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  NoDQ.com > Columns > On the Mat w/ Matt Henry: The injury plague
Posted by Matt Henry on 06/08/2009 at 02:34 PM

Hello everyone. Welcome to another edition of "On The Mat, with Matt Henry" Before I get into my column I feel I should say something about my lack of columns. I guess my only excuse is I simply haven't had anything of value to say. Rather than bore you with a "nothing" column every few weeks I choose to take a break for a while. After the recent rash of injuries I felt I may finally have something of importance to share.

Some unfortunate news may have come out of last nights Extreme Rules PPV. Word around the web is that Batista has torn his biceps tendon and will require surgery tomorrow morning. The supposed injury occurred prior to his match against Randy Orton last night, which explains why the match was so quick. I'm holding out hope until Raw tonight that this is just a rumor and that Dave Batista is just fine, but with the way things have gone lately nothing would be shocking.

Big Dave had only just recently returned from a rather serious injury and it seems the same fate has befallen him that also struck Umaga, and more recently Ken Kennedy. This is a very tough break for Batista because he is in the twilight of his career and had talked about hanging up the boots in a year or so anyway. Dave got his start a bit later than most and is already pushing 40 years old. I sincerely hope that Batista is ok, and we see him hold onto the belt for a while. I feel he deserves the push and a nice run with the strap. When Dave is on his "A" game very few big men are on his level. A torn bicep is likely to keep him on the shelf for 6 months or better. Batista and the WWE cannot afford to lose another main eventer.

HBK has been on vacation since his epic battle with Taker at this years Mania. Triple H has also been on break for quite some time, and as we all know by now Ken Kennedy was released due to his string of injuries and failure to properly protect himself and his opponents. I was sad to see Mr. Kennedy go, but I cannot blame the WWE for cutting their loses. They spent an enormous amount of time and money creating and promoting the character and got very few miles out of him. He seemed to always be on the DL and just when he would get some steam going for him another injury would put him on the back burner. I feel he will wind up back in the WWE before his career is over, most likely sooner than later. Ken just needs to take some time off and get his body healthy again. Unfortunately he will probably seek work with TNA or ROH as soon as his no compete clause expires. Who can blame him? He needs the money and the exposure to stay fresh in everyone's mind, but he also needs to be certain that he is 110% before he risks serious injury. I'm a big fan of Mr. Kennedy and I wish him the best.

Now let's look at Umaga. He spent nearly a year on the shelf only to return for a single match and suffer another injury pushing him back another few months. Umaga is a different story that Ken, because he has Samoan blood running through his veins. Samoans are notoriously tougher than your average man and Umaga is a prime example of this. When he finally returned he looked better than he ever has. He slimmed down about 30 or 40 pounds, added some new moves to his arsenal, and even better... He took the mic and opened his mouth! I only hope the WWE allows him to further develop that side of his personality. I was psyched to hear him voice his aggression and I think the few words he said spoke volumes. He would be best served to continue along those lines. Say very little, but make your words mean something. Umaga has all the tools to be a major player for a very long time.

Onto the female side of the coin we have Candice Michelle. She came back too early not once, but twice! 3 injuries in three appearances? That's unheard of and I feel she is not taking her rehab seriously. She isn't a wrestler, she is just another pretty face and not much more. WWE should drop her like a bad habit and put the focus on women who can work. Natalya is highly skilled, Mickey James is amazing, Beth Pheonix is probably the best female worker of all time, and they have a roster full of other women with the passion and desire to work hard and improve. Candice seems to not care. She has been seen at sporting events, concerts and other places of public interest. If she's well enough to do those things, she should be well enough to step up her rehab and her training. It's frustrating when so many people would kill for her spot, yet she still has a job. Ken Kennedy gets fired, but Candice Michelle still has a job? Who's smoking what? Kennedy will put asses in seats, Candice is just eye candy.

Wrestling is a contact sport and injuries are going to happen, but it would seem that something could be done to lessen the amount and the severity of the incidents. There comes a point when working hurt isn't working smart. A broken nose, a broken hand, that's one thing. But guys working with muscle strains and ligament damage, that's just bad business. The guys are so afraid of losing their spot that they push through serious pain, that you or I would be bed ridden from. The WWE needs to do more to assure their talent that they will still have their place when they come back from injury. No one should be forced or even asked to compete when they have a knee blown out or a shoulder dislocated. I know these men are considered superhuman, but they are still human none the less. It's situations like those I just discussed that create such a need for pain pill addiction. The guys wouldn't be popping pills like tic tacs, if they didn't have to work hurt.

(Before you read the following paragraph please understand that this is merely one mans opinion and not the opinions of anyone associated with the websites you may be reading this column on! I do not condone recreational drug use, and the experience I am speaking from is mine and mine alone. What worked for me may not work for everyone and drugs of any kind are not to be taken lightly. Marijuana can become a problem for some people if they rely too heavily on it. Marijuana can also impair your ability to drive a car and does cause drowsiness! If you are a marijuana user I encourage you to use it safely!!!)

I also think (And I'm fully prepared for stones to be thrown here!) that the WWE should stop testing and penalizing for marijuana use. As a man with 3 blown discs in my lower back, I myself avoided my prescribed pain meds, and instead choose to use marijuana. Marijuana is not addictive and it's mostly harmless. A lot of guys smoke pot to help ease muscle and joint pain and when done in a controlled situation I see no real harm in it. I am not advocating marijuana use in minors, nor do I think it's ok to smoke a joint and then get in the ring to work. I simply feel that weed is safer than pain pills. On days when my back was so bad that I couldn't get out of bed, I would have to take between 4 and 6 500mg Vicodin capsules just to be able to get to my feet and stand up straight. However, I could achieve the same goal in much less time by simply taking one or two hits off a joint. Constant use of pain medication has a harmful effect on the kidneys, liver, and stomach. It can also cause you to believe you are better off than you actually are and cause you to re-injure your body without knowing it until the medication wears off. To get off my soap box I will close this out by saying that countless men have died from pain killer addiction, yet there have been no documented cases of death from the use of marijuana. However anything is harmful if it is abused, pot included!

It's been a tough year for the WWE superstars and I hope that they can find away to bounce back and prolong the careers of these gladiators. I think one big benefit would be mandatory time off once a year. Give each member of the roster a month or so off each year to heal up nagging injuries and spend time with their families. This would do a world of good, both physically and mentally. Would you want to do your job all year long without a vacation? The only time these men and women get off is when they are too beat up to continue. That is a case of too little too late. The goal of the WWE should be to prevent injuries.

Well folks, that's all I have for today. I look forward to your feedback and I hope you all have a great week. Take care of yourselves and be good to each other. Thank you all once again, for going "On The Mat, with Matt Henry!



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