David Bixenspan of Deadspin has a new article up on Wednesday, talking about the regulations put forth by the Louisiana State Athletic Commission for independent shows that will be running New Orleans next weekend during Wrestlemania 34.
The commission has for several years put a ban on the use of blood and the piledriver for all matches contested in the state, and still is as of a month ago per a recent interview John Pollock of POST Wrestling conducted with Russell Naquin, who is the lead person in charge of regulating wrestling in Louisiana.
However now, the commission is now putting a ban on the following moves, per a updated list that is dated in 2017:
* Any use of the powerbomb
* Any use of the moonsault, shooting star press, 450 Splash, or any move off the top rope that involves a wrestler leaping or flipping to contact his opponent’s neck or head with any part of their body
* Any variation of the stun-gun, or hot-shot, that involves the opponent’s head being dragged, draped, or clotheslined across the ropes
* Any strike to the opponent’s head with any sort of object, chair, trash can, etc.
* Wrestlers being shoved, forced, or thrown out of the ring or over the top rope
Most of these strict regulations against pro wrestling events stem from a lawsuit that took place in the late-1990s when a wrestler, Gene Bergeron, was seriously injured taking a piledriver at an independent event and settled for upwards of several million dollars, which was upheld upon appeal by the commission.
It should be noted that WWE and Ring of Honor are considered exempt from these regulations because they were considered “major league” and the commission “trusts their competence and training of their wrestlers.”
However, a commission official, who is required to be on-site for these events, is allowed to at his direction, permit wrestlers to use moves that are banned on the commission list, provided “permission is sought and obtained prior to the event by both wrestlers and the requesting wrestlers have sufficient training, athletic ability and experience to perform the maneuver without endangering one another.”
Former Wrestling Society X wrestler Luke Hawx, who runs WildKat Wrestling in Louisiana and is running a show next week, said the following in regards to the new regulations put forth by the commission.
“I don’t know anything about that, We’ve never had any problems with doing 450s or moonsaults or anything like that. Our rules are fighting in the crowd, piledrivers, and bleeding. As long as you stay away from that stuff, you’re good to go. They’re not a stickler for the other stuff.
I already talked to ‘em and here’s the thing: The commission don’t know any of these guys, They don’t know what they’re capable of. There’s a big difference between Joey Janela doing a piledriver and Undertaker. Undertaker’s on TV for 25-30 years now. And I’m not dissing Joey Janela. If this guy wants to do a Canadian Destroyer, they’re not going to let that fly.”
Hawx noted that he is letting all of the independent companies running next weekend use his promoter’s license for regulation purposes.
It remains to be seen how big of an effect these new regulations will have on the independent events that take place next week.