Chris Nowinski: From Professional Wrestling to Brain Research

Chris Nowinski is a former wrestler who was active in the ring for only four years. He debuted in the 2001 edition of Tough Enough and after a few months in the independent circuit, he was hired by WWE in 2002. He decided to retire the following year after suffering from post-concussion syndrome.

After his premature retirement, Nowinski dedicated himself fully to the research of brain concussions and in 2006 he published "Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis", a book based on the history of concussions in American football, a sport where this type of injury is an everyday occurrence.

Nowinski, who has won the Hardcore Championship twice, was also instrumental in solving the suicide and murders of Chris Benoit when he recommended that the investigators examine his brain to determine if his depression and anger were related to his history of concussions.

Indeed, it was discovered that his history of head injuries, as a result of constantly using the Diving Headbutt move, had enlarged his brain to an abnormal size, which led to dementia.

His great work in the research of brain injuries gained media attention and he appeared on ESPN and CNN programs. In 2007, he co-founded the successful Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF), an organization specialized in the prevention and research of this phenomenon.

In recent weeks, several legends have announced that they will donate their brains to the organization led by Nowinski once they are no longer with us. This will facilitate new studies that would not be possible to conduct while the person is still alive, and Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, and Kevin Nash have been the first names in the industry to join this cause.

Each of the four have suffered a concussion. Foley has always been passionate about extreme wrestling and perhaps has experienced it the most, but RVD — "I have had thousands but no permanent damage" — Hardy — "I remember having two" — and Nash, who was the first to show solidarity with this good cause that hopefully will bear fruit in due time.