RINGSIDE

THE COVID-19 CRISIS has effectively stalled the world economy and industry in 2020, prompting an unexpected pause in most of our lives and some important discussions in our culture … and professional wrestling.

Pro wrestling somehow emerged largely unscathed during the peak of the #MeToo movement in 2017-19. But that seemed to change in the course of one day: Thursday, June 18, when another simple hashtag, #SpeakingOut, inspired many allegations that involved a who’s who of the industry. The question became this: Would a performer’s value to a company be a factor in how these allegations were handled?

The major test case seemed to be that of . His Smackdown debut was scheduled for the very next day, and a former coworker accused him of forcing her to perform a sexual act on him while on the road. Riddle’s attorney, and his wife, responded that the woman had been stalking and harassing Riddle for years. Other evidence, including texts, seemed to confirm an affair between the two. Within the murky area of this “he said/she said” scenario, would it be fair of WWE to punish Riddle just as he’s on the verge of his big break? This