Three former wrestlers have reportedly sued the WWE, alleging that they may have suffered irreversible bodily damage during their tenure with the company.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) has come under fire from three former wrestlers, who have filed a class action lawsuit in California against their one-time employer. News of the lawsuit filed Thursday, April 9 was first reported by TMZ.
Three former wrestlers reportedly claimed that they suffered serious brain and other damages by virtue of "egregious mistreatment," the celebrity news website wrote.
In the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by TMZ, wrestlers Luther Reigns, Big Russ McCullough and Ryan Sakoda (stage names) claimed that the WWE has for years subjected its wrestlers to extreme physical barbarity that it knew, or should have known, caused latent conditions along with long term irreversible bodily damage, including brain damage.
According to the lawsuit, although wrestling is scripted, it is nonetheless savagely brutal. Moreover the WWE is in the business of selling violence.
According to WrestlingInc, the three wrestlers Russ McCullough a.k.a. Big Russ McCullough, Ryan Sakoda and Matt Wiese a.k.a. Luther Reigns are seeking damages and a prohibition that would ban the WWE from subjecting its wrestlers to the physical punishment.
Moreover, the lawsuit reveals an interesting inside peek into wrestling, saying that the goal of the WWE is to evoke "heat." Basically, WWE reportedly elicits heightened violence using various props, such as tables, ladders and chairs. The lawsuit also singles out numerous moves, such as Powerslam, Jawbreaker, Facebreaker, Clutch Slam, Cobra, Bulldog and the Brain Buster. It also singles out the chair shots to the head, which was eventually banned in 2010.
One of the most alarming points from the lawsuit is the claim that the WWE intimidates its wrestlers to work even when they are injured by various methods, such as threatening to strip them of their position with the organization if they refuse. It says wrestlers are "universally encouraged to wrestle through the pain."
The lawsuit further mentions Canadian professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who was routinely hit in the head with a chair. When Benoit, who killed his wife and son along with himself, was autopsied after his death, a doctor concluded his brain was reportedly so injured from CTE that it appeared like the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.
It's been a matter of debate whether or not WWE is real, however, if the suit is anything to go by, wrestling fans now know that although the wrestling matches are scripted, the pain, nevertheless is as real as it gets.
Do you think the three former wrestlers are in the right in suing the WWE? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
