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PWInsider.com acquired a copy of the lawsuit filed on 10/23 in the United States District Court of Oregon against World Wrestling Entertainment by Billy Jack Haynes III, who wrestled for the company for several years in the late 1980s.
The 30 page lawsuit, obviously designed to be similar to the one brought against the NFL by former players, claims that WWE "has, for decades, subjected its wrestlers to extreme physical brutality that it knew, or should have known, caused long-term irreversible bodily damage, including brain damage."
While explaining that professional wrestling is a performance, the lawsuit breaks down the potential for injury and even death, citing the fall that resulted in Owen Hart's passing in 1999 and bringing up different concussions and injuries others, including Mick Foley and Candice Michelle have been publicly documented to have suffered over the years. It also cites a number of wrestling maneuvers used by WWE performers that can cause injury to those in the ring.
The lawsuit paints the picture of WWE as an organization that ignores injuries (citing Stephanie McMahon claiming on record to a Congressional investigation that WWE has never had one documented concussion) and that the company only launched their Wellness Policy after the death of a wrestler (true, Eddie Guerrero) and a Congressional investigation (incorrect, as the Wellness Policy was in place well before then-Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman looked into the wrestling industry).
It also claims that WWE, through it's staging, utilizes stunts like "chair shots" to put professional wrestlers at risk for brain injuries, citing the 11 chair shots Mick Foley suffered against The Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble and using statements made by Stephanie McMahon-Levesque during the Congressional investigation to support that claim.
The quote in question: "For example, if there are a number of guys in the ring, like say there is five guys attacking one guy, and I am a good guy going to come out, if I come out by myself, I am going to get beat down just as bad as the other guy. But if I come out with a chair, I might have a better chance. Logically, so that is how the chairs are used. You might have seen â€â€ or I don't know if you have seen any of our scripts â€â€ but there might be chair shots written in at some point."
The lawsuit also tries to connect the death of former WWE performer Lance Cade in 2010 to the fact that he was involved in an angle two years before where Shawn Michaels repeatedly beat him with a chair. The lawsuit also claims that WWE has profited off the violence of the chairshot with stories on their website and that despite banning chairs to the head, continues to use the imagery of chairs to the head while promoting the WWE Network.
The lawsuit also alleges that while chairshots are "banned", WWE still encourages talents to perform dangerous stunts that can result in injuries in Ladder matches, steel cage matches, Inferno matches, Table Matches and Hell in A Cell. Even the Punjabi Prison is cited.
While some of the allegations certainly would ring true in how the company (and indeed, not just WWF in the 1980s but the entire wrestling industry) handled injuries during that time period, it doesn't reflect the current WWE regime correctly at all. There is no blood today and even the slightest concern of a concussion leads to talents being held out of the ring. The company has regular drug testing as well as a comprehensive medical testing that talents go through before signing deals and then continue to be tested over the course of their runs. WWE has full-time medical professionals working for the company. There are a number of maneuvers (piledriver comes to mind) talents are banned from performing due to the risk of injury. They for years have offered rehab assistance to former competitors and this year, added investment assistance and debt consolidation assistance. The company is nowhere near what they used to be in the 1980s in terms of how they handle their talents. The differences in the scheduling in the 1980s and today alone for live events is proof enough of that alone.
One of the cornerstones of the lawsuit is the allegation that several former WWE performers have been diagnosed with CTE, citing Chris Benoit and Andrew "Test" Martin as wrestlers who were shown to have been suffering from the disease. While that is likely there have been and will be others who we learn have been diagnosed with CTE, it is also impossible for WWE (or anyone else) to protect against a medical condition that no one knew, scientifically, actually existed and WWE has been very progressive (after initially dismissing the claims) in adapting the Sports Legacy Institute's findings and mandates, including being one of the first major athletically-centered organizations to donate money to help fund additional research. So, to claim the company is ignorant even today would just not be factual.
The lawsuit also brings up Haynes' own personal experiences working for WWE, claiming:
*He was perpetually exhausted working 27 days a month for the company (in that time period, quite possible) and due to that exhaustion, was more susceptible to being injured or hurting others.
*He was allegedly "pressured by WWE to wrestle through his injuries, including his head injuries." (again, in that time period, quite possible.)
*Over the course of his two years with WWE, Haynes claimed he suffered "15 concussions", yet was was never encouraged by WWE physicians to seek the help of a neurologist and had his injuries downplayed by WWE staff. Haynes also claimed he was never warned about potential head injuries and if he had been, would not have worked for WWE. (This paints a picture that Haynes would not have potentially gotten concussions working for other wrestling promotions, which is silly. The physicality of professional wrestling would obviously state otherwise.)
*Haynes was allegedly "forced to compete in Chain Matches" where he and other wrestlers were instructed and encouraged to use the chain on each other. (Haynes and the late Hercules Hernandez did indeed do a program that featured chain matches)
*Haynes alleges he was "forced, and encouraged, to take steroids and other illicit drugs. He did so at the behest of WWE. WWE intimated that he would be fired if he refused. He received steroids, along with various other illicit drugs, directly from WWE-affiliated physicians on a monthly basis. These drugs masked the pain stemming from his WWE matches, and caused him to wrestle through dangerous injuries, including injuries to his head."
*Haynes claims that due to the injuries suffered while working for WWE, he now suffers from depression and exhibits symptoms of dementia.
*Haynes also alleges that "While wrestling for WWE, Haynes, and other wrestlers, also contracted Hepatitis C. This occurred when Haynes, and the other wrestlers, at the behest of WWE, would become covered in each other’s blood during matches."
Haynes is asking for a jury trial and is seeking other professional wrestlers who worked for WWE to join him in a class action suit.
It should also be noted that while Haynes is claiming these injuries occurred during the two year time-span he performed for WWF (as it was known at the time), he wrestled for four years before signing with WWE and then continues wrestling (including a stint in WCW) through 1996 - yet the lawsuit, while citing Haynes' career accomplishments outside of WWE to establish his standing as a performer, also ignores the possibility that the use of blood, potential for injuries, etc. could have also happened outside of the auspices of WWE when Haynes was working for other promotions.
While WWE has yet to be officially served with the lawsuit, over the weekend, WWE responded to the lawsuit with the following statement: "Billy Jack Haynes performed for WWE from 1986-1988. His filed lawsuit alleges that WWE concealed medical information and evidence on concussions during that time, which is impossible since the condition now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) had not even been discovered. WWE was well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged. Current WWE procedures include ImPACT testing for brain function, annual educational seminars and the strict prohibition of deliberate and direct shots to the head. Additionally, WWE has committed significant funding for concussion research conducted by the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), leaders in concussion research, and WWE Executive Vice President Paul Levesque sits on SLI's board."
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