According to WWE.com, MVP has been cleared to return to the ring after learning of a heart ailment last week. Nevertheless, he won't be boxing Matt Hardy at this week's Saturday Night Main Event.
He has found a suitable replacement, though: boxing legend Evander Holyfield.
At age 44, Holyfield is currently vying to win boxingâs Heavyweight Championship for an unprecedented fifth time; he will get the chance to do so on Oct. 13 in Moscow when he fights Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO Heavyweight Title.
Win or lose there, Holyfieldâs already the only man to do it four times, and the Atlanta native brings an impressive list of accomplishments into the bout, from Olympic medals to World Titles to his own boxing video game.
During a routine cardiovascular test in San Jose, WWE United States Champion MVP was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The syndrome is an abnormal accessory pathway, which could cause an abnormal heart rhythm and increase the risk for a heart attack.
He will undergo more tests over the next several weeks to see if the treatments succeed.
We wish him the best and will keep you updated about the wrestler's status.
Prior to the question-and-answer session of Thursday's quarterly conference call, WWE Chief Executive Officer Linda McMahon read a statement concerning WWE's commitment to the wellness of its wrestlers:
To be clear, our talent is a critical part of our success. Their health and well being is important to us, both personally and professionally. We are committed to doing anything we can to help our performers lead healthy lives. This includes continuing our strong stance against the abuse of all drugs, including steroids. To serve this objective and to benefit the health of our talent, we implemented a Wellness Program in February 2006 which includes testing for steroids.
We will work to maintain it as a state of the art program. We are grateful for our fans and business partners who understand that Chris Benoit's actions are not representative of the men and women who perform for the WWE. The continuing support of our fans and business partners is evident in our live event attendance and the sales of our consumer products, which have remained strong even in the face of this tragedy.
Going forward, we remain steadfastly committed to insuring the health of our talent, as we pursue our mission of creating compelling characters and storylines.
According to a report today by The New York Daily News, a second congressional committee has contacted WWE in requesting documents about the company's steroid-testing program.
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) - chairman of the House Commerce and Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommitte - and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fl.) both requested the information via letter to Vince McMahon.
WWE's Gary Davis had the following to say in response to the requests by Congress: "We are reviewing it and will respond accordingly."
In a move that significantly widens the impact of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide case, two congressmen who opened steroid hearings into Major League Baseball have requested that World Wrestling Entertainment provide records pertaining to the WWE's testing policies and practices.
ESPN reports that in a three-page letter dated Friday, Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Tom Davis, its ranking minority member, asked WWE to provide a series of documents intended to give the committee and its investigation a detailed look at WWE's drug-testing policy, including information about the results of performance-enhancing drug tests on pro wrestlers.
"The tragic deaths of World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit and his family have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers," the congressmen wrote.
"These allegations -- which include first-hand reports of steroid use by prominent former wrestlers -- have swirled around the WWE for over a decade. Investigations by journalists have described a culture of performance-enhancing drug use in professional wrestling, high fatality rates among young professional wrestlers, and an inability or unwillingness of WWE to address these problems."
The letter from Waxman and Davis described WWE wrestlers as "multimedia stars that have an influence on the behavior and attitudes of the nation's youth."
"WWE has a responsibility to do everything possible to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs -- or the perception of such use -- by its wrestlers."
The records request is wide ranging, and parallels what was asked of Major League Baseball. It seeks a list of drugs covered by its policies; the entity that conducts its drug testing; the number of tests it conducts annually; the protocols followed after a positive test; and the procedures for awarding exemptions.
It also wants hard figures about the number of tests that the WWE conducts each year; the numbers of wrestlers tested; positive results for each specific drug; and the number of positive tests for which wrestlers were penalized.
WWE announced Thursday that it has released Rene Dupree from his contract.
"World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Rene Dupree. WWE wishes Rene all the best in his future endeavors," read the WWE.com statement.
The New York Daily News reported today that Dr. Claire Godfrey plead guilty this week in Albany County District Court to 10 counts of criminal diversion of prescription medicines.
According to New York State Department of Health investigator Mark Haskins, Godfrey reportedly wrote illegal prescriptions worth more than $1.3 million for steroids and other similar drugs to patients, including quote "two current WWE professional wrestlers" without ever examining them.
The two current WWE wrestlers were not named, but it was noted that neither were the late Chris Benoit. Godfrey's current plea deal will keep her from going to prison, although she could lose her medical license. The article also stated that an outside party would charge "clients" $10,000 to access Godfrey to write prescriptions for patients she never met or examined. Godfrey was paid an estimated $50 per prescription and earned closed to $200,000 over a seven month period.
When reached for comment, WWE's Gary Davis had the following to say: "We applaud the efforts of government officials to shut down the illegal use of steroids and those doctors who illegally prescribe them."
