While there's some merit to the article, I think it's too easy to just whitewash as "Wrestling kills people!". The Von Erichs had all sorts of familial problems that factored into their tragedies, Bam Bam had numerous complications from diabetes, and Owen was the victim of a freak accident, to cite a few examples. I do think some changes need to be made. Wrestling in general, and WWE and Vince in particular, always offer the old argument "Well, we don't have an off-season." You don't have an off-season, Vince, because you're a greedy fuck who wants money year-round. Would it kill you to take a month off, or at least cut down on the number of PPVs?
Knutreturns said: Spoken like the true Greatest RDCW Champ!
Ok, not to jump to WWEs defence, but I think they are taking far too much flak here, while every other fed gets ignored. Do TNA have a wellness policy? Do ROH have a wellness policy?
Its not just WWE that turns a blind eye to steroids, its every wrestling promotion the world over.
Rumours have been rife for years that Angle is a steroid abuser, and you cant tell me he suddenly stopped when he left WWE.
Ok, so Benoit was a WWE wrestler, which obviously puts the focus on them, but people have to stop focusing on them, and focus on the industry as a whole if they wanna condemn drug/steroid abuse.
It's not even just wrestling; as Mick Foley said in his second book, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Is there a drug problem in wrestling? Yes. But there's also a drug problem in football, in baseball, there's a drug problem in the music industry, in the film industry; there's a drug problem in society."
Knutreturns said: Spoken like the true Greatest RDCW Champ!
Ok, not to jump to WWEs defence, but I think they are taking far too much flak here, while every other fed gets ignored. Do TNA have a wellness policy? Do ROH have a wellness policy?
Its not just WWE that turns a blind eye to steroids, its every wrestling promotion the world over.
Rumours have been rife for years that Angle is a steroid abuser, and you cant tell me he suddenly stopped when he left WWE.
Ok, so Benoit was a WWE wrestler, which obviously puts the focus on them, but people have to stop focusing on them, and focus on the industry as a whole if they wanna condemn drug/steroid abuse.
the focus is on the E because they are the largest and most visible company and because they're the most associated with wrestling in the eye of the public. they wanted to be the best known brand and they are. they have to take the bad as well as the good that comes with that. it's just a fact.
to the casual viewer and the media, the E is "the industry as a whole" even though the rest of us know better than that.
It's not even just wrestling; as Mick Foley said in his second book, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Is there a drug problem in wrestling? Yes. But there's also a drug problem in football, in baseball, there's a drug problem in the music industry, in the film industry; there's a drug problem in society."
It is basically a job requirement in wrestling, though...
i think the focus is also on the WWE versus TNA (etc) because of the schedule. WWE is basically always on tour. three tv shows and any number of house shows on a regular week, then a monthly ppv where you're sposda put forth even more of an effort. yeah, not everyone works every appearance, but many work most.
TNA, from what i understand, basically does all their ass kickery in a few days a month, leaving the remaining days to rest up or work out or whatever.
Originally Posted By: Atlanta article
"My longest run was 79 days in a row without a day off," said Joe Laurinaitis, the wrestler known as Road Warrior Animal and father of Ohio State football star James Laurinaitis. "It's not as bad now. They've got good guys running the WWE. Still, we need to take a look at it when things like this (the Benoit murder-suicide) are happening. Guys are still overworked."
maybe its better now than it was years ago, but it still seems ridiculously intense. its not like going to the office every day, its going to the office every day where you get kicked in the kidneys. that is where the dependancy on various drugs comes from, but even with the narcotics out of the picture, its a grueling amount of damage to your mind and body -- as seen in a lesser extent to any football player or boxer over 50
Barry Bonds made Chris Benoit kill his family and then hang himself.
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That's the logical conclusion, right?
After all, Benoit used steroids. He must have killed his family in a fit of 'roid rage. We blame steroids for everything, and we blame Bonds for steroids. It's only a matter of time before we connect the dots, arrest Barry for coercing Benoit into committing his unspeakable atrocities, and then Babe Ruth rules.
I knew Benoit. I worked with him for six years during my time with now-defunct World Championship Wrestling. I considered Benoit a friend, and I have many fond memories of him. I can't fathom what drove him to this heinous act. But it wasn't just steroids.
'Roid rage comes and goes in seconds. Benoit went on a weekend-long killing spree. Given emerging evidence that Benoit recently sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to two children by a prior marriage, his murderous actions seem at least previously considered, if not outright premeditated.
Steroids, however, likely combined with painkillers and personal pressures - his son's autism and the death of his best friend, colleague Eddy Guerrero - put Benoit in a state of depression and paranoia that formed a context for what he did.
Benoit is responsible for his own actions.
But the wrestling lifestyle didn't help. The wrestling lifestyle is literally a killer. Over 60 wrestlers under age 45 have died over the last 10 years.
Maybe Congress should investigate that. Steroid abusers aren't dying in baseball. Wrestling, meanwhile, is one continuous 10-bell salute.
Steroids to get big. Painkillers to overcome the profession's collisional aspects. Uppers to get started again. Given the demands of wrestling - most World Wrestling Entertainment performers spend 300 or more days per year on the road - it's what most performers need to stay functional.
The mental burden of being away from home and family weighs heavy. The scriptwriters gleefully indulge in psychological human cockfighting, with position on the card - and big money - at stake. Benoit, because he was only 5-foot-10, almost always hovered between stardom and mid-card.
