The Wrestler Movie Trailer: Dead Wrestlers

Dead Wrestlers

I grew up a huge wrestling fan. A little Hulkamaniac. Even when I got to college I got sucked into the whole “attitude” era cheering for The Rock.

I’ve also witnessed the deaths of countless wrestlers I grew up idolizing. In fact, just today my brother and I were discussing the absurdity of an industry where guys are dropping like flies. If they’re not dying of heart attacks, over doses, or liver disease… they’re getting murdered or committing suicide.

The Wrestler is supposed to be a realistic behind the scenes look at the industry, with a phenomenal performance by Micky Rourke, and Marisa Tomei playing stripper!  I love Marisa Tomei… love her!

Espn even covered this in an article today:

The Wrestler resonates for a more sinister reason, too. Pro wrestling chews up and spits out its athletes with grueling schedules, brutal physical punishment and a tacit understanding that performance enhancers are okay as are greenies, sleeping pills and painkillers. These guys destroy their bodies, then their hearts give out and they die. Google the phrase “dead wrestlers,” and your computer will start to smoke like an overtaxed car engine.

The mainstream media don’t care because the general public doesn’t care. After all, it’s a fake sport with scripted endings. Why should it matter to us when wrestlers are found dead in their beds or seen limping around on two fake hips? Why should it matter to us that there’s a list of modern wrestlers who died before the age of 50 – many of them famous – and that the list is more than 70 names long? Hey, there’s always another wave of guys on the way. Always. They’ll do whatever it takes to get ahead, just like the last generation did.

I followed wrestling all through my 20s, and continued to order the major PPVs every year  right until Benoit murdered his wife, suffocated his son and took his own life, in 2007. That was it for me. Considered one of the best performers in the business, Benoit spent so many years wrecking his body, working through concussions and poisoning himself with enhancers and painkillers that he eventually lost his marbles. His story was so shocking that nobody believed his sport would ever recover. Last time I checked, the WWE was still chugging along and its stars looked as ripped as ever.

The Wrestler Movie Trailer

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