Notes on Hogan, Wellness, Dykstra & More

News

According to PWInsider.com, the John Cena/JBL brawl Sunday was pre-taped leading up to the car driving into the arena.

Kenny Dykstra was backstage this week, if you were wondering where he’s been. He wasn’t used, although Stevie Richards was! (UPDATE: Elijah Burke was also backstage.)

Nick Hogan is turning 18 years old soon, so he can then be placed into the general population in jail.

I couldn’t find anything on WWE.com on this aside from Wellness Policy amendments, the most recent dated as last August, but PWInsider has reported that the following updates to the policy were announced on July 21, 2008…

In addition to amendments to its Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy, WWE has undertaken several enhancements to its overall Talent Wellness Program since its inception in February 2006. Updates include:

* Retaining ImPACT Inc. to manage operations and administration of the Talent Wellness Program. Through ImPact, WWE obtained the services of Dr. Joseph Maroon as the program’s Medical Director. He will coordinate a team of physicians and medical personnel for program implementation. Here’s a link to the current WWE Talent Wellness Program Medical Team.
* Publicly announcing suspensions of performers. As of November 1, 2007, suspensions resulting from violations of the Talent Wellness Program have been announced publicly. More than 30 suspensions have been issued since the start of the Talent Wellness Program.
* Adding new drugs to the list of banned substances in the program. Anti-estrogens have been added to the list of banned substances due to their ability to be used to mask the effects of steroid use.
* Mandatory pre-contract cardiovascular, drug screening and physical exams for potential new performers.
* Mandatory cognitive tests for performers to monitor brain conditions. WWE is now using The ImPACTâ„¢ Concussion Management Program for all WWE performers. The ImPACT program is used by the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the NCAA.
* Expanding drug treatment services to former performers. For the past 20 years, an important component of WWE’s efforts to deter its performers from abusing drugs has been its commitment to assist performers in receiving appropriate drug rehabilitation and treatment programs. WWE has expanded this offer to include any individuals who had ever performed under contract to WWE during their careers. More than 500 letters were sent out to former performers in September 2007. So far, more than a dozen former performers have sought assistance, and we continue to receive calls to our 24-hour hotline inquiring about the program.

All of this, of course, is great news, in particular the concussion addition, which hasn’t been reported much if at all before.

Credit: PWInsider.com

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