You go through all that, and sometimes you drop dead.
And then Vince McMahon just hires somebody else.
Watching the McMahon family weep crocodile tears after yet another WWE tragedy evokes equal parts laughter and disgust. God only knows what McMahon is thinking when he eulogizes an employee, but once the body is buried, the killing machine churns on, with no real changes made.
McMahon is quick to point out that only five wrestlers have died while under contract to WWE. Maybe that speaks positively of his company's wellness program. Or maybe McMahon just knows when to fold losing hands.
McMahon is quick to praise WWE's drug-testing policy. Benoit passed his last steroid test, he crows. Well, so did Bonds. But if Benoit wasn't - and Bonds isn't - packing massive amounts of artificially manufactured muscle and bulk, I'll eat Barry's oversized hat. The chemists are always ahead of the police.
Every time somebody in WWE shrinks - as per cooperation with the "wellness program" - his role and paycheck shrink, too. Ask Chris Masters. When "The Masterpiece" got smaller, so did his TV time.
It's time for the United States government to put aside the holiness of baseball's record book and investigate wrestling. Instead of Mark McGwire stammering in front of Congress, it's time for McMahon to testify. Triple H. Batista. Undertaker.
If a Congressional panel can try to save the overwrought dignity of a home-run record, one can certainly be convened to try and save lives. Limiting the number of dates a wrestler can work per year would be a good start.
I love wrestling. I treasured every moment I spent in WCW. It would break my heart if wrestling ceased to exist.
But right now, no one's personal feelings should enter the equation.
JULY 2--Wrestler Chris Benoit was identified by Drug Enforcement Administration agents as an "excessive purchaser of injectable steroids" who, over the past year, was prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids every three to four weeks by a Georgia doctor who was indicted today on federal charges. Benoit, who last week murdered his wife and son before committing suicide, came to the attention of DEA agents probing RX Weight Loss, a Marietta company. It was during that investigation, which is "currently being prosecuted in the Northern District of Georgia," that narcotics agents discovered the World Wrestling Entertainment performer's steroid purchases, according to a June 29 search warrant affidavit (an excerpt of which you'll find below). The warrant was executed at the home of Phil Astin, Benoit's doctor. In the affidavit, DEA Agent Anissa Jones reports that pharmacy records show that, from May 2006 to May 2007, Astin prescribed Benoit, on average, "a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids...every three to four weeks." Astin, the affidavit notes, has been the "subject of concern for excessive and/or suspicious prescribing activity" by local police and pharmacies. Astin, 52, was named today in a seven-count indictment charging him with the illegal distribution of substances like Percocet and Xanax between April 2004 and September 2005. A preliminary DEA review of Astin's prodigious prescription writing has revealed that he "authorized approximately one million dosage units of various pharmaceutical controlled substances in the last two years." These scrips included "significant quantities" of an injectable anabolic steroid, reported Jones. (5 pages)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And Carlos Ashenoff is a professional wrestler and a friend of Benoit`s. And he goes by the name Conan. Who could forget that, Conan? Carlos Ashenoff, thank you for joining us tonight. I know this is difficult for you because you are a friend and were a friend for a long time of Benoit`s. But something doesn`t add up here. The dates that they`re talking about, where Benoit allegedly received all of these steroids, is smack in the middle of the time where the WWE says that he passed a test this past April. So somebody is not getting the story right. Who do you think it is? What`s your analysis of it?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Well, first let me preface the conversation by stating that I hope that my appearance here raise awareness of what`s happening in our industry and brings about change. The wrestling industry is not regulated. There`s no pension plan, no retirement plan, no union. We work the whole year. And you know, in baseball, there was a congressional investigation to alleged steroid usage, and we`ve had actual deaths, and nothing`s happened.
Now, getting back to the question, you know, there`s basically -- WWE, it doesn`t behoove them to take their biggest revenue makers, you know, out of the ring. They`re going to lose money, you know? So obviously, they turned -- you know, they turned a blind eye.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, I got to say, thinking about all of this, there`s nobody better to comment than somebody who`s actually been in the ring, been in this world, and we have him tonight with us. His name is Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff. And I want to ask you a tough question, Carlos. You`ve expressed doubts about the WWE`s sincerity in this matter. Have you ever taken steroids? Tell us about it, if you have.
ASHENOFF: Yes, I have. But all you have to do is watch their program. They have a show on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Look at the condition the guys are in. There`s no way you can maintain that condition year-round if you`re not on them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying that -- and this was something I wondered, as just a person who`s seen these guys in action. They seem larger, physically larger than normal human beings. And you`re saying if somebody`s physically larger than a normal human being and their muscles are bulging to a point that they seem almost superhuman, they`re on steroids?
ASHENOFF: Well, do you see normal people walking around like that on the streets year-round? It`s impossible to achieve or attain that look without steroids. I mean, I`m pretty well versed on them because I used them for a long time because in this industry, there`s a premium on that look. You`re rewarded for looking that way. And you know, it`s just a shame because now we`re starting to find out that all these people, you know, all these wrestlers are dying due to enlarged hearts. It hardens arteries. You`re having all these people that are -- you know, all these wrestlers that are dying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did you feel when you were doing it? Happened to you physically?
ASHENOFF: Oh, I got bigger, stronger, you know, more aggressive. You know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you get into fights?
