Wrestlers are reportedly refusing to come to work at some WWE Performance Center TV tapings, according to Fightful Select.
It was noted that while conditions have improved since the initial set of tapings during the COVID-19 pandemic era, some people have either outright refused to come in, or hadn’t shown up to some of the tapings, and this was before the series of positive coronavirus tests came back.
It was also said that many talents no-showed the recent Backlot Brawl between The Velveteen Dream and then-WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole. Some NXT talents, including The Undisputed Era, were asked to come in as extra background noise, before the company eventually brought in friends of the wrestlers. Before that, several top NXT wrestlers were exempt from even being asked to come to the taping.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon recently said everything is on a volunteer basis when it comes to the COVID-19 tapings, but Fightful noted that this is not the sentiment echoed by NXT recruits. There was one early name that told NXT they would not be coming in to the tapings, but now word is that several have asked to not participate and were then told that they needed to come in.
As we’ve noted for months now, WWE officials originally told employees that they did not have to work during the coronavirus pandemic if they did not want to. They were also told that if they made the decision to not work, that would not be held against them in the future.
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