- COVID-19 has caused a hard division between people across all sectors of pop culture; including the professional wrestling industry.
We are all sick and tired of COVID-19. I don’t believe that any of us want to talk about it, debate it, discuss it or THINK about it ever again.
But that just isn’t practical right now, as the global sickness has pushed into every nook and cranny of our lives.
Yes, even the professional wrestling industry.
From the infamous “Thunderdome” to “proof of vaccination required”, there is no question that this will have a lingering effect on the industry. Take a look at WWE, the Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment. They released over 100 wrestlers, many of which came in the early days of the pandemic when live events were shut down.
WWE decided to then completely rebrand their NXT division; letting go of dozens of stars that they spent millions of dollars marketing to fans.
There’s no doubt that COVID-19 was a huge factor in all of this. The business model was forced to change in more ways than one, as many businesses have.
Ring of Honor tried tirelessly to keep their roster employed, while maintaining a “safe working environment.” They have had to shut down operations for a brief hiatus to start 2022, but will be returning this April.
The major wrestling companies are only the tip of the iceberg. This “probable gain-of-function research” gone wrong sickness has also driven a solid divide between fans, friends and colleagues in the wrestling industry.
Take me for example! I became so obsessed with this bullshit that this site fell apart, former friends hate me and I’ve fallen for the tricks of online trolls; getting banned from Twitter in the process. OI VEY!
But this ain’t about me, man.
A few months ago, a group of fans went after Sasha Banks for LIKING an Instagram post pertaining to the medical procedure that the government wants you to take.
Or as you may refer to it, “the vaccine.” (I like to use “experimental gene therapy“, which is more accurate description in my opinion for this specific medical procedure than the traditional definition of “vaccine”, which has been changed by The CDC. But I’m not a doctor. I suggest talking to your personal medical physician about it.)
Apparently, the post she liked was about making your own decision regarding the medical procedure, something which every living breathing free citizen of The United States of America has a right to make…until they don’t.
As usual, I defended Sasha Banks, but the amount of vitriol from wrestling fans on Twitter was all time levels of insane. Whether she was vaccinated or not, or has been or not, it’s none of our business. The fans turned on her SO FAST.
It’s not normal. It’s an extension of ‘cancel culture’ and it’s about as toxic as it gets.
Speaking of ‘toxic’, just the other day, Hulk Hogan was theorizing that the ‘booster shot’ that the government is really pushing hard was the reason for the unfortunate death of 99 year old actress Betty White. Come on, Hulk. She was 99!
Sure, The Hulkster may be a bit wacky in his assumption, as he has been about most topics over the last 40 years, but the personal assaults levied against this polarizing legend were wild. And have been…for years, upon years, upon years.
No road to redemption for this wrestling legend, no matter how hard WWE tries to help him rehab his reputation.
Even the Internet’s favorite wrestler, Cody Rhodes, recently tested positive for ‘the Coof’, and took to his Instant Message service to remind everyone to “get vaccinated.”
This has been going on for just about 2 years straight. We get it, Cody. We don’t need you to tell us.
Furthermore, the fear of contracting COVID-19 is harming live event attendance across all industries; and we know how important the gate is for wrestling events. Even though WWE broke an attendance record for last year’s SummerSlam, lower level tapings and live events across the industry continue to see a downtrend at the gate.
The problem is that there isn’t a definitive line between your life as a ‘wrestling fan’, or creator in the space, and your reactions to the ongoing COVID-19 conversation. It’s all intertwined now.
And the censorship that our big tech social media overlords are being pushed to extend by The Biden Administration are completely insane. It’s intentionally divisive, it purposely dehumanized a large portion of our population that doesn’t want mandates & continues to stress us the fuck out.
Roman Reigns also got smacked with COVID on January 1st, just hours before WWE’s “Day One” event. This caused some major creative changes to future plans.
None of this is good for society in general, but again, as I pointed out earlier, it really hurts the professional wrestling industry. We don’t know whether more lockdowns are coming, which will cause more live events to be cancelled and more division between people on both sides of the argument. We see these arguments spill over onto wrestling Twitter, which is full of a bunch of IWC-anons who basically have immunity to the censorship rules because nobody knows who the fuck they are.
I don’t know what the solution is, but I appreciate all opinions, comments and dialogue. We’ll get past this thing and I hope that there’s a better, more functional society on the other side of it all.
If you think I’m a ‘fucking idiot’, I want to know. If you think I’m right on the money, please tell me.
Either way, I urge you to NOT be silenced and to always engage in respectful discussion and debate.
Jay Alletto
