Mootinie Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 A long overdue thread to discuss the movement that has unearthed what seems like decades of sexual harassment, sexual assault, abuse and generally awful behaviour within the wrestling community. I'd explain it all but I'd be here all day, just give it a quick Google if you're otherwise uninformed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Swanton825 Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Oh it's most definitely decades if not a century's worth of abuse. Pro wrestling as an industry seems almost custom-made to facilitate abusers. The rigid hierarchy among old school workers, experienced workers taking advantage of trainees and rookies (EZ Money was willing to drop a friend of mine on his head when he didn't rotate far enough on a hip toss and he was only saved from a possible broken neck at the last minute by another trainee) and a general delusion that they're living a "rock star lifestyle" so whatever they do is justified in their minds as "rock n roll" excess. Wrestling can change from this cesspool, but those at the top have to institute meaningful change and call me cynical, but I can't see many promoters or wrestlers changing what they do besides trying harder to hide it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milamber Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 I thought about starting a thread but I've already posted extensively about it on another forum and there are hundreds of reddit threads as well. The UK scene in particular is rotten to it's core, including several NXT UK talent. Ligero and Banks have been fired. Trainers in a lot of promotions abused their postions to manipulate young women and it either went unnoticed or management turned a blind eye because it was better for business. In the US, Joey Ryan and Dave Crist are 2 of the worst I've read about. Impact just fired Tessa Blanchard (though it wasn't related to her old racism accusations), Elgin, Crist and Ryan. It's not just women who have been abused. Keith Lee and Callum Newman came forward with their own stories. It shows than anyone can be a victim under the right circumstances. With no governing body to provide oversight and a safe avenue for complaints, abused wrestlers have had no place to turn except the police. Without solid evidence it would be pointless and it would be the end of their careers if word got out. While using twitter to out people is not ideal, I'm not surprised it had to happen this way now that we know how widespread it is and how so many people in the industry got away with so much for so long. Hopefully now all these cases will go to the police and they will be investigated seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Self Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 I've rewritten this is lot, because I'm not sure what I want to say. I wrestled on the UK indies for 5 years, including several years as an assistant trainer for a wrestling school. I know and worked with a lot of these names, both accusers and accused. While I'm surprised at some of the names, I'm not surprised that there are names. There's very little barrier to entry when it comes to opening a school, the trainer is often also the owner, and there's no real oversight. It's a low-money business, filled with grifters. I met a lot of people I would lovingly call scumbags... but maybe I was lucky to never get on the wrong side of them. I got into wrestling at 25. I was a grown man, fully formed. I wonder what I would have become had I entered at 18 or 16 or 14. I saw how kids looked up to and emulated the trainers. I saw what kind of hold those trainers could exert. Those kids could be very easy to take advantage of, if you're that way inclined. Female trainees were a rarity in our school. The male trainees were warned not to do anything to scare them away or make them uncomfortable, and punishments were handed out. We tried to protect people. Even so, most of them ended up in relationships with wrestlers at some point. Similar aged folks with similar interests, it's inevitable. Hell, it's how I met my wife. She came to learn how to wrestle, and we hit it off. Five years later we are still very happy. I've been thinking a lot lately about what would have happened if she wasn't interested. My advances could have made her feel unsafe. Could she have been afraid to say no? I definitely thought about this beforehand, and think I was prepared for consequences of rejection (I was one foot out of the business at that point anyway), but... I don't know. It all worked out for me. I've seen a few stories of wrestlers simply propositioning fans and trainees and being vilified for it, and I can't get on board with that. I like how WWE seem to be handling it. Taking their time, not making rash decisions, collecting the evidence before dropping hammers on the ones that deserve it. Monsters need to be punished, and damn are there some monsters. I've heard some stuff since I left the business. Toxic. Vindictive. From guys I rode with and considered friends. My wife didn't escape unscathed. I'm struggling to reconcile these stories with the world I knew when I was in it. I genuinely enjoyed the hyper-masculine lads-being-lads atmosphere of the business... but then I was never given reason not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Hopefully Chase Owens getting accused means New Japan will stop booking that no talent piece of garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Wolf Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 More than half of the ones on the indy scene in the US were not well kept secrets. I knew of some of the stories from quite a few of them. But they were mostly second hand from people who worked with them. Its been a really rough ride but I'm super glad a lot of these predators are being outted and hopefully when the business gets back on its feet, it will be a better more inclusive, and safer place. Wrestling hides sexual predators the way the catholic church hides pedophiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Swanton825 Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Hopefully Chase Owens getting accused means New Japan will stop booking that no talent piece of garbage. And if they need someone from the same area to replace him, I would like to suggest Jason Kincaid. Twice as talented, none of the ego or sleaze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 And if they need someone from the same area to replace him, I would like to suggest Jason Kincaid. Twice as talented, none of the ego or sleaze. I saw highlight footage of him and Facade(personal favorite of mine) teaming together in a Japanese promotion and was very impressed. I'd be more than ok with seeing him get a bigger stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cappyboy Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I saw highlight footage of him and Facade(personal favorite of mine) teaming together in a Japanese promotion and was very impressed. I'd be more than ok with seeing him get a bigger stage. I hear you on Facade. Much as I like Jeff Cobb, I would love to have seen what Facade could have done in a fully contended Top Prospect tournament in 2018. Dude was giving RoH some solid performances leading up to that competition. Had he been in the final it would not have surprised me. Dude is that good. Also like the little I've seen of Kincaid. Again highlighted by his appearance in RoH during Top Prospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milamber Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 Facade spent a few months in DDT last year when they were running a weekly show. Looked like a decent flippy wrestler. If Kincaid has talent it's lost beneath his terrible look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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