A bomb was dropped on WWE Monday Night Raw last night as Adam "Edge" Copeland announced his retirement from the WWE. It left most of the WWE Universe stunned.
Granted, he's been talking about retiring for some time now. In my blog post last week on Wrestlemania, I even mentioned that. I was surprised that they didn't use him to put Del Rio over at their biggest event of the year, considering Del Rio is one of their up and coming stars.
But no one expected this. Not even Edge. Apparently he'd been having some instances where he lost feeling in his arms. When the WWE sent him for testing, the doctors concluded that he would have to retire from wrestling immediately.
About eight years ago, Copeland suffered a serious neck injury that required his cervical vertebrae to be fused. Ultimately, it was this injury that caused him to be diagnosed with spinal stenosis, and ended a decorated 15-year career that included 14 tag team championships and 11 World Championships.
In his retirement speech last night, he started by saying, "There are a lot of people out there who don't think that the WWE hurts." He couldn't have been more right.
I've been a fan of pro wrestling for 30 years, since I was a boy. My brother and I would watch it religiously every Saturday morning, during the days when Bob Backlund was champion and the stars who graced the ring were all-time greats like Andre the Giant, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
But there have been plenty of people over the years who have mocked me for being a WWE fan. "It's so fake," they'd say. "How can you watch that crap?"
Well the people who decry wrestling for being fake should try getting into the ring for a five-minute match. Then they'd see just how real it is.
Sure, when the combatants swing their fists at one another they're very careful not to knock each other's teeth out. Yes, when they stomp with their boots they're careful not to flatten their opponent's face.
But sometimes, they've been known to miss. Plenty of guys get "busted open the hard way," as they call it in the wrestling business. Broken noses, broken orbital bones, eye injuries...they're all far more common than you might think.
And if you believe that falling all over the ring and outside of it doesn't hurt, then think again. These guys take a lot of bumps in even a match that only lasts a few minutes. Learning how to fall without breaking your neck is an art in and of itself.
But once again, they sometimes miss. They may not time it perfectly enough. They may slip up, or get pushed harder by their opponent than they anticipated. So much can go wrong. And this is usually where the more serious injuries occur.
One must also keep in mind that WWE superstars log several thousand miles a week, traveling to many different locations for live events. There may only be two shows televised per week (Raw and Smackdown), but they're also doing plenty of house shows every week in addition to the TV tapings. For those who may not know, a house show is a live event that is not televised.
Those who don't understand the business also don't understand how so many pro wrestlers have died at such a young age over the past few decades. The answer is simple. For all its glory and glamour, the wrestling business is one of the most demanding careers an athlete can have. The traveling, the number of events they do that force them to take bumps night in and night out...it all takes its toll. And still they have to find time to work out, keep themselves in shape, and practice polishing their in-ring skills while they're maintaining a grueling schedule.
This is what has caused so many wrestlers to turn to painkillers. Wrestling is fake, you say? Tell that to the guys who can barely get out of bed the morning after a 10-minute match. But it gets worse. The painkillers cause you to feel extremely lethargic, making it almost impossible to perform in the ring. So they take uppers along with them in order to compensate.
And that is where the trouble begins. Once you start mixing drugs, things can get ugly. If you're taking steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs to stay huge and ripped, then it's even worse. The combination of it all makes for a lethal concoction that has cost many a young wrestler his very life.
To those who have no respect for WWE or its superstars, I say you should reconsider. These people deserve respect and admiration for putting their bodies on the line night in and night out to entertain the masses. The bumps are real, the injuries are real, and I highly doubt that 99.9% of the WWE haters could last even one week in the business.
I'll be sad to see Edge go, because I've always been a big fan of his. I love his style in the ring, and his mic skills were fantastic. He didn't take steroids to try and get ahead, though he admitted trying them once and seeing after one cycle that they weren't for him. He set out to fulfill a dream he had since he was 10 years old, and he achieved it through passion, dedication, and hard work. How can you not admire someone like that?
But I am happy for one reason. I'm happy that they diagnosed this condition before the guy ended up in a wheelchair. He's still young, only 37, and he has his whole life ahead of him. It would have been a shame to see him live that life incapacitated, so at least now he can go on and do other things to be productive.
I have teased my family and friends over the years about becoming a WWE superstar myself. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't at least think about it from time to time. But when I look back, I have to say that I'm glad I never pursued that dream. I'm not sure the hectic travel schedule and the physical toll it takes on one's body would have been something I'd been enthusiastic about.
That's why I respect the men and women of WWE who get into that ring and put their bodies on the line. Those who don't should have just one conversation with Adam Copeland, and I think they'd quickly change their mind. Good luck, Edge, in whatever you decide to do. You'll be missed.
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