ShareThisRandy "The Ram" Robinson needed Dawn Marie Psaltis to come to his rescue.
And it's not because she was one of the sultriest vixens in World Wrestling Entertainment history.
Mickey Rourke is earning Best Actor awards for his portrayal of Robinson -- a fictional down-and-out 1980s wrestling star -- in the critically acclaimed new movie "The Wrestler." That is exactly the kind of needy performer Psaltis is trying to help through her Wrestlers Rescue foundation.
Formed last September, Wrestlers Rescue is fund raising to provide assistance for former stars facing health issues. The group's biggest event to date is an upcoming auction benefiting "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. His standout career was cut short by recurring issues with throat cancer.
Psaltis said her inspiration for creating Wrestlers Rescue came from an autograph-signing she worked with such Hulkamania-era heels as Nicolai Volkoff (real name Josip Perusovic), Honky Tonk Man (Wayne Farris) and The Iron Sheik (Khosrow Vaziri). She was especially distraught at seeing her friend "Sheiky" -- known as one of the industry's fittest performers in his heyday -- relegated to a wheelchair because he couldn't afford knee-replacement surgery.
"These guys should be enjoying their later years and here they are selling autographs to support themselves and their families," Psaltis said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "This is all they know. It isn't right that this epidemic keeps going.
"You fall in love with the business and spend your life focused on it. If you're one of the lucky ones who make it, you ride it as long as you can. When your time is out, the next person comes in and you fade out. Nobody knows what happened to you. Then you realize the damage you did to your body that doesn't show up until years later. That's not even including the damage done to families when you're away performing 275 nights a year on the road like I did (in WWE). I saw this all happening and it bothered me."
True, this sounds nothing like the scheming onstage Dawn Marie who once "married" the father of archrival Torrie Wilson to fuel their memorable WWE feud of 2002 and 2003. But there is a Brainiac behind the beauty that helped Psaltis morph from a ditzy Extreme Championship Wrestling valet into a WWE Diva.
Her WWE run didn't end well. The promotion released Psaltis in July 2005 despite knowing she was pregnant. Besides the despicable nature of such an act by the McMahon family, Psaltis learned firsthand about the industry's cruel business side.
WWE and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling performers are at both promotions' whims for medical coverage. They don't have pensions, benefits or unions fighting for their labor rights.
"It's not like (performers) haven't talked about it," said Psaltis, who ultimately reached a financial settlement with WWE after filing a grievance over her termination. "People just don't do it out of fear. Where else are you going to go? It's not like you work at a bank and if you're miserable can go down the street and work at another bank.
"You work so hard to get to this point that you don't want to ruffle feathers. You want to coast and make a living the best way you can moving forward. The guys at the top -- those in the 3 to 5 percent who make millions -- could make a difference if they stood up, but they're not going to. They're in a cushy place and are most likely not going to need assistance down the road because they have money."
Psaltis admits she struggled so badly adjusting to a new life after WWE that she sought mental-health counseling. Now pregnant with her second child, Psaltis said Wrestlers Rescue has allowed her to give back to a business she still loves after a decade-long run that began on the New Jersey independent circuit in the same kind of smallish venues that Rourke's Robinson was relegated to working.
Psaltis hopes that medical fund-raisers are just a start for Wrestlers Rescue. She is in the process of assembling a job board with non-wrestling leads to help those trying to move on.
"I could either sit there and complain about the (wrestling) business or try to make a difference," Psaltis said. "I chose to try to change it."
Psaltis said she no longer harbors ill feelings toward WWE and is working with the promotion's legendary announcer, Jim Ross, to collect items for the Williams auction. Money raised will go toward the purchase of a hands-free medical device that will help Williams speak more easily after having his voice box removed during cancer surgery.
"I had a wonderful career and am really thankful," said Psaltis, who claims the highlight was working a match with the late female wrestling icon The Fabulous Moolah (Mary Lillian Ellison). "Wrestlers Rescue has brought me so far as a person that it made me realize the glass isn't half-empty.
"A lot of fallen soldiers have come through (WWE). We all have a common thread that we love each other and love the business. We all should do what we can to help each other keep going."
For information on Wrestlers Rescue and the Williams fund-raiser, visit www.wrestlersrescue.com.
(Alex Marvez writes a syndicated pro-wrestling column for Scripps Howard News Service. E-mail him at alex1marv(at)aol.com.)
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