When Was It Most Dangerous To Be a Wrestler?

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Just thinking about all the drugs that were around the business in the 1980s. They are around today even and in the surrounding decades as well, but I think the 1980s may have been the peak of danger in the industry.

There were hundreds, probably more likely thousands of employed drug addicts/alcoholics at the time working crazier and crazier schedules as the business expanded. Add to the fact that we knew a fraction of what we know now about concussions and it was a bad recipe.

I made this thread a while back: officialfan.proboards.com/thread/485034/definitive-list-1980s-wrestlers-who

It’s a bummer that even if you add retired guys it’d probably be tough to name 50 healthy guys from that time period and probably impossible to name 100. But if you apply those same numbers to guys who died and/or are in poor health it’s probably a lot easier to do.

Hopefully in 30 years there are a lot more healthy guys from now still around. Not necessarily working, but just healthy.

[Aceorton]

Seriously specific answer: 1999.

ECW at its peak, unprotected chair shots as standard fare, and there's a chance they'll ask you to be lowered from the goddamn ceiling in a faulty harness for a stupid comedy spot.

[Mozenrath]

Depends on how you look at it, but maybe the 60s or 70s. Unruly fans have always been a problem, but they're less likely today to slash you with a knife, throw fishhooks on strings at you to try to get you, or shoot you with a squirt gun full of drain cleaner.

[OldDirtyBernie]

Mar 27, 2019 15:11:15 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

Seriously specific answer: 1999.

ECW at its peak, unprotected chair shots as standard fare, and there's a chance they'll ask you to be lowered from the goddamn ceiling in a faulty harness for a stupid comedy spot.

This. ECW was just as detrimental to the industry as it was influential. It popularized a LOT of dangerous stuff and, to make it worse, those things were even more widespread due to the boom of the industry at the time.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

It doesn’t matter when, it will always be something that the human body isn’t supposed to do.

Shane McMahon was asked what it felt to bump. He described it as similar to jumping and falling with your back on hard grass in your backyard. Now add to this about twenty or thirty bumps per match, multiple and multiple matches per year.

Chris Nowinski also said that their findings determined that every bump carries a whiplash effect on your head and brain.

Basically pro wrestlers have my respect because you will end up with a broken body and possibly mind.

[Deleted]

Mid 90s to early 00s:. All over the world people were going ever further with hardcore death matches, head drops were everywhere, and everyone was being stiff for the sake of being stiff. Not to mention all of the drugs.


In the old days they had to worry about fans attacking them sometimes, but the actual in ring stuff was quite safe for a long time because they actually grappled instead of highspot after highspot.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

I don't know but I would say around 2005 was the worst time to be a retired wrestler.

[jason1980s]

Mar 27, 2019 15:51:11 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

It doesn’t matter when, it will always be something that the human body isn’t supposed to do.

Shane McMahon was asked what it felt to bump. He described it as similar to jumping and falling with your back on hard grass in your backyard. Now add to this about twenty or thirty bumps per match, multiple and multiple matches per year.

Chris Nowinski also said that their findings determined that every bump carries a whiplash effect on your head and brain.

Basically pro wrestlers have my respect because you will end up with a broken body and possibly mind.

Respect here too! Shane especially. I almost hate thinking about it now but I really enjoyed his matches with the hardcore things that he did.

Randy Orton is another one. I just saw a match where Mick Foley pushed him out of the RKO and Randy landed on a large number of thumb tacks. Given both Randy and Shane's heritage for them to be doing things like that say how much crazy passion they have for wrestling.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Anytime you wrestle Seth Rollins!!! 🖐🏻 Don’t leave me hanging, Bret!

[arrogantmodel]

Mar 27, 2019 18:16:34 GMT -5 jason1980s said:

Mar 27, 2019 15:51:11 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

It doesn’t matter when, it will always be something that the human body isn’t supposed to do.

Shane McMahon was asked what it felt to bump. He described it as similar to jumping and falling with your back on hard grass in your backyard. Now add to this about twenty or thirty bumps per match, multiple and multiple matches per year.

Chris Nowinski also said that their findings determined that every bump carries a whiplash effect on your head and brain.

Basically pro wrestlers have my respect because you will end up with a broken body and possibly mind.

Respect here too! Shane especially. I almost hate thinking about it now but I really enjoyed his matches with the hardcore things that he did.

Randy Orton is another one. I just saw a match where Mick Foley pushed him out of the RKO and Randy landed on a large number of thumb tacks. Given both Randy and Shane's heritage for them to be doing things like that say how much crazy passion they have for wrestling.

