Just when I thought I really did not have much to blog about tonight, comes word that 43-year-old Brian Adams was found dead by his wife in their Tampa, Florida home. Most wrestling fans know Adams as "Crush." He was a former W.W.E. World Tag Team Champion, serving as the third member of the legendary tag team Demolition (Ax & Smash). Adams (pictured above right with Smash) apparently choked on his own vomit.
I am certainly saddened by this news and the latest death of a pro wrestler during a year which has seen an exorbitant amount of wrestlers dying. This will restart the debate as to why so many wrestlers die before 50. Currently, there are two sides of the aisle: one which says that pro wrestling is the worst thing going and that it is "all Vince McMahon's fault." The other side states that many of these guys never worked in the W.W.E. or have been out of the sport for years and so pro wrestling is thus absolved. In the case of Crush, yes, he has not wrestled full-time since 2001. He did work for some independent leagues from time to time before sustaining a spinal injury in 2003 which permanently ended his career.
That list of dead wrestlers gets brought up time and time again and I am very curious to see how the cable networks cover this latest death. But I have to believe that there is a middle road in this debate, that most importantly will lead to a solution that can save lives. I published that list on this blog because it is a high number and you don't see that many in any of the major sports, regardless of the cause of death. Does wrestling have a problem? Yes. Is any one promoter to blame? Not unless you hold a personal grudge against him.
Meanwhile, the W.W.E. continues to release wrestlers over the last month or so (since the Benoit tragedy) without giving an explanation. Plus, one of their top stars, Jeff Hardy, has been forced to go to drug rehab by the company. There's also been a bunch of wrestlers who are out with an injury, which I am now wondering if it is real or staged and that the "injury" quite simply is an excuse to give some of these guys time to get off any performance enhancing drugs. The product has suffered with so many top stars out which has been illustrated in the declining ratings. The return of the Mr. McMahon character also seems to be a move out of desperation.
I'm also very curious to see if the W.W.E. will make mention of Crush's passing on Monday Night Raw this evening. I suspect they will, since they already did on their official web page. I see both sides of the argument, but I just don't like the witch-hunting that has gone on. We've gone down this road before, but if you are going to blame McMahon or the W.W.E. you better have substantiated proof. It seems to me that according to some in the media, he is responsible for every pro wrestler's well-being; whether that person worked for the W.W.E. or not. Foolish! The whole thing is just very, very sad. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth not only because a life ends way too soon, but also because some of the media members show just how disgraceful they really are.
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