12 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Saving Paul Orndorff

3. When He Really Went Downhill

Post-neck injury in 2000, Paul started to go downhill physically and was in perpetual pain. However, he rallied to appear at the 2005 WWE Hall Of Fame. That was a happy moment for him personally, because Orndorff was back amongst his peers and received a very positive reception from the current roster at the time.

Travis really noticed a big change in his memory around that time, then the throat cancer his dad got in 2010 changed everything. Trav said his dad would call him and repeat the same stuff over and over again, then forget that they’d even spoke. He’d also get lost in airports en route to various conventions that his son didn’t even know he was booked on.

People (who didn't mean any harm by saying this) would respond that Paul was “fun” to be around and a good giggle, but his boy was horrified by the thought of his dad being unsafe. Dementia was claiming him. Slowly but surely, it was ripping Orndorff's personality away from him day by day. The fact he was allowed to roam around getting lost in various cities given his mental state is pretty alarming. Paul was seriously, seriously vulnerable.

Something terrible could've happened to him at any moment.

Orndorff began to look a lot older than some of his peers who were roughly the same age too. This would've been visible to anybody who kept an eye on the wrestling convention circuit around 10-15 years ago. It's crystal clear that he was struggling to function and needed care.