Years of “tombstone piledrivers”, “chair shots”, and “flying head butts” have caused former wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to follow in the footsteps of former NHL and NFL players.
According to CNN, two former pro wrestlers, one who performed under the name Skull Von Krush, have filed a concussion lawsuit against the WWE.
“Under the guise of providing entertainment, the 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,” the lawsuit said.
The two former pro wrestlers, Vito LoGrasso, 50, and Evan Singleton, 20, say that the WWE encouraged excessive violence leading to both of them suffering from serious neurological damage. According to the lawsuit, LoGrasso now suffers from “serious neurological damage” and has memory loss, depression and anxiety. Singleton was one of the youngest wrestlers in WWE history and now has “an array of serious symptoms,” including tremors, convulsions, memory loss and “impaired ability to reason”.
The lawsuit also mentions how former wrestlers Christ Benoit and Andrew “Test” Martin, were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in their brains due to repeated head trauma. CTE is associated with memory loss, confusion, depression, aggression and eventual dementia.
“The WWE has never concealed any medical information related to concussions, or otherwise from our talent,” said the WWE’s attorney, “We will vigorously contest this lawsuit.”
