Disappointed with WWE/NXT Talent

[BØRNS]

When WWE started using the lesser known NXT talent as "fans", they were not "allowed" to wear masks. I see a ton of them on social media now on their high horses saying things like "wear a mask, be courteous to those around you, you could save someone's life" etc. Florida has one of the highest case incidents in the country, and WWE certainly didn't help with that.

If wearing a mask was so important to them, why didn't they have a backbone to address this concern and make it non-negotiable? I lose respect for those who compromise their values for no good reason. There is no good reason why they shouldn't be allowed to wear masks. Kids look up to WWE for role models and they could have easily utilized this as an opportunity to set an example to the public about a safe practice. And now they're letting them wear masks there are still a ton who are not, and it's already too late. A ton more will be testing positive.

[Yambag Jones]

To not test talent AND not enforce face masks is a special kind of idiocy. WWE should be very relieved that no one on their roster has died from this virus.

[voicesinmyhead]

AEW is just as bad. They have had "fans in the arena since the beginning and none of them wear masks (except Jake Roberts occasionally). You can't throw shade or blame at WWE without throwing it at AEW as well. Both companies decided to continue to work doing the pandemic so both should get criticized. At least the WWE/NXT are wearing masks now. They are doing that before AEW is...

And to address the whole backbone thing, maybe they didn't take it seriously before and now that some talent have the virus, they realize that everyone should be wearing masks. Everyone should have been wearing masks from the start, but you can't blame lower level talent for this.

[tylerbreezee]

Jun 29, 2020 9:27:05 GMT -5 Yambag Jones said:

To not test talent AND not enforce face masks is a special kind of idiocy. WWE should be very relieved that no one on their roster has died from this virus.

Who said they don’t test talent? I read everywhere that they do

[Yambag Jones]

Jun 29, 2020 9:49:15 GMT -5 voicesinmyhead said:

AEW is just as bad. They have had "fans in the arena since the beginning and none of them wear masks (except Jake Roberts occasionally). You can't throw shade or blame at WWE without throwing it at AEW as well. Both companies decided to continue to work doing the pandemic so both should get criticized. At least the WWE/NXT are wearing masks now. They are doing that before AEW is...

And to address the whole backbone thing, maybe they didn't take it seriously before and now that some talent have the virus, they realize that everyone should be wearing masks. Everyone should have been wearing masks from the start, but you can't blame lower level talent for this.

I'll bite, bucko.

AEW tested their talent and employees the whole time. WWE only just started testing once they had a scare, even then I haven't heard of the legitimacy. I'm ok with people not wearing masks in a controlled environment if everyone is tested. I can totally throw shade at WWE for this because what they did actually put peoples lives at risk.

Ethically, no one should be running wrestling shows until the pandemic is over.

[Yambag Jones]

Jun 29, 2020 10:34:28 GMT -5 tylerbreezee said:

Jun 29, 2020 9:27:05 GMT -5 Yambag Jones said:

To not test talent AND not enforce face masks is a special kind of idiocy. WWE should be very relieved that no one on their roster has died from this virus.

Who said they don’t test talent? I read everywhere that they do

They didn't test anyone until one of their independent contractors tested positive with an outside source.

[PJ]

I don’t think either company actually tested for COVID. From what I read all either were doing was taking people’s temperatures and if they didn’t have a fever they were let in. But just because they didn’t have a fever doesn’t mean they weren’t a carrier. Both WWE and AEW have been playing with fire allowing the “audience” in the arenas especially without masks. One’s no better than the other.

[Yambag Jones]

Jun 29, 2020 10:53:50 GMT -5 PJ said:

I don’t think either company actually tested for COVID. From what I read all either were doing was taking people’s temperatures and if they didn’t have a fever they were let in. But just because they didn’t have a fever doesn’t mean they weren’t a carrier. Both WWE and AEW have been playing with fire allowing the “audience” in the arenas especially without masks. One’s no better than the other.

AEW does the swab AND the more accurate blood test. Talent gets a bracelet for both to make sure everyone went through the same testing.

WWE only started doing the swab post-scare.

[Deleted]

I'll get in before the lock...

