Rassle Inn #36

There is a lot going on in the world of professional wrestling.  If you're like me, you try to stay abreast of promotions outside of North America.  And if you're like me, you get frustrated when you don't have the time/energy to stay abreast of promotions outside of North America.  Prime example?  Wrestle Kingdom 17.  I'll check it out tomorrow, but suffice to say, there is plenty to discuss.  Naturally, I will avert the topic and instead brood over the headlines.

I can hear you now.  "Wrestling is in the headlines?"  No.  No, it isn't, but for all intents and purposes, it should be.  On Monday night, a committed slice of America stared in morbid fascination as a professional athlete - Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin - cheated death.  It was "unprecedented," they said.  Only it wasn't.  Us rasslin' fans have seen this movie before, and our version had a different ending.  A smattering of pro-wrestlers - too few to label as endemic, yet too many for our comfort - have died between the ropes.  The most recent example that springs to mind would be Perro Aguayo Jr., a luchador who passed away instantly from cardiac arrest.

Aguayo took an innocuous dropkick and slumped over the middle rope.  After paramedics cleared the area, the event continued.  The show must go on.  Or at least that's the axiom that has been universally espoused by professional wrestling.  But should it?  Jerry Lawler had a heart attack during a live broadcast of Monday Night Raw.  Owen Hart died in the ring, as did Mitsuharu Misawa and a host of others.  In every case, the show continued.  A pallor would wash over the crowd, and in the instance of Hart's tragedy, onlookers weren't able to check social media for updates on his condition.

You have to ask yourself, what needs to happen to cancel or postpone a wrestling event or pay-per-view?  I hope we don't find out.  If we learned anything from a football player collapsing after a seemingly benign tackle, it's that - shocker! - we actually care about each other as human beings.  Will pro-wrestling get the message before this happens again?