There's a proverb in wrestling: The first day any wrestler starts their journey in this industry, they are each handed a "bump card." A bump card signifies how many times they can take hits that leave them "punch drunk" before it turns dire of a neurodegenerative disease, or as we know it as, CTE . Former pro wrestler turned neuroscience, Dr. Chris Nowinski, has marveled in his work of providing cutting edge research to help wrestlers achieve long fulfilling careers without suffering the effects of head trauma. Since his advocacy, Dr. Nowinski has seen constructive improvements in CTE protocols since the passing of Test, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Mr. Fuji, Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, and the tragic death that brought these issues to the forefront, Chris Benoit.
"Wrestling is dramatically safer than it used to be, 'cause they're putting top down constraints on what can happen," Dr. Nowinski said on "Talk Is Jericho." "We all want to be the star of the show, have the biggest bump, take the biggest risk, but if everybody does that, it gets out of control; people get hurt. So, I couldn't be more proud of the way the wrestling industry has responded to this work in the last, you know, 12 years."
When asked by Chris Jericho what he's noticed on how WWE and other promotions have cut down the dangers of recurring head injuries,Dr. Nowinski noted he's seeing more wrestlers choose smarter yet safer moves to execute, with hopes of producing a positive reaction from the crowd, there's more visibility of doctors at ringside, and most importantly, less chair shots to the head.
"The only thing the public really knows is, like, the chair shots are banned to the head and all that in WWE," Dr. Nowinski replied. "I guess in AEW, there's different...it's extremely rare...certain things need to happen to let it be allowed. I would say a lot of it is driven by different risk management choices from the performers themselves. So you are now empowered to realize, like, 'I don't need to go off the top of that ladder through a table if there's another way I can get the same pop,' sort of think about the reward in a more explicit sense and think about brain health."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
