Dazzlers Corner: Wrestling with Insurance
Wrestling with Insurance with Ken Dunlop
There was always a big difference between wrestling in Victoria and NSW, in Victoria it’s always been door deals at least from when I started in 1978, and as far as I know there was never any insurance for the wrestlers. In NSW at that time wrestling was under control of the Department of Sports and Recreation and most shows were guaranteed money from the Clubs and most promotions had some form of insurance. Things changed dramatically in NSW in the early 80s when a wrestler passed away in the dressing room, he had knocked his head badly during his match and he managed to finish the match and got back to the dressing room and sat on a chair and passed away. There was a massive six year court case. From that day on every Club in NSW demanded that every promotion must have full comprehensive insurance and you had to give each Club proof of your insurance.
Even when I was teaching wrestling at Doveys Gym l took out public liability insurance to protect myself and the young guys learning. In the year 2000 the NSW Government dropped wrestling and the rules became less strict, and most Clubs also stopped paying guaranteed money so it became like Victoria in doing door deals. I know some promotions ask the wrestlers to sign waivers so they have no protection at all and I personally think that is disgusting. I don’t care what the cost but every promotion should have full comprehensive insurance, l have heard terrible stories of guys getting injured and the promotions want nothing to do with them. My younger brother Allan who wrestled as Red Hot Ricky Diamond seriously injured his shoulder about 6 years ago and the promotion did nothing to help him, as he doesn’t have private health insurance he had to go on a waiting list for an operation and 5 years later he had the surgery, again to me that was disgusting.
If any wrestlers suffer serious injuries and miss time from work the promotion should help them. That’s why I believe that professional wrestling in every State of Australia should fall under the local State Government Sports and Recreation. The same rules as professional boxing, every detailed concussion should be listed, every single injury should be listed. And if the Government have control it will force every promotion to have insurance, this will weed out some of the weaker promotions. I know that alot of people won’t agree with me and think l’m out of touch, maybe l am but I have always been a huge believer of looking after the wrestlers. Some promotions might not want me to come to their shows due to this article and if that’s the case, so be it.
Yes, it’s crazy these days that they go out in the crowds so often, l went to 6 shows last year and each show guys fought out in the crowds, so dangerous. It was much stricter back then, as l have said before don’t forget we had to have licensing police at every show, you weren’t meant to do alot of things, we were lucky we got to know some of them pretty well and on the odd occasion l would mention to them what l wanted to do and luckily they turned a blind eye.
Back then it was illegal in NSW for men to wrestle women, and the time l did an angle with a female and we had a short match, the licensing police again turned a blind eye but someone (and I knew who) reported us to the department of sport and I had to meet with the board and apologize and agree that it wouldn’t happen again.
