Time for WWE to address their new medical double standard

[Black Widow]

The WWE locker room looks like walking wounded today. CM Punk suffered a gash requiring 13 staples. Ted DiBiase suffered a concussion. Randy Orton suffered a separated shoulder, the severity of which still wasn't confirmed as I write this. John Cena was busted open. Undoubtedly, there are other bumps and bruises.

Professional wrestling is a tough, physical business, on any level. On a PPV for the biggest company in the world, it's grueling physically as well as mentally. Today's WWE may be presented as "family entertainment" but the actual physical artform is as dangerous as ever, which is why WWE has moved forward with many different experiments designed to help protect their performers, even from themselves.

However, there's a double standard that the company will have to address at some point going forward.

Last night, we saw not one, but two instances of medical staff and officials stopping the flow of matches to patch up bloody performers.

In one case, CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio, they became dangerously close to losing the crowd. Indeed, there was a loud "Boring" chant rising when Punk snapped and decided to ignore the staff, attacking Mysterio and brutally throwing him around ringside. In doing so, Punk did save the match, a bout that looking back was one of the two best matches of the night and easily, the best on an emotional and memorable level.

In the second, John Cena's forehead was bloodied with a small stream of blood after taking a high-impact bump through a shattering announcer's table....in an I Quit match. In a bout where the object is to beat someone until they voice their submission, Cena's opponent "The Animal" Batista was neutered into standing around while someone glued and wiped the cut clean.

Again, the momentum and flow of the match was lost, but with good reason, which brings us to the double standard at play.

Why is it OK for performers with injuries to continue wrestling (and even finish matches) but even the slightest trickle of blood results in the momentary shutdown of a match?

Randy Orton continued on after suffering a shoulder injury. He's someone with a long-standing history of issues and injuries, some that have put him out of action for months on end. Ted DiBiase suffered a concussion in his first PPV singles bout and obviously wasn't "really there" for the rest of his match against R-Truth.

So, why weren't those matches stopped, even momentarily to check out the competitors and make sure they are good to go?

Professional wrestling has always been a unique art form unto itself where the show, truly, absolutely "must go on." Wrestlers fight on with bruises, bumps, hell, broken bones. It's been done since the dawn of time and it's "always been that way." Well, so has the long standing tradition of double juice brawls and blood being used for sympathy, even if its accidental and hardway.

In recent months, whether it's for a PG rating, for the safety of their wrestlers or because a certain former company executive has political aspirations, WWE has stopped matches for blood. Fans don't like it and quite frankly, I don't care for it on a personal level - it's the wrestling equivalent of the movie reel breaking halfway through the new release in the cinema - but one cannot argue that it's not for the greater good.

It's time for WWE to take that next step and have officials step in at the first sign of legitimate injuries.

If blood in matches is good enough for a shutdown and stoppage, certainly concussions and broken bones are, as well. They may not be as visually appalling to some viewers, but they are certainly as dangerous - likely more dangerous to the long-term health and quality of life to the roster.

All WWE referees wear headsets in order to receive instructions and cues from backstage. It would take all of three seconds to create a system to inform the backstage personnel that something has gone wrong.

Obviously, fans won't like it. They don't like the blood stoppages, but they will learn in time it's going to be a part of life.

But if blood stoppages are, shouldn't injuries and concussion fears be as well?

And, if they aren't, well, then that's certainly one hell of a double standard WWE is creating for themselves.


PWI

[The Mac]

wwe has it backward if someone suffers a injury like orton
by all means stop the match and check on him but for a cut cmon
thats dumb the cuts look bad but they rarely hurt and its easy to continue
but legitimate injuries like ortons and escpecially ted's need to be checked
if u get hit while having a concussion it can be very dangerous

[gguru]

Perfectly stated article on a ridiculous double standard.