ALL-PURPOSE COVID-19 SITUATION THREAD

[famicommander]

It kinda bugs me how Vince and the WWE are being painted as villains for laying off a small percentage of their traveling staff - 15%.

-Vince went out of his way to get declared an "essential" business then he flew a bunch of his "essential" workers to Orlando during a pandemic just to fire them

-WWE is still on pace to have their most profitable year ever

-Vince sold off literally hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stock to fund the XFL, then bankrupted it intentionally to stiff creditors even though there's no way he spent all of that money. Tons of small business owners and independent contractors are getting completely hosed right now

-The whole super PAC thing

Unrelated to the pandemic, but:
-Vince helped Jimmy Snuka get away with murder, straight up

-Vince helped Pat Patterson get away with sex crimes against minors and against adult subordinates

-Vince has been accused of straight up rape and sexual harassment (different accusers)

-Vince has put blackface acts on television this century

-The WWE Hall of Fame is populated by murderers, rapists, thieves, common pimps, bigots, Donald Trumps, serial woman beaters Vince enabled, etc.

Vince McMahon IS evil. He's a god damn cartoon supervillain at this point.

[supersonic]

Don’t forget the KSA blood money, that the locker room was plagued for decades, that the wellness policy was a joke before late 2007 even after Eddie’s death, that Eddie’s death was exploited and those closest to hum were talked into doing it, etc.

Definitely watch the Benoit 2-parter on Dark Side of the Ring. It gives extra details about Eddie’s death that make his exploitation even more disgusting. It adds even more texture to Benoit’s spiral, knowing from Jericho’s books that he hated that storyline,

[supersonic]

Opening excerpt from this week's Observer. Let this resonate for those of you who think WWE's reputation is being unfairly scathed.

An absolutely crazy week saw Vince McMahon fold the XFL, have the Governor of Florida overrule local officials to be able to run multiple shows a week in the state, get, along with Dana White, to be mentioned by President Trump as one of the people he’d talk with about reopening the economy, and then made massive talent and office cuts with the expectation of a long economic downturn.

With its $500 million of reserve cash available, broken down as $90.45 million in straight cash on hand, $160.03 million in short term investments that can be used, and another $250 million available instantly in debt capacity, McMahon was the first promoter in combat sports to make cuts, while other companies have avoided doing so even though all others are losing money, although UFC will be back to making money as soon as they start running shows again.

[supersonic]

https://sdccblog.com/2020/04/san-diego- ... cancelled/

For the first time in its 50 year history, the show will not go on. Comic-Con International announced that there will be no San Diego Comic-Con in 2020 — and the next planned event will be July 22-25, 2021.

[supersonic]

https://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/wwe-f ... pocmchKhPZ

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned WWE is making a big adjustment to their filming schedule in an effort to increase the level of safety for performers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you’ll recall, WWE returned to live television shows from the Performance Center this week after the Governor of Florida allowed sports and entertainment properties to resume producing events in the state as long as there are no fans in attendance.

Now, however, the company is making another change to how things will be filmed for the next few months at the WWE Performance Center.

We’ve learned that in an effort to have performers traveling as little as possible, the WWE filming schedule going forward will be as follows:

SmackDown will air this evening live as scheduled on FOX

Raw will air on Monday live as scheduled on USA Network

NXT will air on Wednesday live as scheduled

Next Friday, SmackDown will air live as scheduled

Saturday, April 25; two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (airing May 1 and May 8)

Monday, April 27; two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night and the other will air the following week on May 4)

Wednesday, April 29; two episodes of NXT will be taped (one is for that night, the other will air on May 6)

Monday, May 11; one episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 15

Tuesday, May 12; one episode of Raw will be taped for May 18 and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 22

Wednesday, May 13; two episodes of NXT will be taped (one is for that night, the other will air on May 20)

Monday, May 25; two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night, the other will air on June 1)

Tuesday, May 26; two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (one will air on May 29, the other will air on June 5)

Wednesday, May 27; two episodes of NXT will be taped (one is for that night, the other will air on June 3)

Monday, June 8; one episode of Raw taped for that evening and another episode of SmackDown taped for June 12

Tuesday, June 9; one episode of NXT will be taped for June 10

Monday, June 15; one episode of Raw taped for that evening and another episode of SmackDown taped for June 19

Tuesday, June 16; one episode of Raw taped for June 22 and another episode of SmackDown taped for June 26

Wednesday, June 17; two episodes of NXT will be taped (one is that night, the other will air on June 24)

Monday, June 29; two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night and the other will air on July 6)

Tuesday, June 30; two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (one for July 3 and one for July 10)

Wednesday, July 1; two episodes of NXT will be taped (one is for that night, the other will air on July 8)

According to sources, the health and safety measures being utilized at the Performance Center for shows has continued to evolve as we learn more about the coronavirus as a society. This includes everyone wearing face masks, good hygiene/handwashing for appropriate amount of time, medical screenings prior to entering any closed set, matches done in waves, only essential personnel on-site, adhering to social distancing outside of performances, ‘pandemic-level cleaning’ and more.

