Stamford-based WWE Faces Class Action Over Concussion Claims

Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment used its muscle to market and “sell” violence to a euphoric fan base at the expense of the mental and physical health of its performers, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a former wrestler.

The lawsuit, seeking class action status, was filed recently in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., by William Albert Haynes III. Haynes, who lives in Portland, wrestled in the WWE—then known as the World Wrestling Federation—under the name Billy Jack Haynes from 1986 to 1988. In those two years, the lawsuit claims, he suffered at least 15 concussions, with the blows to the head sometimes coming from a chair, chain or other heavy item. Many times, Haynes claims, he was forced by WWE officials to take pain-numbing drugs to help him wrestle through injuries. He regularly performed 27 days a month, and at one point, went 97 straight days without a day away from the ring, the lawsuit says. He claims he now suffers from depression, symptoms of dementia and that he even contracted hepatitis C from coming in contact with other wrestlers’ blood in the ring.