I thought it was very telling that when I visited the WWE website to read about the death of Benoit they already had their defense up and running. Nothing about Benoit. They were in attack mode toward those who were attacking steroids, etc.
Protect the drug campaign. Everyone knows it makes your bones brittle. I could go on, but the point is that Vince could demand more from his employees, not for his sake but for their own. He doesn't have to be daddy, just a person who cares more about humanity than money.
The wellness aspect is a good program, but even it couldn’t have prevented something like this.
McMahon could stop pushing people with the steroid look, regardless of talent, and that would help a lot, too.
Also, the 365 day a year schedule doesn’t help. If every wrestler would have time off for a few weeks every quarter, for example, that would help their bodies heal, get some good rest and give them time for their families. Say 5 weeks on, 1 month off.
Less money for the wrestlers, though - that won’t be popular. And when someone is on top, they don’t want to leave because the top spots are jealously guarded.
I don’t entirely blame Vinnie Mac for feeling defensive. The media has 3 dead bodies and are hot to blame someone. Since the actual killer is dead, go after Vince. He didn’t do this. It really sucks. I don’t blame him at all. Maybe his tactics could be better, though.
If I were running the show, I wouldn’t go for the super roided look at all. Then again, Benoit was pushed because of skill and less for a good physique. He didn’t have an overstated physique at all. On my watch, Benoit would have probably been handled the same way. Hard to cast a stone at Vinnie Mac over this, sorry.
Correction: “Say 5 weeks on, 1 month off” should have been “Say 5 months on, one month off.”
Or maybe 4 months on, 1 month off.
Or maybe 3 months on, 2 weeks off.
Something like that.