World Wrestling Entertainment could soon be answering to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission.

Board member Cary Ichter said the agency, more commonly known as the state boxing commission, plans to work with state legislators this fall to close a 2-year-old loophole that has allowed WWE an exemption from state regulation.

Ichter, an attorney who also represents the father of deceased professional wrestler Chris Benoit, cited health and safety concerns behind the push.

"I'm going to fight like a dog to make sure that exemption is pulled from the law," he said Tuesday. "I want to make sure we have a way to protect folks in Georgia from the shenanigans of the WWE."

Should state lawmakers opt to rescind the exemption, WWE wrestlers could be subject to drug testing and other regulations just like performers from other sports that compete in Georgia.

"When you look at all the health issues of professional wrestlers and how many of them have died, it's clear they've been abused," Ichter said.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt declined to comment other than to question Ichter's motives.

"Gee, surprise, surprise," he said. "Wonder why he's doing that?"

Michael Benoit has blasted the WWE, suggesting the number of concussions his son suffered may have played a role when he killed his family and and then committed suicide in late June at their Fayetteville home.

The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission already regulates the state's boxing and mixed martial arts, as well as ticket brokers.

Professional wrestling also falls under the group's jurisdiction, but the WWE has been exempt because of a statute that went into effect July 1, 2005, excluding groups with total assets of more than $25 million.

Kelly Farr, director of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, said he knew of no other organization that qualified for the exemption.

The added scrutiny from the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, and perhaps state legislators as well, would be the latest public relations setback for the embattled WWE.

The Benoit tragedy drew national and international attention. The crime, combined with the highly publicized premature deaths of a number of other young wrestlers who had been using prescription drugs, have prompted congressional interest, perhaps culminating with hearings sometime next month or in December.

Benoit, 40, had roughly 10 times the normal amount of testosterone in his body at the time of his death, medical tests showed.

A number of other wrestlers have died with high levels of drugs in their bodies, most recently Brian "Crush" Adams in Tampa in August.