Our sources say that despite some outside criticism, WWE is putting a lot of effort into mitigating risks and doing the best they can to protect people’s health and safety while still keeping the business afloat amidst the current pandemic.

A rep for WWE confirmed the scheduling information when reached for comment.

“We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” the company said in a previous statement. “We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”

[supersonic]

Sea World, WWE, and Hobby Lobby have a new friend at the carny table.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.c ... oronavirus

”While GameStop is best known as a provider of gaming and home entertainment systems, we also offer a wide array of products and devices that are important to facilitate remote work, distance learning, and virtual connectivity. As millions of Americans face unprecedented challenges adapting to virtual learning, working and interaction, there is significant need for technology solutions and we are one of many providers of these products that are remaining open at this time. Schools, businesses and families are now suddenly dependent on being able to connect through technology. While there are many businesses and organizations far more critical than ours, we believe we can have a positive impact during this very challenging time. The health and safety of our employees and customers is of utmost importance and we have and will continue to take extensive precautions consistent with CDC guidelines. We are complying with all state, county, city and local ordinances and we will continue to adjust to any future developments.”

“They've essentially said to disobey law enforcement in any state that shuts down non essential retail,” said one employee, who asked to remain anonymous, “as they believe we are providing an essential service to people that shop at a video game store.”

GameStop has been criticized for its poor handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company has been unable to provide adequate cleaning supplies to employees, instead asking them to seek out such supplies at local stores. The company has not extended sick leave policies to employees, instead asking them to rely on their existing time off options.

While other companies have voluntarily shut down amidst the pandemic, GameStop has remained open.

[supersonic]

Why haven't certain network executives and combat sports promoters bothered mentioning or referring to this statement from 12 days ago?

https://ringsidearp.org/arp-statement-on-covid19/

The Association of Ringside Physicians has been actively following the recommendations of the CDC as well as other professional medical societies concerned with the spread of COVID-19, or novel coronavirus.

Sporting events across the world have been cancelled in response to the increased risk of infection and transmission by participants, fans, officials, and support staff.

It is our recommendation that all combat sporting events be postponed until further notice. This includes any and all events, regardless of the number of people involved. Any combat sport taking place during this global pandemic places the athletes, officials, and anyone else involved in the event under unnecessary risk of infection and transmission of Covid-19. In addition, combat sports athletes often require medical attention after a bout, and we do not wish to see any additional strain on an already overwhelmed medical system.

We continue to monitor this ever-evolving situation, and our thoughts continue to be with those who have been and will be affected by this disease.

Our organization remains steadfast in our mission: to serve, protect, and educate all involved in combative sports.

[supersonic]

https://theathletic.com/1763214/2020/04 ... e-mcmahon/

Former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck is suing his ex-boss, Vince McMahon, for wrongful termination. In a federal lawsuit filed last week in Connecticut, Luck seeks unspecified damages from McMahon.

https://twitter.com/JonAlba/status/1252596813376389120

At Tuesday's Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a #WWE employee named "John" submitted public comment they're being "forced to work" TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he's unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups.

"John" says despite sanitary precautions, they can't maintain social distancing at #WWE tapings, and they have to touch their others. They've requested the government shut down the tapings so everyone can follow social distancing rules without fear of losing their jobs.

As we covered last week, #WWE had initially been ruled a non-essential business in Orange County, and the Orange County Sheriff had been called several times to the Performance Center. Then, an April 9 Executive Order by Gov. DeSantis included it as an essential business.

While there isn't really way to verify this is 100% absolutely a #WWE employee given the nature of the complaint, it should be noted there have been several within the company who have expressed concern, many privately, over the tapings continuing.

I did reach out to #AEW last week, another promotion that will have permission to run in Florida should it choose to once its pre-taped shows conclude, over whether or not it intends to run Florida. I have yet to receive comment.

https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status ... 8975039488

Regarding these suspected employee complaint rumors: from a direct source in the know...

Exact quote: “they have not FORCED anyone to work during this time.”