First, I have no idea why AEW is coming up in a thread with absolutely nothing to do with them. Like literally nothing. But yes, they've been testing the entire time. You have to get a coronavirus test before you are allowed in the building. Once that test comes up negative, you get a wristband. Then, you do a temperature check. You then get a second wristband. Then you go in the building. Once you are in the building, you are stuck there. If you leave the building for any reason, you have to do those tests again before you are allowed back in.  The building is an open air, outdoor venue, which is already miles safer. QT Marshall had contact with someone outside of the wrestling industry who had Covid, and he stayed at home, as did anyone from his wrestling school, and they went public with it. Moxley has tested negative multiple times, but stayed at home because Renee got it.They went public with that too. I've seen wrestlers in the crowd and referees wearing masks at times from the very beginning (not all of them, and they definitely are free to, so that's on the talent not the company and it's fair to take a shot at that). To even remotely compare the two companies handlings as being equivalent is completely laughable. Is AEW's method 100% risk free? Of course not, literally the only way to do that would be to not run. But trying to compare their handling to WWE's handling is not even close. One is literally orders of magnitude more safe and transparent than the other.

Now, onto the actual topic.

The performers in the crowd are all NXT/PC talent. Meaning, they're making NXT/PC wages, not main roster wages. Vince has shown time and time again that he can give up on you for the smallest things, and he's been on a firing spree lately. You have Kevin Dunn telling people that 'Rona isn't a big deal, and you're being told not to wear masks at the tapings. If you're one of these NXT/PC people, making NXT/PC wages, knowing that rocking the boat on that could and likely would end your entire career, would you say something? I know I wouldn't. I'm willing to bet almost, if not everyone here wouldn't either. Roman can stay home and be public about it as much as he wants because he's untouchable. These 'fans' in the crowd are 100% disposable and replaceable. I can't for one second fault them for that. They were put in a situation where they really didn't have a choice. I'm not commenting on anything else related to their behaviour, because that's a 1 way ticket to lock city I'm sure lol.

[k5]

Jun 29, 2020 9:49:15 GMT -5 voicesinmyhead said:

AEW is just as bad. They have had "fans in the arena since the beginning and none of them wear masks (except Jake Roberts occasionally). You can't throw shade or blame at WWE without throwing it at AEW as well. Both companies decided to continue to work doing the pandemic so both should get criticized. At least the WWE/NXT are wearing masks now. They are doing that before AEW is...

And to address the whole backbone thing, maybe they didn't take it seriously before and now that some talent have the virus, they realize that everyone should be wearing masks. Everyone should have been wearing masks from the start, but you can't blame lower level talent for this.

AEW has, throughout this, had a stricter testing policy. it’s discussed in more detail in this thread:

forum.wrestlingfigs.com/thread/364154/breaking-talent-tests-positive-covid

[Deleted]

Yeah the original topic actually had some very important things to address. I really can't fault them for not having a "backbone" because their backbone would put them out of a job in a situation where they don't have anywhere to go. The handling of things all starts and ends with 1 person in that company. I've heard lots that some wrestlers are frustrated with others for the way they've been living outside the PC, which is a totally different part of it and one I'm not gonna touch because that's just gonna lead to arguing and a locked thread.

Could the entire PC/NXT crew have gathered up and stood together saying they wanted to wear masks? That probably would have worked, but I think the workplace culture created at WWE doesn't really lend itself to talent acting with that much solidarity and trust in each other.

Edit: The start of this looks weird because there's a now deleted post (not mine) saying hopefully this can get back to the original topic that I was following up on.

[JL Styles]

There is no question that AEW has been well ahead of WWE in testing. However, AEW has still been negligent to not have their crowd wearing masks then they stand shoulder-to-shoulder. One of the nastiest parts of this virus is that you can test negative one day and positive the next day. AEW should have their crowd talent wearing masks to go along with the testing. That's where they have been negligent. I did notice several WWE crowd members wearing masks last week, so hopefully that continues. WWE needs to ramp up the testing and both companies need to ramp up the mask-wearing and make it mandatory, even if tested regularly.

As Kevin Owens said in his video that he posted on twitter, everyone should wear a mask, period.

