Since AEW Dynamite started airing live last week, they’ve made a point of touting onscreen that they’re testing everyone for COVID-19 before allowing them in the arena. Since they’re running shows while many of us are still staying home, they clearly want to offer reassurances that they’re taking precautions to keep their workers (not to mention their workers’ families) safe from the virus. UFC has also apparently been testing people. WWE, on the other hand, has been avoiding talking about the pandemic at all on their shows, beyond references to “this current situation” or whatever.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE hasn’t been testing workers for COVID-19 at all.
[UFC is] doing 1,200 COVID tests in one week…AEW is testing everyone. WWE has still yet to do, as far as I know, one test. Which surprised me, because a lot of people were thinking that now that AEW is testing and UFC is testing, that WWE would follow suit to keep.
It’s reasonable to question, as usual, whether Dave really knows what he’s talking about, but if WWE is testing people, why aren’t they telling the public that? Stephanie McMahon and others have talked multiple times about their safety precautions, but it’s always vague stuff about taking temperatures and wiping down the ring. It could only make them look better if they also mentioned COVID-19 tests. Certainly now that this report has come out, it makes sense to expect that if they have been quietly running tests, they’ll want to make that info public.
As for why there’s been no testing, Meltzer puts the responsibility for that right where you’d expect — on Vince McMahon.
As it was explained to me, Vince McMahon is not receptive to the outside world. He finds what’s going on in the outside world to be an annoyance because it is getting in the way of his vision. He’s got a vision, and all these people are getting in the way of what he wants to do.
That certainly sounds like the attitude we’ve all come to expect. But like I said, if they have been testing for the virus, now would be a good time to say so. And if they haven’t been, it’s time to start.