[supersonic]

Last Call for the XFL

WWE Layoffs Were Morally Heartless and Economically Unnecessary

[supersonic]

Observer:

AEW is also going back, likely to live programming, in a few weeks, which would put them in the same situation. While this could also change depending on the circumstances and they have enough taped to last for several more weeks, the plan right now is for AEW to go back either weekly or more often starting on 5/6 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.

The Decatur, GA main stuff was the TNT tournament, which has its semifinal on 4/29.

The shows starting on 5/6 will be to start the hard push for the 5/23 Double or Nothing PPV show. They expect to have about twice as much talent available for the next tapings. Some talent from heavily hit areas that weren’t brought to the last tapings started quarantining earlier this week as they wanted two weeks of quarantine before bringing people from those areas in. It’s expected the shows will focus on the talent that will be on the PPV show.

https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2020/04/23 ... s-116-min/

SHOW SUMMARY: PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents the Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast with special guest Brandon Thurston from Wrestlenomics.com and the Wrestlenomics Podcast. Thurston has focused for years on WWE’s finances, and today was perhaps the most anticipated and consequential financial release day for WWE for a wide array of reasons. They discuss COVID-19 ramifications, key metrics on WrestleMania when it comes to WWE Network subscriptions and social media, WWE’s roster cutbacks and its impact on WWE’s finances, how Vince McMahon’s role on the Investors Conference call changed without longtime co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, McMahon saying WWE might never be in the live event business again even after COVID-19 crisis passes, how an elimination of North American non-TV house shows could change WWE’s profitability and why some of the current data is deceptive, the magic cleaner Triple H referenced that is helping keep wrestlers safe from the coronavirus, and more. If you’ve been looking for an in-depth overview and understanding of WWE’s financial situation in the midst of the coronavirus and analysis of their framing of their current situation, Thurston provides over 90 minutes of insight and digestible explanations on where WWE stands and how the future looks.

[supersonic]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/wrestlingn ... virus/amp/

We are sad to report the passing of former WWE referee Jack Lotz at the age of 86.


The news broke via his daughter on social media and she noted that he passed away on Saturday due to complications for coronavirus.

Lotz, under the New York State Athletic Commission, refereed matches during the early days of the WWF national expansion and if you watched the early WrestleMania events then you will notice him in several matches.

In addition to the first three WrestleMania events, he also refereed the famous match that saw Bob Backlund defeat “Superstar” Billy Graham in 1978 for the WWWF Championship. He was also the referee for Hulk Hogan’s match against The Iron Sheik in 1984 where Hogan won the WWF Championship and officially kicked off a long run that would lead to WWF’s boom period.

[supersonic]

https://www.f4wonline.com/daily-updates ... -19-309711

The wrestler Cosmos (Rafael de la Torre), who was 52, and a longtime Southern California independent wrestler, was the second pro wrestler that we are aware of who has passed away from COVID-19. He passed away on Friday. (thanks to Kurt Brown)

[supersonic]

https://www.f4wonline.com/daily-updates ... -19-309711

The wrestler Cosmos (Rafael de la Torre), who was 52, and a longtime Southern California independent wrestler, was the second pro wrestler that we are aware of who has passed away from COVID-19. He passed away on Friday. (thanks to Kurt Brown)

[supersonic]

https://www.espn.com/mma/ufc/story/_/id ... oronavirus

Ronaldo "J'acare" Souza, who was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249 on Saturday, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

While Souza will not fight, the UFC 249 card will go on as planned, Hunter Campbell, excecutive vice president and chief business officer of UFC told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Friday.

Souza, who trained in Orlando, Florida, arrived in Jacksonville on Wednesday and informed UFC officials that a family member had tested positive. Souza was asymptomatic but was monitored and tested, and Friday the test came back positive after he had already appeared at the weigh-in for Saturday's fight.

The UFC has conferred with Florida state athletic officials, who said the fights can go on as scheduled because the system worked in Souza's case.

https://variety.com/2020/scene/news/roy ... 234602573/

Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn, whose collaboration with Siegfried Fischbacher created the well-known animal training and magic duo Siegfried & Roy, died of complications from COVID-19 Friday in Las Vegas. He was 75.

Horn had revealed on April 28 that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

[supersonic]

https://www.ringtv.com/599498-commentar ... d-the-ufc/

Perhaps it is unfair to ask the majority of people in our nation, people who have been raised in a culture of self-centricity as opposed to the “collective good”, and who have unwittingly been conditioned through confirmation bias and repetitive endorphin release from chosen conventional news media sources and internet services that reinforce individual ideation, to be prepared to deal with the sacrifices required of this challenge, just as it is unfair to expect young adults to have all the coping skills needed to act independently if they’ve grown up with helicopter parenting. How do we get beyond the confusion?

