• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

The Kingpin talks state athletic commissions and their rules

Posted: Jun 29th 2018 By: Mike Iles

It is that time of year once again. The time when the previous year’s wrestling licenses expire and new ones are being applied. The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission fiscal year runs July 1st through June 30th. That means all wrestlers, managers, promoters, referees, and announcers are supposed to renew their license starting next week. You may be asking yourself, “What does the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission govern?” The answer for that is all combat sports. In other words, boxing (both amateur and professional), mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling.

I have been a licensed announcer in Oklahoma since 2004. I have also been licensed in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky. The rules in the other states are similar but some are more stringent. For example, in Missouri, a pro wrestler has to have a blood test that is less than 90 days old with them at every show they wrestle. In Oklahoma, they just have to have a blood test less than a year old when they apply for a license.

But in Arkansas, they have it even worse.

Previously, the Arkansas Athletic Commission ruled that all wrestlers would have to have blood tests proving they did not have HIV, Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis C. This is the same blood test that the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission and other states require. The Arkansas Commission also ruled that a wrestling company would have to pay to have an ambulance on site during the entire event. In addition, protective mats were required on the floor all the way around the ring. Last year, after a long courtroom battle, it was ruled that the Arkansas Athletic Commission would not be able to collect event fees from wrestling companies doing charity shows and the rule about the ambulance and floor mats was also waived.

Mid-States Wrestling ran an event on June 23rd as a benefit for Jake Boulder, who was injured when a ladder he was on broke while he was at work. Boulder is currently in physical rehab in Nebraska and is recovering but still cannot speak and can barely move his arms and legs. The event had been planned for some time. The rules that had originally been waived are now coming back into effect. They will once again be collecting fees on charity shows and the ambulance and mats must return. Due to the rising costs and impending courtroom battle yet again, Mid-States Wrestling has announced that last Saturday’s show would be their last for 2018.

So let’s pull back the curtain a bit. Pro Wrestling has a “predetermined outcome”. So why are “athletic commissions” governing an “athletic show”? That is a very good question. There are some good rules that these commissions put out. A wrestler has to have a blood test to prove they don’t have HIV, Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis C. But as I said, in Oklahoma the blood test has to be less than a year old when they apply for a license. So next week, everyone will hand over a clean blood test and get a license. But it doesn’t mean they are clean. It means they were clean when the blood test was administered. I am not saying Oklahoma should follow the Missouri rule and every gets tested every 90 days. But maybe make it to where they have to produce a clean test at licensing and then if they bleed at a show, they have 14 days to produce a new clean test?

I obviously don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. Pro Wrestling is on an upswing around the country. The “All In” show promoted by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks is scheduled to take place on September 1st at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, IL. They sold out in 30 minutes. The event marks the first non-WWE or WCW promoted pro wrestling event in the United States to sell over 10,000 tickets since 1993. As far as I can tell there is no Illinois Athletic Commission governing pro wrestling.

I think we would all like to see pro wrestling flourish in Oklahoma and the pieces are in place to do so. But sometimes commissions hurt more than help, like in Arkansas. Maybe the same department that governs boxing and MMA shouldn’t govern pro wrestling. If there has to be a commission for pro wrestling can’t there be a separate division altogether? Is the commission handcuffing companies and promoters? Perhaps. But for now the commission is a necessary evil.