Topic > The silent cry of loneliness, drugs and pain in…

Wrestlers would be away from family for most of the year. They would return home only when and if they were injured. Former Rowdy wrestler Roddy Piper was mentally affected by everything at once. According to Piper, “I experienced what we in the profession call the silent scream” (Behind Fun Façade…). The scream of silence implies loneliness, drugs and pain. It was overwhelming for the fighters, both mentally and physically, to be able to accept everything that was happening in and out of the ring. The amount of pain they were in physically affected them mentally as well. Being on the road didn't just do so much. the wrestlers were physically exhausted, but also mentally. The wrestlers had become socially affected by this traumatic way of life. Rowdy Roddy Piper explains the struggle of what the wrestlers went through during his narration: You're in your hotel room. You're banged up. up, numb and alone. You don't want to go down to the bar or restaurant. The walls breathe. (Behind Fun Façade...) There are fighters like Piper who realized how this was destroying him mentally. Mental abuse was sometimes caused by the physical harm that occurred while wrestling in the ring. Former heavyweight champion, Chris Benoit was known for being one of the best wrestlers in World Wrestling Entertainment to ever step into the ring. Chris appeared to be smaller than a sample looks. To prove himself as a champion, he had to constantly work and fight for that position. Benoit took steroids to have a great physique. His steroid use caused a change in behavior. It began... in the middle of the card... of their fighters. The fact that those in charge of the industry did not care only caused an increase in the mortality rate. The more deaths occurred within the industry, the more the industry continued to be watched by the media. The media began receiving medical reports from doctors indicating the cause of death and how many wrestlers died from it. Swartz stated that "at least 65 wrestlers died in that period, 25 of heart attacks or other coronary problems - an extraordinarily high rate for people, junior medical officials say" (Behind the Funny Facade...). Once all of this became public, world wrestling promoters and those in positions of power began to take action. It took many tragedies for the company to understand the difference between right and wrong and understand that wrestlers are also human beings and have health too