No Loyalty in Wrestling – Locker Rooms Are a Lot Like High School Cafeterias

This week showed why pro wrestling is so far behind modern sports its laughable. Highly talented and accomplished independent wrestler LuFisto came out and gave detailed description of how bad AEW women’s wrestling is viewed and treated by management. It’s not just her opinion as many reporters, wrestlers and fans have claimed that AEW treats it like a joke.

And yet within 24 hours, a dozen AEW wrestlers have come out and stated how LuFisto is wrong and are defending management. And it is proof once again why wrestling will always be a niche compared to pro sports.

Because wrestlers will never support each other when it comes to management vs. themselves.

You can’t blame them because most wrestling locker rooms are a lot like high school cafeterias. You have several cliq’s, some of them can’t stand the other, and everyone is looking out for themselves. It’s been that way since as long as time itself from the territory days to the Rock N’ Wrestling to even the Attitude era. Many wrestlers have written books and bashed guys for being held down, backstabbed by colleagues, and even had their careers ruined by other wrestlers.

And its not just back in the day but even the current regimes have shown that. Look at AEW for a prime example and notice who is getting pushed or marketed. It’s guys who are either on good terms with the owner or are part of the VP’s or friends w/ the VP’s. Even in WWE, a lot of the guys who are pushed are either Triple H guys or are legacies.

What they all have in common is that when the going gets tough, they will rally behind management to gain favor rather than their compatriots.

Good examples are the tales of Mandy Rose and Zelina Vegas in the WWE and the issues they had. Rose was NXT champion, had re-energized her career and many were calling for her to be called up to the main roster. After finding out, she had racy content on her Fan Time, she was fired unceremoniously. Vegas, after opening an OnlyFans page (without any nude content) and complaining about no union or protection for wrestlers, was fired from the company and out for a year.

And in both instances, none of the colleagues stepped up and defended them or protested.

In many cases, past wrestlers have talked privately about how their colleagues would often go to management and curry favor by talking about what wrestlers would complain hoping to get favor. Hulk Hogan admitted on the stand that he ratted out Jesse Ventura to Vince McMahon when Ventura tried to start a wrestlers’ union.

Even the current product has a lot of wrestlers who play the game and defend the promotion first and foremost. Seth Rollins, The Miz, CM Punk and Roman Reigns have all taken management sides over other wrestlers. In return they have often been pushed to the top of the card for long periods of time.

Compare that to MLB, NBA or even NHL where players are united and have formed strong unions. They understood that owners always would put their own agendas over the players’ well-being. All three of those sports have shown that the players have loyalty to each other.

Pro wrestling has none of that and the culture is more of everyone for themselves or strength in small numbers. From the days of the Cliq in the WWE, Hogan and pals in WCW/WWE and even today’s Elite. And because of that, wrestlers have always been hurt by bigger promotions treating them as “independent contractors.”

Wrestlers to date, even though they claim the business is at its peak, still aren’t getting health insurance, must pay for their own travel/hotels, travel during holidays and still not get the rights to their own names.

All because they have never been able to unionize for the simple reason that there never has been unity. The top wrestlers often will back management in disputes to curry or continue to get favor. Instead of a unified front, they will often splinter into fractions.

Lufisto has found this out the hard way, bullied by fans and peers to the point she had to cancel her social media platforms.

And yet as all of them win one day find out… management will cut them loose and tread on them when its no longer profitable.

Because as they say… there is no honor in sports entertainment. Not if the wrestler’s mentality is everyone for themselves.