Dawn Marie Goes To Mat For Wrestlers In Need

From LongIslandPress.com:

As opposed to the chaos that was ECW, the most antisocial behavior Dawn Marie deals with these days is when 2 ½-year-old son Matthew starts throwing rocks.

She likes it that way. In her life as a real estate title closer she's rarely recognized as a former Extreme star and WWE Diva. She's good at going incognito, sans makeup and suggestive clothes, a skill that benefited her when autograph seekers would flock to groups of WWE Superstars in airport terminals.

"It's my alter ego," Dawn laughs about her provocative in-ring behavior. "My character is everything I always wanted to be."

But now she's back in the spotlight, in a much different role. Dawn Marie is bringing attention to her brainchild, Wrestlers Rescue, an organization kicking off with a fund-raiser this Sunday, Sept. 14 in Piscataway, N.J.

In actuality, the movement started one day in Chicago not long ago, when she watched a legend humbled and just couldn't take it anymore.

The stories of wrestlers retiring physically broken and financially shaky is seemingly as old as the collar-and-elbow tie-up. And while the major pro sports have responded with rookie symposiums, financial counseling and pension plans to guide and support those in a business with a limited lifespan, pro wrestlers pretty much fend for themselves as independent contractors.

"We all complain about it, we all say, oh, man, we don't have any healthcare, we don't have any pensions, we watched our heroes and the people we looked up to our whole life wind up broke or injured or dead, and it hurts us, we always complain about it," she says, adding that only 5 to 10 percent of those in the business earn the kind of top-flight salaries that ensure financial independence. "But there's a difference between complaining and doing something about it."

There was a time when she didn't want to have anything to do with the wrestling. Following her release from WWE in 2005 it was all she could do to function in a normal life as a wife and mother after a vagabond existence traveling 235 days a year. But she ended up back at indy shows and conventions to raise money for her sister-in-law, who suffered from a debilitating condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). She experienced intense burn-like pain at the most innocuous contact, like being kissed on the cheek.

Going back on the road reminded Dawn Marie that the politics of big-time wrestling notwithstanding, she still enjoyed the business, largely because her friends in the profession were so willing to help her in a time of need. But she also became disheartened getting to know the likes of "Superstar" Billy Graham, who she talks about going bankrupt while undergoing a liver transplant after contracting hepatitis B.

It was former WWF Champion and WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik, who she explains can't get the knee surgery he needs to walk, that really lit a fire under her.

"The last straw was when I was sitting in Chicago at a convention called the Wizard, and The Iron Sheik was at a table directly in front of me, and this man was falling asleep at the table," she remembers. "As fans came by, he would lift up and be like, 'Sheikie Number 1.' It was like a record, like you'd hit play. 'Sheikie Number 1,' doing it out of his sleep. And that broke my heart.

"But what really was the last straw was when his agent wheeled him by me in a wheelchair. And I said, 'Sheikie where are you going?' And he said, 'Gonna Marie, Sheikie go to the bathroom. You watch Sheikie's gimmicks. And at that moment I looked at my assistant, Michele, and I swear, I was holding back tears. And I said, 'This has got to stop. This has to stop. This is ridiculous. This man has to rely on an agent or someone else to wheel him to the toilet.'

"I looked at it and it just hit me like a ton of bricks," she continues. "This is absolutely insane that this is happening. And nobody's speaking up. Nobody's doing anything. Nothing's changing. We have an epidemic in this industry, and the epidemic is this: You fight like hell to get a career, if you're fortunate to be one of the chosen few you have a career. And then as you're on your way down, you filter out and you go back to where you started on the indys to ride out your fame and name, and then 10, 15, 20, 30 years down the road, your body starts feeling the damages that were done during your fame and working past your prime because you have no other way of making money."

The mission statement of Wrestlers Rescue aims to fill that vacuum of support. A five-year plan starts with raising awareness of the issues and fund-raising for retired wrestlers who have injuries due to a career in wrestling. In time, the organization hopes to establish a financial advisory that active wrestlers can call upon to plan for their future. The long-range goal is getting enough alumni under the group's umbrella that they can purchase healthcare at discounted rates for active and retired performers and their families.

These issues have been on the front-burner recently, with Scott Levy (Raven) and others filing suit against WWE, challenging the company's designation of talent as independent contractors. But Dawn Marie is not seeking an adversarial relationship with anyone. She notes that WWE posted the Piscataway event on its website and sent items for the auction.

"I would love nothing more than to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with [TNA President] Dixie Carter on one side and Vince McMahon on the other for this cause," she explains. She later adds, "Whether that means a lot of help or a little bit of help, everything is welcome. I'm not here to create controversy, I'm not here to create bad press. I'm here to raise awareness for people who need help in the later season of life."

What: Wrestlers Rescue Convention & Autograph Signing

When: Sun., Sept. 14, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Radisson Hotel, 21 Kingsbridge Rd., Piscataway, N.J.

Cost: $15 advanced, $20 at the door

Appearing: LI's own Ashley Massaro, Mick Foley and Brimstone, along with Torrie Wilson, James J. Dillon, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Sandman, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, and many, many more!

Contact: 732-980-0400, www.wrestlersrescue.org, wrestlersrescue@aol.com