7 Times WWE Actually Did Something Classy

1. When They Started Providing Paid Rehab For Former Employees

Addiction and the wrestling lifestyle go hand in hand. As Jake Roberts outlined in the captivating 1999 documentary Beyond the Mat, wrestlers have always needed some cocktail of chemicals to survive, even if it€™s on prescription. Wrestlers have to down drugs to kill pain, drugs to help them sleep, drugs to help them wake up, and then drugs to keep them sane. Given the isolation, the strains on families, and the need to be doped up to keep a job, even the most optimistic and innocent souls get trapped in chemical dependence. When wrestlers started dropping like flies during the 2000s, and when Benoit committed the most horrific crime imaginable, WWE realised something had to change, and so they instituted a wellness policy - part of which was a promise to pay for drug rehab for all former employees. They have kept their word in this regard, and have even reportedly spent $100,000 on Scott Hall alone. We have no idea whether it was done for good reasons (genuine care) or cynical reasons (public relations) and it€™s arguable whether or not the overall wellness policy is even legit. But the rehab clause has been an undoubtedly classy addition from a company that is normally allergic to accepting responsibility for anything. WWE owes it to employees to at least offer them some help to get them back on track. It hasn€™t always been a success, but lives have been saved. Given the low standing perception that WWE has amongst the general public and investors, it€™s likely nobody would have expected such generous benevolence from the ruthless McMahon family.