As I watched the Brodie Lee celebration of life on AEW Dynamite just a few days ago before the new year rolled in, there was just so much more than just a tribute show to a talent that left us so soon.
This was not just a normal memorial show, but it sent a very strong message to the entire wrestling industry as a whole: this is how AEW treats their talent and their families. Not only did the company sign Brodie’s 8 year old son to a future contract, they “retired” the current design of the TNT championship and awarded it to him, much like the way hockey jersey numbers are retired; hockey being one of Brodie’s favourite sports.
Who else out there does that?
If I get accused of ‘marking out’ on AEW again, then so be it. But I hope in 2021 that all wrestling companies show a bit of compassion and human empathy towards the human condition. One of the tragic things to be noticed from Brodie’s passing was that he could have been wrestling a lot more if he wasn’t paid to sit at home by WWE prior to signing with AEW.
Wrestling companies have to ask themselves if that is a good use of talent; frankly none of us know how much time we have on this Earth so we better make the most of it. Sure, you’re paying so and so and they can provide for their families, but where is the value in that if they’re not doing what they were trained to do?
This brings me to two major changes I would like to see in the pro wrestling industry in 2021: open talk about unionization and the new Biden administration addressing the classification of wrestlers as ‘independent contractors’.
It doesn’t even have to be actual legislation that gets passed this year, what with the anticipated gridlock and slow moving nature of the United States government on anything. If I can see Vince McMahon, Dana White and even Tony Khan having to testify in front of a Congressional committee in Washington about why wrestlers who work for them full time are only ‘independent contractors’ and about unionization in their industries, that would be a giant step forward.
Here’s looking at 2021 with a more positive outlook for the wrestling community.
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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