ASHENOFF: No, not really. I mean, you know, I didn`t have that `roid rage that you hear about, but you know, I have seen people that have gone into `roid rages.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Carlos Ashenoff, also known as Conan, according to some claims and reports, it goes beyond steroids into other drugs. The "Daily News" is saying that some of the people who are engaged in the pro wrestling world have been known to use GHB, which is also known as the date rape drug. Have you ever heard anything about this?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Yes, that`s like liquid ecstasy. That was very, very popular in the `90s, and it helps you get ripped. It gives you a buzz. I mean, it`s very hard because, like I said before, you`re on the road the whole year, so you`re hurt, you`re depressed, you need something to pick you up, something to bring you down, something to keep you strong, so it`s a lot of recreational drugs, steroids and pain killers.
What Vince McMahon needs to do is actually fine people, suspend people or fire people if he has to, if he finds them on steroids, like Alex Marvez says, or pain killer, because they`re just giving us a lot of lip service. After Eddie Guerrero died last year, who was like a brother to me, you know, they started implementing steroid testing again to make sure they could quash or quell any media uproar, but they picked a couple patsies, and that was it. I mean, he`s got to do something about this. He`s got to be responsible.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but when you say that they instituted this, are you saying that these tests are meaningless? Because Benoit passed the test in April, at the very time -- and I`m repeating myself, but this is a crucial fact -- at the very time that authorities are saying he was being given huge quantities of steroids.
ASHENOFF: Well, like I said earlier, you know, it doesn`t benefit them to take some of their biggest revenue makers out of the ring, so they just basically police themselves. If anybody`s showing up late or anybody showing any signs of drug abuse, they put them in rehab.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. What is the test? I mean, what exactly do they do to test that is so questionable at this point?
ASHENOFF: It`s a urine test, but, you know, they just pick a couple people, make an example out of them, and everybody else polices themselves.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying people use the whizzinator? I don`t want to tell anybody what that is, but they can use their imagination to figure it out. You can fake a urine test. It`s called a whizzinator.
ASHENOFF: Yes, right, I know exactly what it is. The bottom line is you don`t have to, because they never bust the top guys. That`s just it. You know, they make an example of a couple people so the media doesn`t say that they`re not doing anything, and that`s what`s happening. They give a lot of lip service.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Carlos Ashenoff, Conan, you said you`ve seen guys with `roid rage. What does it look like?
ASHENOFF: Well, you know, they get uncontrollable rage. They get very violent. They want to fight. They want to break stuff and, you know, just very aggressive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but everybody said that Chris Benoit was soft- spoken. Everybody says this, that he was such a sweet guy who wouldn`t hurt a fly.
ASHENOFF: Well, he was. You know, I don`t think it was `roid rage, because, you know, what he did sounded a little bit more deliberate, and it was over a three-day span, and `roid rage is kind of just bouts and fits of rage for, you know, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. But he was very kind, you know, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have never thought that he would have done anything like this. He was a gentleman.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think? I mean, you`re saying that it`s a big problem, that things need to be cleaned up, but now you`re saying, well, you don`t think it`s `roid rage?
ASHENOFF: Well, I`m saying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you think he did it?
(CROSSTALK)
ASHENOFF: I have absolutely no idea. He obviously snapped, but the bottom line is, is that, you know, wrestlers are taking a lot of pain killers, steroids and recreational drugs, and it needs to be cleaned up and needs to be regulated.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace. And we`ve been talking about this crisis in the world of professional wrestling. We`re very happy to have with us tonight Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff.
You`ve admitted to us that you`ve taken steroids and now you have health problems. Tell us about it.
ASHENOFF: Yes, it wasn`t from the steroids. It was more from the pain killers, due to the fact that I had to use pain killers, because I needed a hip replacement operation, and the company that I was with, TNA, wouldn`t pay for it. I had to get on pain killers and, due to the continued use of that, it shut down my kidneys, and now I have to get a kidney transplant.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, I`m so sorry to hear that. When is that coming up?
ASHENOFF: Hopefully next week. But let me tell you something. You had asked me before what I thought the thing was with Chris Benoit. There seems to be a correlation between undiagnosed concussions and football players who, after they retire, they commit suicide. He might have had an undiagnosed concussion.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s as good a guess as any. And, again, when we get the toxicology results back, we will know for sure whether he was on steroids and whether it was `roid rage or whatever it was, but we do know one thing. It was a horrible tragedy, and we as a nation need to look at this issue of unnecessary drug use.
They are either lying cunts just trying to get media attention, or they are people who ignored what was a potentially dangerous situation, and are now trying to get media attention. Either way, they are trading on the deaths of a woman and a young boy to make themselves feel important. They probably justify it by saying "Chris was a monster, so so what if I get a little attention out of it?", but fail to realise Chris is just part of the story they are abusing to get their names and faces in the papers and tv.
Cunts either way.
and speaking of which, you knew with the media dragging out anyone they could find involved with wrestling it wouldn't be long before someone talked to Hogan:
Wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan was shocked when the WWE’s Chris Benoit, 40, murdered his wife, Nancy, and son, Daniel, 7, then committed suicide the weekend of June 23.
“He was peaceful and kept to himself,” he tells Us.
Hogan, who last saw Benoit in March, says he wonders what pushed the wrestler over the edge. "I think it had to be something personal, a domestic problem between him and his wife."
And Hogan tells US the wrestler’s wife (and WWE costar) had a dark side.
