World Wrestling Entertainment has been around for a long time and despite all the babbles of the company certain to die a painful death due to declining viewership and interest, the empire of Vince McMahon will be around for a very long time. The Stanford-based promotion was originally just another territory in the olden days but upon purchasing the assets from his father, Vince McMahon decided to expand professional wrestling on a much larger scale.
The wrestling territories were fixed upon a single state and they and would strictly abide by the rules set forth by the governing body but the hungry and ambitious McMahon defied decades-old conventions and in the process, he destroyed the old system to bring along a revolution.
Professional wrestling exploded in popularity in the 1980s and since then, the industry has thrived upon drama and controversy. Every shred of real-life animosity and controversy is utilized to fuel the speculation of fans and to blur the boundaries of kayfabe and reality. Blurring the lines is a sure-fire way to drum up interest as suspension of belief is the essential concept of professional wrestling and WWE has pounced on a number of opportunities over the decades.
The Biggest Tragedy To Rock The Company
The real-life hatred between Matt Hardy and Edge regarding Lita spilled over to the programming. The contractual snag between the company and CM Punk was acknowledged on live television and served as a vehicle to build interest around the feud heading into Monday in the Bank 2011.
Essentially, wrestling promotions love to act upon happenings in the real life as controversy creates cash but throughout the long lifespan of the company, there have been a few calamities that were just far too much and are now considered taboo in the lore of WWE, and for good and justified reasons.
Indeed, WWE has suffered a number of disasters and this began as soon as the sport entered the national spotlight, with events such as Jimmy Snuka’s allegations and the infamous 1992 steroid scandal rocking the foundations of the company. Despite these events staggering the pillars, the company escaped collapse time and time again and continued operating but 2007 was the one year where wrestling fans wondered if the end was near for WWE and the industry in general.
The atrocities committed by Chris Benoit and the subsequent aftermath had pretty much crippled the company. Initially, with the details murky, the company dedicated an episode of RAW as a tribute to Benoit but as horrible details came to light, WWE distanced itself away from Benoit and ever since then, Benoit has never been mentioned on television and his tenure with the company stands erased.
While the company had ostracized his name and everything in association, the outside world had not. A number of publications, from tabloids to the press linked the tragedy to steroid use. The company came under fire by the federal government and several other entities as rampant steroid use was declared a major cause for concern in the pro wrestling industry.
The company had introduced the Wellness Policy in the year prior but the same was deemed completely ineffective and more of a façade than an actual system of policies. The double murder and suicide of Chris Benoit had pretty much disintegrated the little bit of credulity of the policy and WWE continued to face severe criticism for their lax attitude towards steroid and drug abuse.
In July of 2007, Congress had requested WWE to present documents pertaining to the Wellness Policy and the deadline was determined to be the 24th of August. WWE issued a response to the letter from Congress. The letter did not address much and only promised that a report regarding the policy would be handed over shortly.
Congress had issued a second letter back in July and while the company agreed to submit drug testing results dating back to September of 1998, the request to submit reports regarding the deaths of wrestlers was deemed impossible as the company was in the entertainment business and therefore, they did not have qualified personnel to conduct investigations.
Mere months after the incident and during the dialogue between Congress and WWE, reports about a company in Orlando, Florida ran rampant and according to the rumors, Benoit himself was a client of the pharmacy. Police busted the company in August of 2007 and further details came to light shortly after. The pharmacy had been distributing illegal steroids to a number of high-profile clients over the year and the list of clients included the names of over 20 wrestlers in the WWE.
The list was then published by Sports Illustrated and in panic; WWE went on to suspend several superstars in a span of a few weeks. The mass suspensions drew criticism, as implicated superstars such as Randy Orton barely missed television while less popular wrestlers such as Chris Masters, suddenly disappeared without a trace. Booker T was another notable name and the former champion was released from the promotion after his suspension.
WWE Was Set To Be The Subject Of A Congressional Inquiry
Pressure began to mount and a Congressional inquiry regarding WWE was set to be conducted in September of the same year but nothing much came out from the inquiry, as around September, the world had moved on from the issue of steroids in the wrestling world and so the matter was forgotten entirely by the end of the year. WWE had survived by the skin of its teeth but a stigma was stamped onto the professional wrestling industry and in the wake of these events, the company decided to move away from edgy programming and adopted a more family-friendly approach to television.
The transition to a milder form of entertainment hardly spelled an end to the troubles. The Wellness Policy drew persistent criticism and the more recent controversy surrounded Brock Lesnar. Lesnar, while working for WWE had participated in UFC 200, against Mark Hunt. Lesnar failed several drug tests in the lead up to the fight but WWE did not suspend Lesnar, reasoning that the policy only tested full-time athletes and Lesnar only worked a part-time schedule. This mirrors the situation with Randy Orton, illustrating the defects in the policy.
That recaps the horrid situation for the entirety of pro wrestling back in 2007. The Chris Benoit incident had shoo the very pillars of WWE and many people speculated that WWE would face severe sanctions by Congress as according to most, PED and pro wrestling are almost synonymous with each other and the company did not handle itself too well throughout the debacle.
Nothing came out of the Congressional inquiry but 2007 was a dark, dark year for WWE and the entire sport in general. The shadow of the tragedy and the following events continue to haunt the industry to this day and by all rights and accounts, professional wrestling was forever changed moving forward.