Secrets & lies - Vince McMahon’s end can be wrestling’s new beginning

The Vince McMahon story is not just about Vince McMahon, it’s about wrestling as a whole.

Last month Vince McMahon’s true moment of reckoning arrived and he looks to finally be gone from WWE and pro wrestling forever.

His legacy will now be one of shame and disgrace, with even the company he built needing to distance itself from his memory.

After decades of allegations from women that range from rape to harassment to ruining their careers and lives, it took a 67-page lawsuit laying out Vince’s true depravity and evil nature for WWE to finally show him the door and for most of the wrestling world to accept him for the monster he is.

I say most because social media will prove that not everyone is willing to throw out Vince. You can find WWE fans still supporting him, the Andrew Tate mob defending him, and even some old wrestlers hedging just in case Daddy returns.

Of course, everyone should have thrown out Vince a long time ago. I know I should have when I first read Sex, Lies, and Headlocks as a teen.

But in recent years, those who have continued to lionise Vince have shown a complete disregard for all victims of sexual abuse and assault.

When the first Wall Street Journal article came out that should have been enough for wrestlers, fans, and the corporate world. But it wasn’t.

Why was that? Why was the wrestling world still clinging on to and propping up Vince?

His legacy is a huge part of the conversation, what he was able to do with WWE and as a businessman but there are other factors unique to pro wrestling that must be taken into account.

These factors are what allowed Vince to get away with his evil for so long and what allows women to still face abuse, harassment, and misogyny daily.

Firstly, wrestling is run by men. Very little consideration is ever given to putting women in positions of power where real change can be enacted (and no, Stephanie McMahon did not give us a revolution).

But what makes this male domination even more harmful is that this is an industry based on secrets and lies.

Tim Marchman, who has been covering the Vince McMahon story on Vice, said during his appearance on Pollock and Thurston that something holding a lot of women back from sharing their stories was a fear of career-ruining retaliation.

That fear is understandable if you step back and look at how wrestling operates.

Kayfabe may be dead but wrestling is still an industry that is very closed off and operates on a ‘you wouldn’t understand us' basis.

Its closed-off nature and carny mentality make wrestling a breeding ground for those who want to take advantage of others.

Everything in wrestling is on a need-to-know basis, whether you’re talking to a performer, someone in the office, or even someone just covering the business.

Everyone is keeping secrets and everything that happens is ‘just wrestling’

In wrestling it’s always about what you can get away with.

And you are always being worked. Being worked in a match or an angle is fun, being worked in real life leads to paranoia and gaslighting.

In the UK Speaking Out happened in 2020, it travelled to the US too but it was mostly the British wrestling scene that was under the spotlight.

There were stories of trainers preying on trainees, male wrestlers abusing female co-workers, fans being taken advantage of, and more.

But what always stuck with me was, how many people limited this problem to just Brit Wres or the indie scene without examining what was going on in places where more power and money are involved.

Ask yourself honestly - if a man getting paid £50 a show on the weekends has the power to coerce and sexually exploit a young woman training in a run-down gym, what do you think could happen when actual money and fame are involved?

Wrestling being male-dominated also leads to women always having to prove themselves more, their passion, desire, enthusiasm, and their authenticity.

I know from experience as a woman in wrestling that, the more you show that passion and enthusiasm, the more you can be taken advantage of.

There was a time when I was the most passionate, the most enthusiastic and the most optimistic. Those qualities were exploited in a way that made my self-worth plummet, damaged my mental well-being and nearly made me walk away from wrestling.

I’ve given up opportunities, lost precious career time, withdrawn from my peers, suffered from anxiety, depression, and paranoia, all because I was pushed into a hole I couldn’t get out of - one only a woman would fit into.

I still deal with these after-effects every day and every day I wish I could start over.

Wrestling is small too. Think about it, there are two big companies in the US - WWE and AEW. Well, if something happens to you in one of those places you better hope the other is willing to take you on.

The Vince McMahon story is not just about Vince McMahon. It’s about wrestling as a whole.

The most powerful man this industry has ever seen has fallen but that is not the end of the story, that is not the end of the work.

There are more people to be held accountable in WWE and the industry as a whole needs to look inward and rebuild.

Every company needs to have the correct safeguarding measures in place to ensure everyone is looked after and looked out for and that they can speak openly and freely. And this does not mean ‘letting the boys handle it’ or ‘my door is always open’.

No more secrets, no more lies, save the kayfabe for the ring. Wrestling must open itself up to being safe and equal for everyone.

Do not allow Janel Grant’s courage to be in vain. She cut the head off the snake, she laid bare the true evil of the leader of this industry, now let’s rebuild, grow, and change.

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If you are a woman in wrestling with a story to share who would feel more comfortable talking to a female journalist, contact me on Twitter via DM or by email stephchasewrestling@gmail.com Everything is confidential.

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