“She was into devil-worship stuff. It was part of her [wrestling] character, but [she was] somebody who gets so close to their character, someone who gets into their character too much. Sometimes these people believe their own publicity.”
yeah, cuz Hogan never got too much into his career or believed his own publicity.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And Carlos Ashenoff is a professional wrestler and a friend of Benoit`s. And he goes by the name Conan. Who could forget that, Conan? Carlos Ashenoff, thank you for joining us tonight. I know this is difficult for you because you are a friend and were a friend for a long time of Benoit`s. But something doesn`t add up here. The dates that they`re talking about, where Benoit allegedly received all of these steroids, is smack in the middle of the time where the WWE says that he passed a test this past April. So somebody is not getting the story right. Who do you think it is? What`s your analysis of it?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Well, first let me preface the conversation by stating that I hope that my appearance here raise awareness of what`s happening in our industry and brings about change. The wrestling industry is not regulated. There`s no pension plan, no retirement plan, no union. We work the whole year. And you know, in baseball, there was a congressional investigation to alleged steroid usage, and we`ve had actual deaths, and nothing`s happened.
Now, getting back to the question, you know, there`s basically -- WWE, it doesn`t behoove them to take their biggest revenue makers, you know, out of the ring. They`re going to lose money, you know? So obviously, they turned -- you know, they turned a blind eye.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, I got to say, thinking about all of this, there`s nobody better to comment than somebody who`s actually been in the ring, been in this world, and we have him tonight with us. His name is Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff. And I want to ask you a tough question, Carlos. You`ve expressed doubts about the WWE`s sincerity in this matter. Have you ever taken steroids? Tell us about it, if you have.
ASHENOFF: Yes, I have. But all you have to do is watch their program. They have a show on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Look at the condition the guys are in. There`s no way you can maintain that condition year-round if you`re not on them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying that -- and this was something I wondered, as just a person who`s seen these guys in action. They seem larger, physically larger than normal human beings. And you`re saying if somebody`s physically larger than a normal human being and their muscles are bulging to a point that they seem almost superhuman, they`re on steroids?
ASHENOFF: Well, do you see normal people walking around like that on the streets year-round? It`s impossible to achieve or attain that look without steroids. I mean, I`m pretty well versed on them because I used them for a long time because in this industry, there`s a premium on that look. You`re rewarded for looking that way. And you know, it`s just a shame because now we`re starting to find out that all these people, you know, all these wrestlers are dying due to enlarged hearts. It hardens arteries. You`re having all these people that are -- you know, all these wrestlers that are dying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did you feel when you were doing it? Happened to you physically?
ASHENOFF: Oh, I got bigger, stronger, you know, more aggressive. You know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you get into fights?
ASHENOFF: No, not really. I mean, you know, I didn`t have that `roid rage that you hear about, but you know, I have seen people that have gone into `roid rages.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Carlos Ashenoff, also known as Conan, according to some claims and reports, it goes beyond steroids into other drugs. The "Daily News" is saying that some of the people who are engaged in the pro wrestling world have been known to use GHB, which is also known as the date rape drug. Have you ever heard anything about this?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Yes, that`s like liquid ecstasy. That was very, very popular in the `90s, and it helps you get ripped. It gives you a buzz. I mean, it`s very hard because, like I said before, you`re on the road the whole year, so you`re hurt, you`re depressed, you need something to pick you up, something to bring you down, something to keep you strong, so it`s a lot of recreational drugs, steroids and pain killers.
What Vince McMahon needs to do is actually fine people, suspend people or fire people if he has to, if he finds them on steroids, like Alex Marvez says, or pain killer, because they`re just giving us a lot of lip service. After Eddie Guerrero died last year, who was like a brother to me, you know, they started implementing steroid testing again to make sure they could quash or quell any media uproar, but they picked a couple patsies, and that was it. I mean, he`s got to do something about this. He`s got to be responsible.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but when you say that they instituted this, are you saying that these tests are meaningless? Because Benoit passed the test in April, at the very time -- and I`m repeating myself, but this is a crucial fact -- at the very time that authorities are saying he was being given huge quantities of steroids.
ASHENOFF: Well, like I said earlier, you know, it doesn`t benefit them to take some of their biggest revenue makers out of the ring, so they just basically police themselves. If anybody`s showing up late or anybody showing any signs of drug abuse, they put them in rehab.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. What is the test? I mean, what exactly do they do to test that is so questionable at this point?
ASHENOFF: It`s a urine test, but, you know, they just pick a couple people, make an example out of them, and everybody else polices themselves.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying people use the whizzinator? I don`t want to tell anybody what that is, but they can use their imagination to figure it out. You can fake a urine test. It`s called a whizzinator.
ASHENOFF: Yes, right, I know exactly what it is. The bottom line is you don`t have to, because they never bust the top guys. That`s just it. You know, they make an example of a couple people so the media doesn`t say that they`re not doing anything, and that`s what`s happening. They give a lot of lip service.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Carlos Ashenoff, Conan, you said you`ve seen guys with `roid rage. What does it look like?
ASHENOFF: Well, you know, they get uncontrollable rage. They get very violent. They want to fight. They want to break stuff and, you know, just very aggressive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but everybody said that Chris Benoit was soft- spoken. Everybody says this, that he was such a sweet guy who wouldn`t hurt a fly.
ASHENOFF: Well, he was. You know, I don`t think it was `roid rage, because, you know, what he did sounded a little bit more deliberate, and it was over a three-day span, and `roid rage is kind of just bouts and fits of rage for, you know, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. But he was very kind, you know, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have never thought that he would have done anything like this. He was a gentleman.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think? I mean, you`re saying that it`s a big problem, that things need to be cleaned up, but now you`re saying, well, you don`t think it`s `roid rage?