Governor Andrew Cuomo has been an excellent leadership role model in this time of crisis. He has gathered information from experts in multiple fields, and, whether you agree or disagree with him, has made decisions based on facts, not emotions. He has been fluid in his thinking. He has coordinated efforts with neighboring states, and shared resources, data and intellectual capabilities for the betterment of the collective. Members of the ABC and ARP should perhaps have done the same: developed and implemented a national, coordinated plan, based on facts, adaptable to emerging data, and free from political, economic or personal agenda.

Frustration. Fear.

Emotional decision making cannot be the driving force behind health care policy. Decisions guiding the future of the nation/world must be data driven and should include a coordinated effort of specialists with diverse expertise, including, but not limited to research scientists, physicians, molecular biologists, epidemiologists, social and behavioral psychologists and business professionals. There is no place or time for political rhetoric, no place for spin, no place for “overly positive talk”’ like the kind adults use with children when difficult discussions must take place. There is no time for blame. At least not now. It takes too much energy and distracts from the realities of what must be accomplished, what we might face in the future if we as a nation, don’t get our collective heads out of the sand and start dealing – dealing with facts, dealing with the harsh realities of what is, so that we can mitigate worse case future scenarios.

We will make mistakes. Some might be costly, both in terms of lives, and the U.S. and world economy. But we can only navigate a reasonable course with effective, well-coordinated and well implemented emergency action plans that rely on expert advice and use innovative ways to troubleshoot various problems that arise (e.g., supply chain dilemmas). We need to learn from, but also let go of the pursuit of missed opportunities, stick to a rationale timeline, and implement objective assessment tools to navigate future decision-making processes. In other words, we can’t do the same old thing, hoping we’ll dodge the proverbial bullet: we can’t move forward living in the past.

Facts about the Coronavirus – The minimum information ringside physicians should know and should share with their Commissions:

1 – The Coronavirus is so named because the spikes on its surface look like a crown. There are many different types of Coronaviruses, one of which causes the common cold. What does COVID 19 mean? COV stands for Coronavirus, ID for infectious disease, and 19, the year the virus was identified.

2 – The Coronavirus is a zoonotic virus- that means that it’s natural host is an animal. Sometimes viruses mutate or change in ways that allow the virus to infect a new host, such as humans, if /when the appropriate opportunity arises. People have no immune response to a novel virus, since by definition, the human immune system has never before been exposed to this organism.

3 – All viruses need a host for replication – that’s why social distancing is so important until we can develop a medication to treat the infection or develop a vaccine. What makes this virus so different? It is easily spread, it is infectious 2-3 or more days before infected persons demonstrate symptoms, and the majority of people don’t die, so it doesn’t “burn itself out”. Remember, the virus cannot live outside a host.

4 – If the majority don’t die, what’s the big deal? We don’t yet fully understand the mechanism by which damage is done to those infected, or whether long term problems can result as a consequence of this disease. It was originally believed that younger individuals didn’t become as sick as older individuals, but the majority of hospitalized patients are in the young adult category, and we are now seeing adults (20-40s) who test positive for antibodies but who do not recall being ill, developing strokes. Children, who were once thought to be immured from this disease are now being hospitalized with rare inflammatory conditions.

5 – The virus has to get inside a host cell to replicate. For each virus that enters a cell, many new virus particles are released into the host.

6 – Scientists are looking at many different sites in the virus replication cycle for ways to stop infectivity or to prevent replication.

7 – Researchers need to make sure medications developed to treat the infection are not only effective, but are unlikely to cause viral mutation with resultant resistance to the treatment. Time is required to develop medications that can ideally interrupt more than one site in the replication cycle, or to develop multiple medications that interrupt the virus’ life cycle at different points.

8 – A vaccine takes time to develop, but also requires rigorous testing to make sure it is safe. It would be unethical to inoculate otherwise healthy individuals with a vaccine whose side effects were equal to, or worse than the disease.

9 – Genome tracing (genetic viral tracing) has become a reality. The German government has graciously shared its site GISAID, and information can be uploaded by researchers to nextstrain.org. in order to determine/track which viral strains are present in different areas of the world.