[Yambag Jones]

Jun 29, 2020 11:48:34 GMT -5 JL Styles said:

There is no question that AEW has been well ahead of WWE in testing. However, AEW has still been negligent to not have their crowd wearing masks then they stand shoulder-to-shoulder. One of the nastiest parts of this virus is that you can test negative one day and positive the next day. AEW should have their crowd talent wearing masks to go along with the testing. That's where they have been negligent. I did notice several WWE crowd members wearing masks last week, so hopefully that continues. WWE needs to ramp up the testing and both companies need to ramp up the mask-wearing and make it mandatory, even if tested regularly.

As Kevin Owens said in his video that he posted on twitter, everyone should wear a mask, period.

I totally understand and agree with what you're saying, but I think it's trite for people to morally compare WWE to AEW whenever WWE does something very, very, very wrong.

[wheeljack83]

Jun 29, 2020 3:40:54 GMT -5 BØRNS said:

When WWE started using the lesser known NXT talent as "fans", they were not "allowed" to wear masks. I see a ton of them on social media now on their high horses saying things like "wear a mask, be courteous to those around you, you could save someone's life" etc. Florida has one of the highest case incidents in the country, and WWE certainly didn't help with that.

If wearing a mask was so important to them, why didn't they have a backbone to address this concern and make it non-negotiable? I lose respect for those who compromise their values for no good reason. There is no good reason why they shouldn't be allowed to wear masks. Kids look up to WWE for role models and they could have easily utilized this as an opportunity to set an example to the public about a safe practice. And now they're letting them wear masks there are still a ton who are not, and it's already too late. A ton more will be testing positive.

Those are their employers and they don't have the power to do that in WWE> 

[wheeljack83]

Jun 29, 2020 9:49:15 GMT -5 voicesinmyhead said:

AEW is just as bad. They have had "fans in the arena since the beginning and none of them wear masks (except Jake Roberts occasionally). You can't throw shade or blame at WWE without throwing it at AEW as well. Both companies decided to continue to work doing the pandemic so both should get criticized. At least the WWE/NXT are wearing masks now. They are doing that before AEW is...

And to address the whole backbone thing, maybe they didn't take it seriously before and now that some talent have the virus, they realize that everyone should be wearing masks. Everyone should have been wearing masks from the start, but you can't blame lower level talent for this.

Those guys are wrestlers and they didn't have a no mask policy like WWE, where Kevin Dunn reportedly got angry if anybody put a mask on over the intercom.

[Yambag Jones]

Jun 29, 2020 12:39:15 GMT -5 mrassbillygunn said:

Jun 29, 2020 9:27:05 GMT -5 Yambag Jones said:

To not test talent AND not enforce face masks is a special kind of idiocy. WWE should be very relieved that no one on their roster has died from this virus.

Hardly anyone dies from it. Much more people die from cancer and those poor souls are not having their treatment because of this nonsense. I think alot of people need to show some balls, you should not be afraid to catch something that the majority dont even know they have let alone die from it. You cant say to one person who has cancer and needs treatment that their life is not as important as someone who has covid and thats what is happening and thats the beef I have with it.

Over 128,000 in the US and 503,000 worldwide have died from Covid-19. Cancer is not a contagious pandemic.

Again, I hope it doesn't take you or someone you love dying from this for you to take it seriously. I lost my grandmother to it and it's very painful to see people like you not take it seriously. I hope you can be more respectful as a person and see the very real dangers right now. Be thankful you probably haven't been exposed to it.

[k5]

Jun 29, 2020 12:45:58 GMT -5 Yambag Jones said:

Jun 29, 2020 12:39:15 GMT -5 mrassbillygunn said:

Hardly anyone dies from it. Much more people die from cancer and those poor souls are not having their treatment because of this nonsense. I think alot of people need to show some balls, you should not be afraid to catch something that the majority dont even know they have let alone die from it. You cant say to one person who has cancer and needs treatment that their life is not as important as someone who has covid and thats what is happening and thats the beef I have with it.

Over 128,000 in the US and 503,000 worldwide have died from Covid-19. Cancer is not a contagious pandemic.

Again, I hope it doesn't take you or someone you love dying from this for you to take it seriously. I lost my grandmother to it and it's very painful to see people like you not take it seriously. I hope you can be more respectful as a person and see the very real dangers right now. Be thankful you probably haven't been exposed to it.

I was going to reply to him but you are far more tactful than I am. I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother.

going forward, hopefully AEW and WWE both commit to masks to increase the protection against COVID.

[Jack Specific]

Post has went off into Locksville USA.