in and week out throughout the whole year, missing holidays and, more importantly, any substantial time to heal from injuries that routinely come up in this 鈥渇ake鈥� sport.
For people who don鈥檛 follow the wrestling world, the talk show segment raised a lot of eyebrows.聽 For people who follow the world closely like yours truly, it was the kind of 鈥渃orporate skewering鈥� that has been long overdue in a business that desperately needs more change at the top of the hierarchy.
WWE has had controversy follow it around for decades, but it鈥檚 high time that something significant is done to ensure that its shady and shaky past remains just there.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
