Well I'm lucky that Chris Newinski who is a part of the SLI who is a former WWE wrestler and actually a Chicagoan--I met Chris when he was an active wrestler and I got to see what went on behind the scenes when he had to retire because of concussions. We stayed in touch since he retired as an active wrestler. So as a friend I let him know I was doing the stuff with concussion work. When it came time to start the promotion, I suggested we could be the first wrestling promotion to actually work with you guys and have an active concussion policy. He said he loved it and it was amazing. When you see what's going on with Sidney Crosby, it just breaks your heart because you wonder if those issues could have been prevented with the right care. We're doing the same with our talent. It's a huge issue in the NFL. It's really going to change the culture whether people believe it or not. When you see the data behind the scenes, there's no way of getting out of this. The lawsuits are starting. You can understand why the major sports leagues want to downplay it for a variety of reasons. From the data standpoint and the stories I'm hearing, it's going to be a huge issue, like capital HUGE issue. There is no getting around this. Once the lawsuits start, there's going to be cultural shifts and changes in expectations of when an athlete can go back in. Then you are going to get into different liabilities of players. Then there's the whole issue of college sports. You can understand professionals signing waivers saying they're willing to take on the liability of being able to take on the concussion--what are you going to do for an 18-year-old college athlete? Are they going to sign away their rights? It's going to fundamentally change college sports as well.
Billy Corgan hopes to make wrestling a smashing success
You grew up playing sports as well as a kid right?
Long story there, but I played up to high school and because of family circumstances and a couple other things, I stopped playing and got more into music. I was a total jock and would have preferred to be an athlete than a musician. I love sports, I love competition, I can't understand why people don't understand what's beautiful about it. There's something so pure about an athletic competition when you have a level playing field. I watched the game this weekend between Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton. I was thinking it was really interesting that this guy had a chance to come back in the stadium and win the game. The concussion issue is going to be massive. I played when I was a kid. You know when you get hit you get looped silly and the coach is calling you pussy and telling you get back in the game. When you are 13 years old, that's the last thing you want to be called.
You are writing the storylines, as someone who has hopped in the ring before, can you imagine a scenario where you would again?
Honestly, I'd really, really rather not. If I did, there would have to be a damn good reason, and right now there isn't a damn good reason [Laughs].
Resistance Pro Wrestling's "Rise"
7 p.m. Friday, Excalibur
Tickets: $20 at http://resistancepro.com
Billy Corgan will be signing Resistance Pro merchandise at the event, and there is a free meet-and-greet with the talent afterward.