ASHENOFF: Well, I`m saying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you think he did it?
(CROSSTALK)
ASHENOFF: I have absolutely no idea. He obviously snapped, but the bottom line is, is that, you know, wrestlers are taking a lot of pain killers, steroids and recreational drugs, and it needs to be cleaned up and needs to be regulated.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace. And we`ve been talking about this crisis in the world of professional wrestling. We`re very happy to have with us tonight Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff.
You`ve admitted to us that you`ve taken steroids and now you have health problems. Tell us about it.
ASHENOFF: Yes, it wasn`t from the steroids. It was more from the pain killers, due to the fact that I had to use pain killers, because I needed a hip replacement operation, and the company that I was with, TNA, wouldn`t pay for it. I had to get on pain killers and, due to the continued use of that, it shut down my kidneys, and now I have to get a kidney transplant.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, I`m so sorry to hear that. When is that coming up?
ASHENOFF: Hopefully next week. But let me tell you something. You had asked me before what I thought the thing was with Chris Benoit. There seems to be a correlation between undiagnosed concussions and football players who, after they retire, they commit suicide. He might have had an undiagnosed concussion.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s as good a guess as any. And, again, when we get the toxicology results back, we will know for sure whether he was on steroids and whether it was `roid rage or whatever it was, but we do know one thing. It was a horrible tragedy, and we as a nation need to look at this issue of unnecessary drug use.
What a cunt Konnan is. He made plenty of money over the years. I wonder how much he was making working for Turner owned WCW.
Don't tell that ass couldn't have put money away. Did anybody see Booker T's house on confidential?
It's not even just wrestling; as Mick Foley said in his second book, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Is there a drug problem in wrestling? Yes. But there's also a drug problem in football, in baseball, there's a drug problem in the music industry, in the film industry; there's a drug problem in society."
It is basically a job requirement in wrestling, though...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And Carlos Ashenoff is a professional wrestler and a friend of Benoit`s. And he goes by the name Conan. Who could forget that, Conan? Carlos Ashenoff, thank you for joining us tonight. I know this is difficult for you because you are a friend and were a friend for a long time of Benoit`s. But something doesn`t add up here. The dates that they`re talking about, where Benoit allegedly received all of these steroids, is smack in the middle of the time where the WWE says that he passed a test this past April. So somebody is not getting the story right. Who do you think it is? What`s your analysis of it?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Well, first let me preface the conversation by stating that I hope that my appearance here raise awareness of what`s happening in our industry and brings about change. The wrestling industry is not regulated. There`s no pension plan, no retirement plan, no union. We work the whole year. And you know, in baseball, there was a congressional investigation to alleged steroid usage, and we`ve had actual deaths, and nothing`s happened.
Now, getting back to the question, you know, there`s basically -- WWE, it doesn`t behoove them to take their biggest revenue makers, you know, out of the ring. They`re going to lose money, you know? So obviously, they turned -- you know, they turned a blind eye.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, I got to say, thinking about all of this, there`s nobody better to comment than somebody who`s actually been in the ring, been in this world, and we have him tonight with us. His name is Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff. And I want to ask you a tough question, Carlos. You`ve expressed doubts about the WWE`s sincerity in this matter. Have you ever taken steroids? Tell us about it, if you have.
ASHENOFF: Yes, I have. But all you have to do is watch their program. They have a show on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Look at the condition the guys are in. There`s no way you can maintain that condition year-round if you`re not on them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying that -- and this was something I wondered, as just a person who`s seen these guys in action. They seem larger, physically larger than normal human beings. And you`re saying if somebody`s physically larger than a normal human being and their muscles are bulging to a point that they seem almost superhuman, they`re on steroids?
ASHENOFF: Well, do you see normal people walking around like that on the streets year-round? It`s impossible to achieve or attain that look without steroids. I mean, I`m pretty well versed on them because I used them for a long time because in this industry, there`s a premium on that look. You`re rewarded for looking that way. And you know, it`s just a shame because now we`re starting to find out that all these people, you know, all these wrestlers are dying due to enlarged hearts. It hardens arteries. You`re having all these people that are -- you know, all these wrestlers that are dying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did you feel when you were doing it? Happened to you physically?
ASHENOFF: Oh, I got bigger, stronger, you know, more aggressive. You know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you get into fights?
ASHENOFF: No, not really. I mean, you know, I didn`t have that `roid rage that you hear about, but you know, I have seen people that have gone into `roid rages.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Carlos Ashenoff, also known as Conan, according to some claims and reports, it goes beyond steroids into other drugs. The "Daily News" is saying that some of the people who are engaged in the pro wrestling world have been known to use GHB, which is also known as the date rape drug. Have you ever heard anything about this?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Yes, that`s like liquid ecstasy. That was very, very popular in the `90s, and it helps you get ripped. It gives you a buzz. I mean, it`s very hard because, like I said before, you`re on the road the whole year, so you`re hurt, you`re depressed, you need something to pick you up, something to bring you down, something to keep you strong, so it`s a lot of recreational drugs, steroids and pain killers.
