More ROH Injuries & Some Editorial Commentary

Columns, News

PWInsider has reported that, in addition to Bryan Danielson’s eye injury, ROH Champion Takeshi Morishima was limping badly after his match with Danielson on Saturday due to so many stiff kicks. Also, Pelle Primeau suffered a back injury during his full-time job and needs time off, which is why BJ Whitmer decimated Primeau on Saturday. He should be back in a few months.

^^^Warning: Commentary^^^

Okay, so Pelle’s injury isn’t directly wrestling-related, but I think something needs to be said about “strong style” wrestling, or whatever the kids are calling it these days, when a promotion’s two top workers are hurt in the same match.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson writes the following in a recent post on his Web site about the above news: “ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky felt it was one of the best, if not the best, match in the history of the company, which is some pretty damn high praise given the body of work ROH has produced since February 2002.”

I haven’t yet seen the match, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it a lot more than, say, Batista/Khali. But last I checked, isn’t wrestling supposed to be, ya know, fake? When “one of the best matches ever” comes from bodies put on the line and injuries risked more than they have to be, isn’t something wrong?

If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, pro wrestling seems to have a drug problem. And while no one’s accusing ROH of pushing roided-up freaks, thus pressuring the workers to juice in order to move up the card, aren’t painkillers historically just as big a problem in the industry (if not bigger) than steroids and HGH? Haven’t many of the wrestling stars that have died before reaching 50 years old had massive painkiller addiction? Isn’t it logical to jump from “in order for matches to be great in the eyes of fans, they have to be hard-hitting and high-risk” to “these wrestlers will take a ton of pills to numb the pain caused by the style of wrestling?”

Maybe I’m wrong here. Maybe ROH stars — many who also work indie dates around the world — work lighter schedules than I think, therefore having longer to recoup from injuries incurred in the ring. Maybe the rumored health coverage that ROH supposedly provides its contracted wrestlers takes pressure off of the wrestlers to work while hurt. Maybe Morishima’s injuries are just part of the job and Danielson’s were a fluke.

I just hope that the wrestling industry realizes that “you have to be big to be pushed as a star” and “you have to really hurt each other in matches to be accepted as a star” aren’t too different when it comes to the health of the workers, and that it is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the well-being of those putting asses in seats is given top priority over everything else.

Matthew Michaels is editor emeritus of Pulse Wrestling, and has been since the site launched.