01-11-2003, 11:56 PM
Quote:BOB HOLLY SHOWS HE IS A REAL LIFE CLUELESS PUTZPot, meet Kettle.
by Dave Scherer
Quote:Im sure this happens in every wrestling school around the country.Worse things happen.
Quote:Wrestling's school of hard knocks
Berkeley man's kin sue over his death
Chip Johnson Monday, September 23, 2002
Brian Ong was a youthful guy with an unrealistic fantasy to become a professional wrestler.
It seems absurd that a 5-foot-8, 175-pound man would seek his fortunes in an industry dominated by giants, but that's what Ong signed up for at a "boot camp" at All Pro Wrestling in Hayward last year.
Ong's fantasy ended in May 2001, not with a "bump" -- an industry term for a staged fall -- but with an all-too-real thud when he fell from the shoulders of a man about 7 feet tall and more than twice his weight.
The 24-year-old Berkeley man died in an ambulance while being transported to St. Rose Hospital.
His case came to light last week when attorneys for Ong issued news releases about his family's lawsuit against the training school, alleging negligence and fraud.
The damages suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, challenges the liability waiver Ong signed and alleges numerous causes of actions, including failure to provide adequate safety precautions for the workouts.
Ong wore no headgear or other protective equipment, and there were no mats to cushion a fall, Nancy Hersh, the attorney representing the Ong family, said.
News stories about Ong's death and the suit are an attempt to try his case in the media, said Robert Forni, an attorney representing school owner Roland Alexander, who would not comment.
But put the lawsuit aside, and you still have a dead man who chased a distant fantasy and paid for it every step of the way.
Even if his family loses in court, perhaps Ong's death will help turn inquiring eyes on the recruiting tactics, tuition costs and safety at Alexander's school.
Aspiring wrestlers at the school are asked to pay $6,000 for an intensive, 4- to 5-monthlong training course.
The school provides discounts for students who pay all or half the tuition up front and for those who join with a friend. For those without the cash, the school offers a financing plan, with interest rates as high as 82 percent, court documents allege.
The tuition at All Pro Wrestling, despite the school's claim to the contrary, is more than twice as much as students pay at some of dozens of similar schools around the country, including camps run by former professional wrestlers.
All Pro Wrestling's Web site also claims that "amateur wrestling makes for great cardio and toughens you up in the ring."
Real wrestling is a great workout, and I did it in high school, but my coach never told me that getting tossed on my head strengthened my heart.
In one of the drills at All Pro's Boot Camp, students spring from the ropes,
somersault and hit their backs -- bam! -- in the middle of the ring.
The Hayward warehouse where it takes place is filled with loud groans, as bodies slam onto the mat, then bounce back up, only to drop again.
But if it's cardiopulmonary conditioning you want, rather than chiropractic,
how about a good aerobics class that costs a lot less than $6,000?
The world of professional wrestling came clean about its shtick before a federal panel in 1989, admitting that it was a rehearsed, staged performance where none of the players was actually trying to hurt their opponents.
The admission freed the entertainment companies from the costs of meeting regulations imposed by state athletic agencies. Like most other states, California deregulated wrestling the same year.
All Pro Wrestling opened a year later, and has produced a few wrestlers who've received tryouts with the WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., the major league of the professional wrestling circuit.
But most of the wannabe pros have simply gotten the crap beat out of them for the sheer enjoyment of it.
"The people I look for are the ones who love pro wrestling," Alexander said in 1999. "Because either you love it or you're crazy."
His students must also be devoted, he said.
"There are no shortcuts to anything in life," Alexander said. "If you want to be a doctor, it takes time and study and years in school. If you want to be a baseball player, you've got to be dedicated and work your way up through the minor leagues. It's the same thing here."
Not really. Minor-league baseball players get paid.
Still, Alexander added: "Pro wrestling is a complex sport, a complex art form."
Ong's demise was anything but artful, according to the lawsuit. He suffered a concussion two months before his death but was never advised to seek medical treatment, the suit claims. In fact, he was still wobbly from a tough fall he took just minutes before he died, Hersh said.
When he hit the floor the last time, he began vomiting, lost consciousness and never recovered.
All this for a so-called sport involving a bunch of large actors in spandex?
The resurgence of popular wrestling has captured the minds of nostalgic parents and impressionable youths to the tune of 200 events and 2 million fans annually.
World Wrestling Entertainment, formerly known as WWF or the World Wrestling Federation, claims 13 percent of the Internet traffic among users between the ages of 12 and 34.
The notion of self-regulation in the world of professional wrestling seems about as distant as Ong's chances of carving out a professional wrestling career.
Perhaps shedding some light on his death will persuade elected officials to put a reverse suplex on the industry and require some sort of public accountability.