What Vince McMahon needs to do is actually fine people, suspend people or fire people if he has to, if he finds them on steroids, like Alex Marvez says, or pain killer, because they`re just giving us a lot of lip service. After Eddie Guerrero died last year, who was like a brother to me, you know, they started implementing steroid testing again to make sure they could quash or quell any media uproar, but they picked a couple patsies, and that was it. I mean, he`s got to do something about this. He`s got to be responsible.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but when you say that they instituted this, are you saying that these tests are meaningless? Because Benoit passed the test in April, at the very time -- and I`m repeating myself, but this is a crucial fact -- at the very time that authorities are saying he was being given huge quantities of steroids.
ASHENOFF: Well, like I said earlier, you know, it doesn`t benefit them to take some of their biggest revenue makers out of the ring, so they just basically police themselves. If anybody`s showing up late or anybody showing any signs of drug abuse, they put them in rehab.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. What is the test? I mean, what exactly do they do to test that is so questionable at this point?
ASHENOFF: It`s a urine test, but, you know, they just pick a couple people, make an example out of them, and everybody else polices themselves.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying people use the whizzinator? I don`t want to tell anybody what that is, but they can use their imagination to figure it out. You can fake a urine test. It`s called a whizzinator.
ASHENOFF: Yes, right, I know exactly what it is. The bottom line is you don`t have to, because they never bust the top guys. That`s just it. You know, they make an example of a couple people so the media doesn`t say that they`re not doing anything, and that`s what`s happening. They give a lot of lip service.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Carlos Ashenoff, Conan, you said you`ve seen guys with `roid rage. What does it look like?
ASHENOFF: Well, you know, they get uncontrollable rage. They get very violent. They want to fight. They want to break stuff and, you know, just very aggressive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but everybody said that Chris Benoit was soft- spoken. Everybody says this, that he was such a sweet guy who wouldn`t hurt a fly.
ASHENOFF: Well, he was. You know, I don`t think it was `roid rage, because, you know, what he did sounded a little bit more deliberate, and it was over a three-day span, and `roid rage is kind of just bouts and fits of rage for, you know, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. But he was very kind, you know, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have never thought that he would have done anything like this. He was a gentleman.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think? I mean, you`re saying that it`s a big problem, that things need to be cleaned up, but now you`re saying, well, you don`t think it`s `roid rage?
ASHENOFF: Well, I`m saying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you think he did it?
(CROSSTALK)
ASHENOFF: I have absolutely no idea. He obviously snapped, but the bottom line is, is that, you know, wrestlers are taking a lot of pain killers, steroids and recreational drugs, and it needs to be cleaned up and needs to be regulated.
Quote:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace. And we`ve been talking about this crisis in the world of professional wrestling. We`re very happy to have with us tonight Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff.
You`ve admitted to us that you`ve taken steroids and now you have health problems. Tell us about it.
ASHENOFF: Yes, it wasn`t from the steroids. It was more from the pain killers, due to the fact that I had to use pain killers, because I needed a hip replacement operation, and the company that I was with, TNA, wouldn`t pay for it. I had to get on pain killers and, due to the continued use of that, it shut down my kidneys, and now I have to get a kidney transplant.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, I`m so sorry to hear that. When is that coming up?
ASHENOFF: Hopefully next week. But let me tell you something. You had asked me before what I thought the thing was with Chris Benoit. There seems to be a correlation between undiagnosed concussions and football players who, after they retire, they commit suicide. He might have had an undiagnosed concussion.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s as good a guess as any. And, again, when we get the toxicology results back, we will know for sure whether he was on steroids and whether it was `roid rage or whatever it was, but we do know one thing. It was a horrible tragedy, and we as a nation need to look at this issue of unnecessary drug use.
What a cunt Konnan is. He made plenty of money over the years. I wonder how much he was making working for Turner owned WCW.
Don't tell that ass couldn't have put money away. Did anybody see Booker T's house on confidential?
wrestlers also seem to have issues with the concept of saving money.
Barry Bonds made Chris Benoit kill his family and then hang himself.
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That's the logical conclusion, right?
After all, Benoit used steroids. He must have killed his family in a fit of 'roid rage. We blame steroids for everything, and we blame Bonds for steroids. It's only a matter of time before we connect the dots, arrest Barry for coercing Benoit into committing his unspeakable atrocities, and then Babe Ruth rules.
I knew Benoit. I worked with him for six years during my time with now-defunct World Championship Wrestling. I considered Benoit a friend, and I have many fond memories of him. I can't fathom what drove him to this heinous act. But it wasn't just steroids.
'Roid rage comes and goes in seconds. Benoit went on a weekend-long killing spree. Given emerging evidence that Benoit recently sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to two children by a prior marriage, his murderous actions seem at least previously considered, if not outright premeditated.
Steroids, however, likely combined with painkillers and personal pressures - his son's autism and the death of his best friend, colleague Eddy Guerrero - put Benoit in a state of depression and paranoia that formed a context for what he did.
Benoit is responsible for his own actions.
But the wrestling lifestyle didn't help. The wrestling lifestyle is literally a killer. Over 60 wrestlers under age 45 have died over the last 10 years.
Maybe Congress should investigate that. Steroid abusers aren't dying in baseball. Wrestling, meanwhile, is one continuous 10-bell salute.
Steroids to get big. Painkillers to overcome the profession's collisional aspects. Uppers to get started again. Given the demands of wrestling - most World Wrestling Entertainment performers spend 300 or more days per year on the road - it's what most performers need to stay functional.
