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| He didn't need to get hurt Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
BJ Whitmer said that his injury on an apron piledriver from Mike Bennett was no one's fault. I beg to differ. I don't put the blame for it on Whitmer himself. A piledriver is a tricky spot to take anywhere, whether on the floor, in the ring, or, like Whitmer took it, on the apron. I don't blame Bennett either. Again, the move got away from him. Everyone makes mistakes in wrestling, part of the reason why wrestlers like Ayumi Kurihara have to retire at age 29. Risk is assumed any time someone steps into the ring.
If I blame anyone in this scenario, it would be the officials and agents in Ring of Honor for continuing to allow spots like the piledriver on the apron to become commonplace. While ROH is far from the only company outside of WWE and TNA that fosters an environment where insane spots populate matches with increasing frequency, it is the only one that is owned by a corporate entity.
The corporate structure and the contracts that come with said environment have manifested themselves in ROH's now-icy relationship with the Pro Wrestling Tees site started by Colt Cabana. When the company caught wind that its wrestlers set up t-shirt shops there and collecting all the proceeds, they enforced language in contracts to get these shops shut down. While the closure of these outlets is a sad reality in the world of contracts and corporate interests, the fact that ROH is keeping such a draconian hold on the money their contracted wrestlers can make on the side is disappointing. I expect this kind of behavior from TNA; I don't want to have to see it happen within a company I like.
I know the two examples above seem incongruous, but both the action against PWT and the inaction in curbing the proliferation of insane spots show that ROH officials, whether it be the bookers and Cary Silkin, the folks at Sinclair Broadcasting Group, or both, don't care about its performers outside of the impact they have on their own bottom line. I'm not surprised, but that doesn't mean I can't be disappointed.
WWE has extensive safety measures in place, but one of the draws of ROH is that it's decidedly not like the Titans of Stamford. However, ways exist for them to push the envelope while keeping worker safety in mind. Does every match need to have multiple kick-outs on avalanche moves or a preponderance of apron spots? Should everyone do a dive to the outside in matches? Whether or not these questions have concrete answers, I always like to err on the side of safety. Botching a move on the canvas holds a lot less probability for major injury than on the canvas or the floor, so wouldn't limiting apron or floor spots at least lessen the risk for injury frequency. Whitmer himself might benefit from taking far fewer of these kinds of risks himself, since he seems to nearly get killed every other month.
Even before getting to apron spots and other mechanics within the flow of a match, blatant safety measures need to be taken by the ROH office. For example, intentional bleeding and unprotected weapon shots to the head should not be tolerated in any wrestling company. Blood-borne pathogens are far too common nowadays for the former, and we know far too much about head trauma and CTE to allow the latter. From there, ROH can find a plan of action in order to minimize the risk of injury.
Of course, attitudes of wrestlers need to change in order to enact true improvement in the working conditions on the independent scene. Even though ROH isn't truly an indie promotion anymore, they still serve as the benchmark that most indies strive towards, a market leader so to speak. Getting companies to change policies is a lot more conducive towards getting real change because they can influence larger numbers of wrestlers on the same card. Simultaneously, if ROH thinks it a good idea to ban blading and unblocked headshots, then wouldn't most other companies at least take notice? If the truly dangerous spots were saved for blood feuds or huge main events, wouldn't the trickle-down effect start to become more pronounced?
BJ Whitmer nearly lost the use of his legs and arms this past weekend because of a spot in an opening round tournament match that should have been saved for, say, the finals. I am not for neutering the indies at all, but I also don't want to see guys risking their lives for a fraction of what that kind of danger should cost companies sanctioning it. ROH is in an important position. They cannot continue to be more concerned with limiting extracurricular wrestler income than they are with the safety of those workers within their confines.
If I blame anyone in this scenario, it would be the officials and agents in Ring of Honor for continuing to allow spots like the piledriver on the apron to become commonplace. While ROH is far from the only company outside of WWE and TNA that fosters an environment where insane spots populate matches with increasing frequency, it is the only one that is owned by a corporate entity.
The corporate structure and the contracts that come with said environment have manifested themselves in ROH's now-icy relationship with the Pro Wrestling Tees site started by Colt Cabana. When the company caught wind that its wrestlers set up t-shirt shops there and collecting all the proceeds, they enforced language in contracts to get these shops shut down. While the closure of these outlets is a sad reality in the world of contracts and corporate interests, the fact that ROH is keeping such a draconian hold on the money their contracted wrestlers can make on the side is disappointing. I expect this kind of behavior from TNA; I don't want to have to see it happen within a company I like.
I know the two examples above seem incongruous, but both the action against PWT and the inaction in curbing the proliferation of insane spots show that ROH officials, whether it be the bookers and Cary Silkin, the folks at Sinclair Broadcasting Group, or both, don't care about its performers outside of the impact they have on their own bottom line. I'm not surprised, but that doesn't mean I can't be disappointed.
WWE has extensive safety measures in place, but one of the draws of ROH is that it's decidedly not like the Titans of Stamford. However, ways exist for them to push the envelope while keeping worker safety in mind. Does every match need to have multiple kick-outs on avalanche moves or a preponderance of apron spots? Should everyone do a dive to the outside in matches? Whether or not these questions have concrete answers, I always like to err on the side of safety. Botching a move on the canvas holds a lot less probability for major injury than on the canvas or the floor, so wouldn't limiting apron or floor spots at least lessen the risk for injury frequency. Whitmer himself might benefit from taking far fewer of these kinds of risks himself, since he seems to nearly get killed every other month.
Even before getting to apron spots and other mechanics within the flow of a match, blatant safety measures need to be taken by the ROH office. For example, intentional bleeding and unprotected weapon shots to the head should not be tolerated in any wrestling company. Blood-borne pathogens are far too common nowadays for the former, and we know far too much about head trauma and CTE to allow the latter. From there, ROH can find a plan of action in order to minimize the risk of injury.
Of course, attitudes of wrestlers need to change in order to enact true improvement in the working conditions on the independent scene. Even though ROH isn't truly an indie promotion anymore, they still serve as the benchmark that most indies strive towards, a market leader so to speak. Getting companies to change policies is a lot more conducive towards getting real change because they can influence larger numbers of wrestlers on the same card. Simultaneously, if ROH thinks it a good idea to ban blading and unblocked headshots, then wouldn't most other companies at least take notice? If the truly dangerous spots were saved for blood feuds or huge main events, wouldn't the trickle-down effect start to become more pronounced?
BJ Whitmer nearly lost the use of his legs and arms this past weekend because of a spot in an opening round tournament match that should have been saved for, say, the finals. I am not for neutering the indies at all, but I also don't want to see guys risking their lives for a fraction of what that kind of danger should cost companies sanctioning it. ROH is in an important position. They cannot continue to be more concerned with limiting extracurricular wrestler income than they are with the safety of those workers within their confines.