Holding The Pro Wrestling Industry Accountable

Sexual assault is an apolitical issue.

Abuse of power? Grooming? Rape? We, as humans, can debate the merits of a capitalistic society. We can also debate the state and local government’s handling of the coronavirus. There is no debating, however, that any of the aforementioned concepts have any place in life, let alone the pro wrestling industry.

At the risk of getting too personal, we here at The Wrestling Estate haven’t lived up to our end of the deal in denouncing the animalistic behavior that has come to light in the sport and profession we care about so deeply. Hopefully, we can all do our part to help rid professional wrestling of this sort of behavior and highlight the best parts of this sport/art form/soap opera we care so deeply about.

Everybody knows the names associated with #SpeakingOut. If you don’t, Google, and more specifically, r/SquaredCircle can be your friend. I have had some “not so nice” things to say about many of the wrestlers in question in the past, whether it’s been in podcasts or my editorial work. Going forward, I have decided I will no longer give these individuals the time of day. However, I do have a special message for who I believe to be the three anti-stars (to borrow from the NHL) of the #SpeakingOut campaign in America – Joey Ryan, David Starr and Mike Quackenbush, who I have the misfortune of sharing a high school alma mater with.

To the three of you brazen, cowardly dirtbags: Go fuck yourselves.

It is also worth noting: For all the accusations that have been corroborated (as is the case with the three above names), there are just as many that lack the evidence to back up the claims. We need to make sure those people are also heard. But I have also seen several categorical denials from wrestlers of claims made by their accusers, which are crimes punishable in the court of law. If that is the case and someone can put together evidence their accuser is lying, then the authorities have to get involved. Nobody wants to see somebody go down for something they didn’t do and there are some deranged people in this world who don’t care either way. However, when there are multiple accusations levied against a single person by 12 people or more, it becomes a lot harder to believe this is just one big conspiracy against that person. That is where all of us at The Wrestling Estate need to put our foot down and say, enough is enough.

Moving past the negativity, I have to give professional wrestling fans around the world a ton of credit. We take a lot of shit from those who “don’t get it.” We’re constantly hearing from our parents, co-workers, bullies and even our closest friends how crass pro wrestling is and how it’s time to kick the habit. Rest assured, recent news has not helped matters. Feelings have been hurt and many have been let down by people they considered heroes. It has been practically written in stone that one should never meet his or her heroes, but let’s face it, that saying has never stopped anyone.

As Eli Drake would say, human beings looking up to and wanting to be like other human beings is just a fact of life. Nobody is perfect and people will continue to be let down by others as long as the idea of heroes exists. That may be one thing. It is another thing, however, for a wrestler to hide behind noble ideas such as the unionization of the industry or an anti-bullying campaign in order to score points with young, impressionable fans only to take advantage of them in the end. It’s disgusting, and in turn, it’s easy to understand why when speaking with some fans, you would be led to believe the pro wrestling industry is filled to the brim with derelicts. Such fans are understandably hurt, ashamed and embarrassed. They require sympathy, not judgment and I’m happy to lend an ear to anyone who is sensibly down on pro wrestling right now and are in need of that conversation.

Steven Jackson is fed up. We’re all fed up. But let’s not pretend there aren’t good people doing good things in professional wrestling as well. It is not as if this is a league of pedophiles and miscreants from the top down to the bottom of the barrel. John Cena’s record with the Make-A-Wish foundation speaks for itself. Diamond Dallas Page has an open-door policy for damaged wrestlers, whether it be from in-ring or out-of-ring activities,a for them to better their personal wellness in the Accountability Crib. Chris Jericho has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars back into various wrestler benefits to take care of retired, broken down athletes. Heck, Vince McMahon! Say what you want about McMahon (and let’s face it, there is a lot to unpack), but for every self-inflicted, epic public relations fail his company has endured in the name of making money, you’ll hear another story about a guy who really looks after his employees.

Do you remember your elementary school days? Do you remember quietly minding your own business only for one or two kids to act out so bad in class in that the teacher decides to punish the entire room? Can you recall how cruddy it made you feel knowing you had been punished for the actions of few? Good. Don’t punish the wrestlers and individuals doing the industry proud, and don’t punish the industry. Carny, sociopath behavior is always going to be prevalent in the pro wrestling industry, but fans can’t afford to have the stories of the last week or so overwrite and undo the perfectly valid reasons they became a fan of this crazy world in the first place.

It’s up to us, the writers, pundits, fans, wrestlers and promoters to hold the talent accountable for their actions to make sure weeks like this past one don’t happen again. The bin is full and the time is now for us to take out the trash.