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According to a 2014 study by Eastern Michigan University examining professional wrestlers who were active between 1985 and 2011, mortality rates for professional wrestlers are up to 2.9 times greater than the rate for men in the wider United States population.[1] A 2014 report by John Moriarty of the University of Manchester and Benjamin Morris of FiveThirtyEight also found that the mortality rate for professional wrestlers was significantly higher than that of athletes in other sports.[2][3][4] Experts suggest that a combination of the physical nature of the business, no off-season, and potentially high work load (with some wrestlers fighting more than 100 and even 200 matches per year), along with the drug culture in wrestling during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s contributes to high mortality rates among wrestlers.[5][6][7][8][9] Another study ascribes the higher death rate largely to higher rates of cardiovascular disease compared to the general population with morbidly obese wrestlers being especially at risk.[10][11]
Many promotions employ performers as "independent contractors" and do not offer company-sponsored group health insurance coverage in most instances. This is said to have a causal connection to their longevity, morbidity and mortality. WWE performers' status as independent contractors was spotlighted by John Oliver on an episode of his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in March 2019,[12][13][14] with Oliver calling on WWE fans to protest at WrestleMania 35.[12][13][14] WWE denied Oliver's critique.[15]
The concept of the untimely deaths of professional wrestlers was a frequent topic of discussion on the Opie & Anthony show.[16] After Scott Hall's death in 2022, Bret Hart and Kevin Nash talked about the premature death of several wrestlers, mentioning the mental and body damage as possible causes.[17][18]
- ^ Herman, Christopher W.; Conlon, Anna S. C.; Rubenfire, Melvyn; Burghardt, Andrew R.; McGregor, Stephen J. (5 November 2014). "The Very High Premature Mortality Rate among Active Professional Wrestlers Is Primarily Due to Cardiovascular Disease". PLOS ONE. 9 (11): e109945. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j9945H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109945. PMC 4220919. PMID 25372569.
- ^ Rhodes, David (8 August 2015). "Why do wrestlers so often die young?". BBC.
- ^ Morris, Benjamin (2014-04-24). "Comparing the WWF's Death Rate to the NFL's And Other Pro Leagues'". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ Morris, Benjamin (2014-04-21). "Are Pro Wrestlers Dying at an Unusual Rate?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ Farhi, Paul (9 April 2014). "The Ultimate Warrior joins a long list of wrestlers who died prematurely". The Washington Post.
- ^ Morris, Benjamin (24 April 2014). "Comparing the WWF's Death Rate to the NFL's And Other Pro Leagues'". FiveThirtyEight.
- ^ Morris, Benjamin (21 April 2014). "Are Pro Wrestlers Dying at an Unusual Rate?". FiveThirtyEight.
- ^ "The Most Dangerous Sport No One Talks About". Medical Daily. 21 January 2015.
- ^ The Masked Man (24 May 2011). "The Dead Wrestler of the Week Archive". Deadspin.
- ^ Herman, Christopher W.; Conlon, Anna S. C.; Rubenfire, Melvyn; Burghardt, Andrew R.; McGregor, Stephen J. (November 5, 2014). "The Very High Premature Mortality Rate among Active Professional Wrestlers Is Primarily Due to Cardiovascular Disease". PLOS One. 9 (11): e109945. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j9945H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109945. PMC 4220919. PMID 25372569.
- ^ "Wrestlers who died before age 50".
- ^ a b Oliver, John (March 31, 2019). WWE. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. HBO. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Dator, James (April 2, 2019). "Why John Oliver is calling for WWE fans to protest at WrestleMania". Retrieved April 4, 2019.
It's not a new story, but WWE hasn't fixed the problem.
- ^ a b Haysom, Sam (April 2, 2019). "John Oliver's 20-minute rant about the way WWE treats wrestlers is pretty shocking". Mashable. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (April 1, 2019). "WWE Hits Back Against John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight' Wrestling Takedown". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Richard Hatred (2017-11-28). Opie and Anthony: Wrestler Death Clock Compilation. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Kevin Nash responde a Bret Hart sobre la muerte prematura de los luchadores". 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Bret Hart reacciona al fallecimiento de Scott Hall". 15 March 2022.
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