Pretty crazy though, that a thumbtack spot is probably safer than a regular bump since you do everything you can to NOT hit your head in the tacks.

I would guess the 90s would be the worst. Drugs, steroids, one upping each other with dangerous spots, etc. WWF almost dying.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Mar 27, 2019 18:16:34 GMT -5 jason1980s said:

Mar 27, 2019 15:51:11 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

It doesn’t matter when, it will always be something that the human body isn’t supposed to do.

Shane McMahon was asked what it felt to bump. He described it as similar to jumping and falling with your back on hard grass in your backyard. Now add to this about twenty or thirty bumps per match, multiple and multiple matches per year.

Chris Nowinski also said that their findings determined that every bump carries a whiplash effect on your head and brain.

Basically pro wrestlers have my respect because you will end up with a broken body and possibly mind.

Respect here too! Shane especially. I almost hate thinking about it now but I really enjoyed his matches with the hardcore things that he did.

Randy Orton is another one. I just saw a match where Mick Foley pushed him out of the RKO and Randy landed on a large number of thumb tacks. Given both Randy and Shane's heritage for them to be doing things like that say how much crazy passion they have for wrestling.

Ironically Drake f***ing Younger said that landing on thumbtacks is safer than landing on legos.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Mar 27, 2019 19:04:25 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Mar 27, 2019 18:16:34 GMT -5 jason1980s said:

Respect here too! Shane especially. I almost hate thinking about it now but I really enjoyed his matches with the hardcore things that he did.

Randy Orton is another one. I just saw a match where Mick Foley pushed him out of the RKO and Randy landed on a large number of thumb tacks. Given both Randy and Shane's heritage for them to be doing things like that say how much crazy passion they have for wrestling.

Ironically Drake f***ing Younger said that landing on thumbtacks is safer than landing on legos.

Not surprised, Legos are sharp and sturdy as hell.

Any tacks that aren't right way up will just get crushed flat, those that do stick in you stay there so you only hit them once and they're small enough to only do superficial damage and come out relatively easily.

Legos stay hard and painful from any angle, and if there's a corner, it's a wider point so it'll do more damage, ! vs /\

[corndog]

Mar 27, 2019 15:22:24 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Depends on how you look at it, but maybe the 60s or 70s. Unruly fans have always been a problem, but they're less likely today to slash you with a knife, throw fishhooks on strings at you to try to get you, or shoot you with a squirt gun full of drain cleaner.

As far as fan attacks, yeah the 50s through the 70s were bad for that. But much less wrestlers died early from those eras than the 80s and 90s.

The 80s were really bad with drugs and the schedules/travel were insane. The late 90s/early 2000s got pretty bad with the insane bumps and the drugs were still there. So those two eras would easily be the worst. It's hard to say which one was worse, but just looking at someone like Bret Hart, who has lost so many people he was connected with really tells a sad story.

[Deleted]

it's getting dangerous again with guys trying to be in viral gifs

[CMPunkyBrewster]

Thursday, June 13th, 1996.

[riseofsetian1981]

I used to practice taking bumps in my living room and even taking them from the top of my bed. With that said I can't imagine doing that on a daily and nightly basis.

[The Thread Barbi]

1980s, given the death rate of workers whose heyday was then.

[fw91]

Mar 28, 2019 16:10:17 GMT -5 The Thread Barbi said:

1980s, given the death rate of workers whose heyday was then.

This. Roids and coca

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Right now, looks like the 80s are leading the way

www.profightdb.com/wrestling-ppv-cards-with-highest-death-count.php

But give it another 10 years as the guys who survived the 90s/2000s start getting older and the brain injuries take more effect...

[Prince Petty]

Definitely the late-80s, when huge, cut physiques started to be more and more prevalent, and Vince made it clear to guys that they needed that size, to get pushed - Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Bulldog, Kerry von Erich, Warlord, Hercules, Road Warriors etc.

Those guys were roided up to the gills, and taking HGH and who knows what, as well. Couple that with the widespread cocaine use, and the painkillers that guys were taking to stay on the road, and it's a pretty lethal cocktail. Look at the early deaths... the almost ludicrously early deaths - Davey Boy, Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, Road Warrior Hawk, Bossman, to name just a few.

The brain injuries from 90s and early 00s hardcore stuff is certainly going to take its toll. We've already seen the tragic effects with Benoit, and with Mick Foley's scrambled brain. As we go on, we'll look back at other wrestlers from the era and cringe at some of the things they did.