The mental burden of being away from home and family weighs heavy. The scriptwriters gleefully indulge in psychological human cockfighting, with position on the card - and big money - at stake. Benoit, because he was only 5-foot-10, almost always hovered between stardom and mid-card.
You go through all that, and sometimes you drop dead.
And then Vince McMahon just hires somebody else.
Watching the McMahon family weep crocodile tears after yet another WWE tragedy evokes equal parts laughter and disgust. God only knows what McMahon is thinking when he eulogizes an employee, but once the body is buried, the killing machine churns on, with no real changes made.
McMahon is quick to point out that only five wrestlers have died while under contract to WWE. Maybe that speaks positively of his company's wellness program. Or maybe McMahon just knows when to fold losing hands.
McMahon is quick to praise WWE's drug-testing policy. Benoit passed his last steroid test, he crows. Well, so did Bonds. But if Benoit wasn't - and Bonds isn't - packing massive amounts of artificially manufactured muscle and bulk, I'll eat Barry's oversized hat. The chemists are always ahead of the police.
Every time somebody in WWE shrinks - as per cooperation with the "wellness program" - his role and paycheck shrink, too. Ask Chris Masters. When "The Masterpiece" got smaller, so did his TV time.
It's time for the United States government to put aside the holiness of baseball's record book and investigate wrestling. Instead of Mark McGwire stammering in front of Congress, it's time for McMahon to testify. Triple H. Batista. Undertaker.
If a Congressional panel can try to save the overwrought dignity of a home-run record, one can certainly be convened to try and save lives. Limiting the number of dates a wrestler can work per year would be a good start.
I love wrestling. I treasured every moment I spent in WCW. It would break my heart if wrestling ceased to exist.
But right now, no one's personal feelings should enter the equation.
Madden's actually a lot more knowledgable about wrestling than he came off on tv. he used to write for WCW magazine and most of his columns were enjoyable.
"What? Chris Benoit? Never heard of him!" -The WWE
Quote:
Joey say right now they're going to show us the ECW title match from Vengeance. Wait. What? Replaying the video from Vengeance?
Johnny Nitro over CM Punk by swinging neck breaker Read the original recap at InsidePulse LIVE Vengeance Coverage. How are they going to make this work with all of the mentions of Benoit during this match?
I've got two words for ya: Revisionist History
"WE WANT BENOIT" becomes "ECW".
Here's my thoughts: They've entirely re-dubbed Tazz and Joey and rebuilt the crowd reactions. This is pretty standard practice in the WWE, but usually they won't be so blatant about it as to re-air the match on TV within two weeks. If anyone who saw the original broadcast could back this up or not, please shoot me an e-mail. I know the "BORING" chants are missing besides the "WE WANT BENOIT" chants.
as crazy as he is, he was attempting to make points, and they just constantly cut him off. this is why I don't watch these shows. just more media sensationalism.
Konnan discussed the Benoit tragedy, steroids, and drug issues in professional wrestling today with the New York Daily News. Konnan said, "Everybody - I can guarantee you, 100% from top to bottom - everybody's either on steroids, painkillers, they drink or they take recreational drugs, and in the case of half the guys, all four." He added, "Nobody gives a ----. When that baseball player (Orioles pitcher Steve) Bechler died from ephedra, everybody got all upset and reacted and they banned ephedra. (In wrestling), it's all these guys - big names - and, nothing."
When Dr. Phil Astin was released from jail yesterday, he had "no comment" to reporters in Georgia.
Chris Benoit was the most searched name on the Lycos search engine this past week.
Bret Hart is scheduled to appear on this Monday’s Larry King Live to discuss the Benoit family tragedy.
Dr. Phil Astin's father who was also a doctor had his license suspended in 1992 after being accused of illegally prescribing painkillers to patients from the late 1970's to 1989. After he served his suspension, Dr. Phil Astin's father has his license reinstated. He then committed suicide by shooting himself in 2005 according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Dr. Phil Astin III, who was Chris Benoit’s doctor, was released from jail yesterday. He has been convicted on 7 indictments of improperly prescribing pain killers and other controlled substances. None of these indictments are related to Chris Benoit.
It’s believed that Dr. Astin had other wrestlers as clients and federal officials have said Dr. Astin prescribed huge amounts of steroids to Chris Benoit over the past year. The doctor’s attorney is saying that Dr. Astin has never prescribed steroids to Chris Benoit.
I hadn’t paid much attention to Fox News before, but now I find myself tuning in on an almost nightly basis to find out what’s happening, and while I don’t necessarily agree with the way that some of our American cousins have sensationalised this story, there is one thing that has really annoyed me, and that’s the way that some people, and one in particular, have used this situation to put themselves back in the media spotlight.
People like Bruce Hart and Joanie Laurer have used the platform they have been given to criticise Vince McMahon and the WWE for things that happened to them in the past. Bruce Hart was extremely critical of McMahon a few years ago, especially when his idea of creating a feeder territory in Canada was turned down. Laurer has been on a downward spiral ever since she quit WWE in 2001, and her appearances in a certain porn video and in “101 Reasons Not To Be A Professional Wrestler” showed just how far she has fallen.
On the other hand, people like Chris Jericho and Bill DeMott have spoken about the situation in a very rational manner, putting things into perspective, telling us of the real pressures that the Benoit family were under.
But there has been one person who has really capitalised on these events, who seems to have been on my television screen on a nightly basis. That person is Debra Marshall, ex-wife of Steve “Mongo” McMichael and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Marshall is currently working as a real estate agent, and has been out of the wrestling business since she left WWE in 2002. Since then she’s gone through a divorce with Austin, and has apparently tried to gain work with TNA and WWE.