10 – Epidemiologic models will not be perfect, because we are dealing with the unknown. Epidemiologists use as baseline, knowledge gained from the study of other infectious diseases (1918 flu pandemic, equine influenza North American outbreak 1800s, SARS COV-1, MERS, Ebola). Now that the natural history of the virus is better understood, we can estimate how many people are likely to be infected by a single carrier, and models can be built to determine whether interventions undertaken to contain infectivity are working (harbor in place, masks, social distancing).

11 – A minimum of 70-80% of the population needs to be immune for herd immunity to occur. The current estimate is that 10-15% of the U.S. population has thus far contracted the virus.

12 – The purpose of “flattening the curve” is to prevent the overwhelming of public health care/medical resources, and to mitigate worse case scenarios. Those who are being hospitalized with the infection have longer hospital stays than required for most other illnesses, and many require round the clock intensive care. Flattening the curve does not mean we are over the worst of the pandemic. It just means we are moving into the next phase. And the next phase needs to be handled with careful consideration.

13 – We are beginning to realize that the virus attacks multiple organ systems, not just the lungs. The virus often presents differently in different age groups and in people with multiple medical problems.

Individuals may compensate well for several days, and then take a rapid turn for the worse, sometime between days 5-9. Patients who become severely ill usually have underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, or are immunocompromised. Until proven otherwise, athletes with any of the above conditions should be considered higher risk.

14 – Hospitals in some regions of the country have been overwhelmed or nearly overwhelmed by the pandemic. There is useful information available from areas that have already been severely affected by COVID-19 and this should be used by ringside physicians when deciding when combat sports events are safe to resume in their localities. For example, if your state or tribal jurisdiction is witnessing a rise or levelling off, but not a drop in hospitalized cases, one should consider whether it is safe to send injured athletes to the local Emergency department, and whether it is reasonable to further burden an overly taxed system for the sake of sport. (resources such as protective equipment, as an example).

Scientists, physicians, those in the creative arts and with entrepreneurial mentalities are more likely to deal comfortably with unknowns, as they are accustomed to stepping into areas not previously explored. That’s why the UFC took the risk it did. We all want to get back to some type of normalcy. It was up to Florida’s experts to determine the real relative risk of the production.

[supersonic]

Progress’s finances raise many questions as they ask for support during coronavirus live events pause

[supersonic]

Alex Shelley on Twitter:

Honestly, with everything going on, I have intentionally avoided all social media, choosing to instead focus on absolute truths: physical medicine. But I miss wrestling. And when it comes back, I still plan to open up those chambers for those who want it.

It still absolutely blows me away that in the day and age of instant information on the black mirror we have in our hands that a: people are not treated as individuals and b: anyone would ever be judged by the amount of melanin granules in their epidermis.

So for me, medicine is honest and indifferent. And the wrestling that I participate in is honest and indifferent. Both are mechanical and skilled and nonlinear and unique to each person. At least there’s that, and it makes me so happy I came back 10 months ago. Thank you, all.

Also, let me add some positivity: @ringofhonor paid me for numerous shows I had agreed to. This is despite the fact that I am a free agent and currently available to and negotiating with other companies if I am being forthright and honest. This was so wildly appreciated.

I never stopped working with patients who potentially contracted Covid. I could have become ill; this would reduce my income substantially. @ringofhonor paying me for shows I agreed to really put some of my stress at ease. I never stopped treating patients

I wouldn’t have anyway, however, I recognized the fact I could get very ill and have to step away from work - this would reduce my income substantially. So, again, thank you @ringofhonor for giving me a little extra confidence as it pertains to helping people in pain.

[supersonic]

Let's not forget about this situation too. Texas and Florida cases are spiking, which seems to be happening across the Sun Belt all the way out west to CA and AZ. So much for the hopeful theory that the summer heat would kill this virus.

Shared - June 18 https://twitter.com/megtirrell/status/1 ... 40705?s=20

Metro areas w fastest case growth in last week:
1. Phoenix
2. Tampa
3. Orlando
4. San Antonio
5. Austin

Largest slowdown:
1. Detroit
2. New Haven
3. Worcester
4. NYC
5. Bridgeport

Considering that NYC was a COVID-19 hot spot just 2-3 months ago and had one of largest anti-racism protests, that particular excuse can't be used either to explain why the Sun Belt is seeing a spike.

In addition, the hope for summer heat saving us from COVID-19 has another piece of evidence to debunk it, as this looks like it might be hitting lucha libre REALLY hard.

https://twitter.com/luchablog/status/12 ... 96608?s=20

[supersonic]

The floodgates have opened - https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/mult ... -19-314076

[Shanahan]

Cases are spiking but deaths are down because most of people getting it are under 40.