Cook: WWE Superstars Travel Is Fine

Steve Cook has an outside look at the world of travel in professional wrestling, thanks in no small part to No Way Jose!

When one writes about professional wrestling, it’s a good idea to keep one’s non-wrestling writing life out of it. Things can get complicated in ways one can’t fathom. The less people reading your work know about what you do in “real life”, the better. However, there are occasions where your regular experiences in every day life can shine a light on a hot topic.

This is one of those occasions.

WWE’s still running live shows. They’ve managed to get the Governor of Florida to declare their entertainment enterprise an “essential business”. I would be willing to bet any amount of money that there was a rather sizable contribution to the DeSantis Campaign Fund that made this happen. Nevertheless, live Raw, SmackDown & NXT are things that are happening for the foreseeable future.

Naturally, people are a little worried. We all love our favorite WWE Superstars. As much as we enjoy the pain they go through on our TV screens, we don’t want anything really bad to happen to them. With many Americans confined to their homes 24/7, it’s understandable that there’s a lot of fear out there. Hell, WWE already had one employee test positive for the coronavirus. The odds of there being more increase with every event they put on.

I do have some good news.

The idea of travel scares a lot of people right now. I can tell, as one of the ways I make money involves going to the airport most days of the week. It’s something I’ve been doing a few years now. I’ve seen a lot of people come through, including WWE Superstars. And let me tell you, nobody creates a stir at the airport like WWE Superstars do. You could show up at 4:00 AM, and outside TSA you’ll see grown ass men standing by the escalators with action figures, championship belts and pretty much anything else you can think of for wrestlers to sign. I know there’s a cottage industry for that sort of thing, but it’s always seemed a bit weird to me.

Personally, I try to leave them alone. Especially if they’re coming through at an insanely early hour. I know they had a rough night at the office, and the last thing they want is some mark giving them the business. I will admit to a couple of exceptions. One time I saw Michael “P.S.” Hayes walking by and I couldn’t help but yell “FREEBIRDS!”. He appreciated it. There was also the time Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley were together after they teamed the night prior, and I had to give them some props on their win. Both of these occasions were after 10 AM, so I felt it was fair game. I’m not even a huge fan of Corbin or Lashley, but I loved the fact they were a tag team traveling together like the good old days. A lot of times you see these guys alone, or congregating with people they aren’t associated with on-screen. I just think tag teams or factions should travel together & be with each other in public. That’s the Bill Watts in me, I guess.

There’s a point I’m getting to, I swear.

Nobody is at the airport right now. We’re all afraid to go places due to the virus. Many of us have isolated ourselves in our homes. I’m not knocking anybody for doing that. Getting sick sucks, and there’s a bigger chance than usual of that happening. However, some of us have to go to work and try to keep things afloat while everybody else gets to chill at home. That sounds more bitter than I intend…honestly, I highly value the ability to get out of my house. I would be completely insane if all I could do was sit at home and stare at various screens.

I know I’m not alone. Most of you would probably prefer to be able to get out and do things. The majority of people don’t want to sit home and collect unemployment. It should be available to us when we need it, no doubt, but we don’t want to need it forever. Getting out and earning a living is preferable to the alternative.

It’s easy to feel sorry for WWE Superstars right now. This was the best chance they had at getting an off-season. That won’t happen. Vince will pay off whoever needs to be paid off to ensure that. Wrestling does not feel like an essential business, and the ratings tell us that most American TV viewers will get along just fine without it. WWE can film all the PSA videos they want, and anybody with half a brain will know they’re full of shit. The company’s behavior during these uncertain times has been deplorable, and nobody that has followed the company for any amount of time is surprised by that.

But I can tell you one thing.

There is no reason for you to get worried about Jerry Lawler going to an airport. I can’t make any promises for what happens when he leaves an airport. All I can say for sure is that The King can walk through any airport in this country without getting accosted for signatures. He won’t have to deal with mouth-breathers sneaking up on him in a terminal wanting his autograph on an action figure from 1998, or randos asking him why he didn’t give the Fabulous Ones a better payday for that house they drew in the Mid-South Coliseum.

I can tell you that most of these guys are getting private planes. They can kick back & relax without worrying about offending anybody. Braun Strowman can take up a whole row of seats and it’s ok. I feel like this would be the best possible time for Ronda Rousey to be a WWE Superstar, since she hates the fans and they’re nowhere to be found.

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Hope you all had a #HappyEaster! Swipe to see how many traveled with me today. #StaySafe #MakingTowns #RAW

A post shared by NoWayJoseWWE (@nowayjosewwe) on Apr 12, 2020 at 7:28pm PDT

As long as WWE is paying the trans for No Way Jose to travel on an airplane by himself, get into a car by himself, lose to Bobby Lashley in short order and find somewhere to sleep, I can’t get too mad at WWE for it. If they aren’t, then No Way Jose should tell them No Way, Jose.

All I know is that the airport has never been a better environment for a WWE Superstar than it is right now.