But this past week Marshall has taken the opportunity to tell the world of the apparent hell she went through as Austin’s wife, using the airwaves to tell people how she was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Austin five years ago.
She paints a sorry picture of the current state of the wrestling business, of drink and drug-addled wrestlers who spent a great deal of time drinking booze, popping pills and beating up their partners. She tells us how she was constantly beaten up by Austin, and how she wished she had spoken out then, because if she had, Nancy and Daniel Benoit may be alive right now.
But Marshall also tells us that she signed a gagging order when she divorced Austin, how she was paid a large some of money to keep quiet about what happened to her. But she doesn’t tell us what’s happened to that money. She doesn’t tell us why she’s suddenly appeared on the international stage again to tell her side of the story. Did she contact the news companies, or did the news companies contact her? And how much was she paid to tell the same story night after night after night?
I’m not going to pretend that there isn’t a dark side to the professional wrestling business. I worked in the British wrestling business for five years, and saw my fair share of unpleasant things over here. I’m not going to pretend that everything is perfect. Nothing in life ever is.
But if Debra Marshall was so worried about things, why didn’t she turn down the large some of money that was given to her five years ago and speak out then? Why didn’t she stand up for what she apparently believes in then?
My answer to that is a simple one - because she wants to get back in the spotlight. In his biography “Bang Your Head”, Dewey Robertson, aka The Missing Link, tells us how difficult it is for those who retire from the wrestling business to handle life out of the spotlight. They can’t handle the fact that the spotlight isn’t on them anymore, and they’d do anything to get back the attention that they had before.
I truly believe that this is the case with Debra Marshall. She says she’s lost friends by speaking out in this way, but she’s once again in the spotlight, telling people how hard done by she was during her time in the wrestling business. She’s extended her fifteen minutes of fame, on the back of the tragic deaths of three people. While I’m sickened by the events that saw the deaths of the Benoit family, I’m sickened by the way that Marshall is cashing in on this situation.
as crazy as he is, he was attempting to make points, and they just constantly cut him off. this is why I don't watch these shows. just more media sensationalism.
You'd think FOX News would LOVE the Warrior, what with his uber-conservative views such as "Queering don't make the world work".
I dislike Warrior for making fun of my sexual preferences. I'm gay and I'm proud!
Knutreturns said: Spoken like the true Greatest RDCW Champ!
Rey Rey's been named in the steroid probe. I wonder if this will derail his big comeback.
Quote:
TMZ.com is reporting that they have "learned that current WWE SmackDown wrestler Rey Mysterio (real name: Oscar Gutierrez) and former WWE wrestler Mark Jindrak, are the two other wrestlers named in an indictment against the physician currently involved in the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide investigation."
When contacted, a WWE spokesperson told TMZ, "We cannot comment on this ongoing investigation at this time."
Rey Rey's been named in the steroid probe. I wonder if this will derail his big comeback.
Quote:
TMZ.com is reporting that they have "learned that current WWE SmackDown wrestler Rey Mysterio (real name: Oscar Gutierrez) and former WWE wrestler Mark Jindrak, are the two other wrestlers named in an indictment against the physician currently involved in the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide investigation."
When contacted, a WWE spokesperson told TMZ, "We cannot disown Mysterio fast enough."
- On WHTK-AM in Rochester, Roddy Piper was interviewed (on June 30) saying "should have had the damn dinner" in response to Benoit recently asking Piper to go to dinner with him to talk. Piper said he will attend Chris Benoit's funeral, which will be his first funeral since Adrian Adonis' because he "can't handle them," called Chris his "brother" and says he will stay on Benoit's "side until the very end." Piper said "I stand behind Chris Benoit a hundred percent, I'll be at his funeral, and we'll wait and see what comes back (from the toxicology reports)."
Fayette County detectives said there was no truth to a report that was posted on the website, prowrestling.com that said that Nancy had written what the website called, "a strange note" before her death that stated that if something happened to her then Chris would be to blame.
Investigators said a safe deposit box, which the website reported contained the note, actually held typical documents and had no personal writings from Nancy Benoit in it.
Detectives say this kind of internet report is typical of what they call conspiracy theories that have been phoned into the Sheriff's office from as far away as California since the bodies were discovered.
Chris Benoit was a very good friend of mine. Chris and I would goto dinner after the shows and talk about everything from growing up in Canada to politics in the USA. He was a great wrestler and I will miss him very much. Good-bye my friend. I will miss you very much.
Sean Morley
Posted by freetarian on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 5:12 PM
How I feel about Benoit???
Many people have been writing me with questions regarding the Benoit family tragedy. I am currently taking in what the police reports and (mainstream)news media outlets are saying about this tragic event. I will make my comments regarding Chris and the media in the next couple of days.
Posted by freetarian on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 9:20 PM
The following is an exert from People Magazine's "Chris Benoit's Final Days" piece. (Issue dated July 16): Years before their 2000 marriage, Nancy was charged with aggravated battery after, according to her then husband, wrestling Kevin Sullivan, she came after him with a knife. She admitted holding the knife, but the charge from the 1997 episode was eventually dropped.
there are always 2 sides to every story.....I still am witholding my judgement on Benoit. What he did to the kid was atragedy and unexcusable (if he did it)....but the woman you never know.
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