Dwayne Johnson (he dont wanna be known as the Rock no more) has a few words for WWE stars....don't do drugs.

i have trouble believing the ol' brahma bull that he never took anything during his wrestling career, but i guess i'll have to take his word for it.  he's right about one thing though.  it's not these guys' bodies that will propel them to the top (and stay there) it's their heads (as in, their brains...if they have any).

personally, i hope the long arm of the law reaches out and snags every single one of these guys who are using steroids, HGH, and every other drug for the sake of making it to the ring day after day after day.  apparently, the long line of former wrestlers who have died, with drugs and/or alcohol being a contributing factor, isnt enough to help the current crop of sports entertainers see the potential damage this stuff can do.

heck, we know hulk hogan used (i'm not even going to debate this), and even though he's still alive, he's far from being in good physical health.

the sport is violent enough (yes, they do get hurt sometimes) without the need for guys continually popping pills every day just so they can walk to the ring that night.

how do we fix it?

yeah, i know alot of people dont care.  some because they dont watch wrestling and think it's a complete joke, others because they do watch, and want to see their favorite performer out there every time the tune in.

if you dont like wrestling, you should have quit reading at the title.

if you do and you think all drugs should be legalized.....stop here.

for starters, wrestlers face a never-ending schedule that includes up to (or over) 300 in-ring appearances a year.  most of the other days they are travelling to the next arena in the next city, state, or country half-way around the world.  this needs to stop, and right now.

i've heard the excuse as to why baseball players use steroids or greenies to get up (or stay up) for the next game, and it actually fits wrestlers better.  baseball players play maybe 8 months out of the year.  a normal series is 3 games, the average road trip is about 9 games (i'm guessing on that) and then they play homestands that usually last at least a week.  wrestlers dont have homestands, and rarely stay in the same city for more than 2 days.  they also rarely have time off, unless they're seriously injured (or arent performing and go away to "train" and get better).

if the wrestling promoters refuse to have a true offseason, they need to rotate their performers so they all get regular time off.  about 2 weeks every 3 months would be great, just enough time to rest their bodies and spend some time with their families.

this could easily be done and still maintain a year-round schedule without losing fans or the all important $$$$ that rolls in at each venue.

the 2nd thing (maybe this should be the first) that needs to happen is to crack down big time on those who are supplying and/or allowing the drug use to occur.  this means you vince mcmahon.  you and every one of your "yes" men that are too afraid to take a stand and work to get the drugs out of the business.

the next thing is to get former wrestlers (both known users and those who [at least claim] havent, to educate current and up-and-coming wrestlers about the dangers of drug use, and how you can compete and get to the top without the "help" of steroids, HGH, cocaine, alcohol....you name it.

around the 1st of the year, "the big show" as he's known in the business, suddenly left without explanation.  a few weeks later, i learned that he was both physically and emotionally drained from the hectic schedule and painful matches.  for those who dont know, the big show got his name because he's listed at 7' tall and over 500 pounds.  this may be slightly exaggerated, but still, if the biggest (literally) athlete in your sport cant take the daily pounding on his body, you have to ask just how demanding the sport really is.

much like my feelings about every other sport, i will gladly watch less gifted athletes perform in the ring if it means they're doing it legally and with some sense of intelligence.

so maybe john cena cant lift umaga up onto his shoulders, or bobby lashley cant toss a 220 pound man half-way across the ring.  perhaps if they couldnt, we could get back to a little more wrestling, and a little less brawling.

just like i'd be perfectly ok with not seeing 7 home runs hit in every game.  a couple doubles into the right-center gap, a triple down the line, and some good old fashioned small ball (i.e. stealing bases, bunting runners over, sacrifice flies that score runners from 3rd) would be just fine with me.

i'd trade in all the feats of super-human strength in wrestling for more arm-drag takedowns, drop toe holds, and submission moves.  of course, i'd trade all that in too if the women were better in-ring performers.