First off, I have no connection to the incident below, I’m just asking out of curiosity.
Second, I know pro wrestling is not a legitimate competition. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I’m asking the following.
At a recent Pay per View, a pro wrestler (“the Blue Meanie”) was involved in a preplanned brawl with several other wrestlers. During the worked fight, another wrestler (“JBL”) legitimately assaulted the Blue Meanie. On the video, JBL can be seen clearly picking his shots and focusing on a previous injury on the Meanie’s face, busting open the injury which had been closed by fourteen staples. In addition, the Blue Meanie has said some unkind things about JBL on the Meanie’s website and JBL is considered by many to be a locker-room bully.
Considering the physically interactive nature of pro wrestling in general, would it be possible* for the Meanie to have JBL arrested and/or file a civil suit?
I’ve heard of cases where other pro atheletes have had criminal charges pressed for things that have happened during a competition, but with wrestlers routinely doing moves that can cause serious injury if improperly excecuted, would it likely to be harder to prove require then if it had happened in, say, a bar?
Would testimony about JBL’s past bullying by eyewitnesses likely be allowed?
Mods, since I’m asking for opinions on the legal system, this seemed suited more for GD then GQ or IMHO. If I’m incorrect, would you please move it to the proper forum?
*By possible, I mean possible with any reasonable chance of the arrest leading to charges filed or the civil suit having a reasonable chance of being won. I’m assuming reasonably competent attorneys on both sides.
Thank in avance - DESK
I doubt that either a criminal case or a civil lawsuit would get too far. As long as the attacker was not trying to kill or gravely injure the person who was injured, the attackee assumed the risk of being hurt when he stepped into the ring. Someone who is involved in pro wrestling knows that he may have chairs thrown at him, be thrown against the ropes, body-slammed, etc. He knows, and nevertheless takes part in the activity.
I am trying to find an article about a wrestler who was found liable for breaking a fellow performer’s neck because he deviated from the “script.”
If JBL’s attacking the Meanie was a shoot (IOW unplanned/not a performance), then he is liable and relevant testimony could be introduced.
There are all kinds of works disguised as shoots and vice versa, as promoters and bookers and writers try to keep ahead of the audience, the vast majority of which knows the “secret” of professional wrestling and watches for reasons other than the win/loss record of their favorites.
Remember, just because the outcome is predetermined, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. My googling is being hampered because of the multitude of hits for “pro wrestler/ing” and “broken neck.”
He was signed to be a jobber for the Rockers (a tag team at the time), and they did a move on him which broke his neck.
He told them that he couldn’t move, they continued the match anyway (rolled him from his stomach onto his back and double-elbow-smashed him off the top ropes).
He sued the WWF and won huge.
A participant in a pro wrestling match assumes a certain amount of risk, but he also has a certain degree of protection, such as the script and the reasonable behavior of his fellow participants.
Just like Todd Bertuzzi and Marty McSorley were criminally liable for their actions, so should JBL be for his. That you are engaged in entertainment of which a certain level of violence is the norm, that doesn’t mean that escalating that violence to a criminal level is acceptable.
I think the key point is that pro wrestling isn’t a spontaneous competitive event where things can sometimes get out of hand. It is improvised physical entertainment (as I understand it). It’s more like stunt work than playing football or hockey. They know who wins and loses before the match, and work with their “opponent” to put on a good physical show before the end of the match. Individual moves may be decided on at the spur of the moment, but it isn’t a real competition. There is constant communication between the wrestlers and referee to keep the match on track.
If a stunt fight resulted in one stuntman giving a real beat down on another stuntman, there would be no question about whether or not a suit would be successful. Sometimes stuntmen/wrestlers get hurt, but if the injury is intentional, then someone should get in trouble.
JohnBckWLD, generally when a wrestling fan says this, what we mean is that many of the blows and moves are real, even if the effect is exaggerated. For example, the chairshot; when a wrestler is hit across the back with a metal chair, it’s a real (not gimmicked) chair. The wrestler getting hit knows it’s coming, can prepare for it, and knows his opponent is aiming it to minimize the impact. All that doesn’t change the fact that it it’s a real chair against a bare back. Similarly, some wrestlers will legit hit their opponent (with their opponents OK) across the forehead to “bust them open”. Nowadays most just "blade”, which involves cutting themselves with a hidden razor blade fragment.)
The above is one of the reasons I’m curious about my questions in the OP. Unlike boxing, where the contact is always legit or a stunt show, where the blows are always fake, wrestling has a unique combination of the two.
From a practical standpoint, and I have no particular expertise in this area, I think you’d have a hard time selling no pun intended these charges to a jury made up of people who aren’t members of the so-called “Internet Wrestling Community.” Regardless of the evidence offered to them, I have the feeling that the jurors (who, by and large, would not be wrestling fans, much less fans of the type to be familiar with the allegations of JBL’s locker-room bullying, and much less fans of the type to be familiar with the circumstances surrounding the allegations and the people who are leaking them) would see this in the same way William V. did in post #2.
I’m not a lawyer, and I’m certainly not licensed in New York (where the incident took place), so I’m not going to speak to the nuances of New York law. If this survived a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, though, I’d be surprised if Meanie won, even though I personally feel that JBL committed a serious wrong. The jurors just wouldn’t buy it, IMO.
Injuries do happen, because as one wrestler once said, you can’t fake gravity. High impact body slams will have an effect. Leg drops can be very dangerous, if not done perfectly. Piledrivers will break necks if a mistake is made. Many of the moves originally were legit martial arts techniques (the “super” kick is a standard sliding sidekick, as is the front elbow smash - very powerful). So, it will all be about intent, and the ability to prove it.
I never would have guessed the front elbow smash was really a standard sliding sidekick!
On topic: if JBL was intentionally trying to damage the meanie, then he should be punsihed as is appropriate. That it happened during a pro wrestling match will make the meanie’s case harder, but shouldn’t be a problem if he can establish that JBL meant to hurt him.
I never would have guessed the front elbow smash was really a standard sliding sidekick!
On topic: if JBL was intentionally trying to damage the meanie, then he should be punsihed as is appropriate. That it happened during a pro wrestling match will make the meanie’s case harder, but shouldn’t be a problem if he can establish that JBL meant to hurt him.