Several Benoit Related Notes, & More WWE News
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At the 7/10 SmackDown/ECW taping in New Orleans, a number of signs were confiscated. Particularly ones reading stuff along the lines of "RIP Woman", "RIP Chris Benoit" and even "RIP Sherri Martel." They even confiscated a sign that read "We paid to see Flair." Flair wasn't at the show due to an ear injury.
WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt has appeared on various cable talk shows to discuss the Benoit/steroids matter in order to defend WWE, but if you've noticed, he never appears alongside the other show guests. He pretty much only communicates with the show's host and never the panel of guests. Apparently, he will only appear on these talk shows with one contingency; that they don't appear with the other guests at the same time. For instance, this past Tuesday on Nancy Grace, McDevitt, and Dr. David Black (the doctor who administers the WWE Wellness tests) who was with him, refused to appear when the other guests were on. They specifically mentioned four people, which were an independent toxicologist (who would correct a misleading statement McDevitt made), Wrestling Observer Newsletter writer Dave Meltzer, Marc Mero and Figure Four Weekly writer Bryan Alvarez. Basically what it comes down to is that McDevitt doesn't don't want to get into a debate with people who can easily call him out on things.
The UK Sun has a story called "WWE blasted for drug denial." The story said that despite Chris Benoit testing 15 times higher level of testosterone than those allowed in Olympic drug tests, World Wrestling Entertainment and its representatives denied that Benoit was taking anabolic steroids. It quoted John Cena saying on Larry King Live, "Even with elevated levels of testosterone, he tested clean for anabolic steroids." It quoted WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt saying: "There were no anabolic steroids found in Benoit's body – not the type taken for bodybuilding. What was detected was testosterone." They also quoted the following from WWE's press release on Tuesday regarding the Benoit toxicology report: "WWE understands that the toxicology reports for Chris Benoit indicate that he tested positive for testosterone and negative for anabolic steroids." The article then quotes WWE's own Wellness Policy regarding drug abuse. The excerpt states: "The non-medical use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), which include and are based on the natural steroid Testosterone, is prohibited." The article then goes on to quote several people pointing out the intellectual dishonesty of WWE's p.r. spin since the press conference earlier this week.