As wrestling fans, we are free to cheer or boo whoever we want and those feelings are not always related to storylines. Wrestlers who seek life outside of the ring in some prominent public role may not always garner their fan base’s admiration.
Take for example Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the WWE’s most famous personalities. Last year, Johnson endorsed the Democratic presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the White House and that move did not garner universal praise like most of “The Great One’s” endeavors. It’s sad to see, because the Rock has become one of those individuals whose constant positivity is one of those lights we really need in these dark times.
Other guys like Kane and Matt Morgan, who ended up serving as mayors in their hometowns may have more admiration based on their localized sphere of influence. But others, like AEW star Chris Jericho, their influence spills out beyond the wrestling ring and into society. In my opinion, it has not always been for the better.
Jericho is a legendary wrestler in his own right and is a first ballot contender for any promotion’s Hall of Fame he has competed in. But lately some of his other ventures should be of some concern. Besides being a wrestler, Jericho is also a podcaster, hosting his own show “Talk is Jericho” on a weekly basis for several years.
Citing that he has a journalism degree and is practicing journalism, Jericho has interviewed many guests, mostly in wrestling and music, but also some controversial figures such as Donald Trump Jr. and a conspiracy theorist who says COVID 19 is a hoax and believes in the flat earth theory.
I have no real issue with Jericho, or any other wrestler, expressing political views or being friendly with people in the political space, such as Jericho with Trump Junior. But my issue with Jericho is him saying he is a journalist, while also giving financial contributions to pro Trump campaigns or Super PACs.
According to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston, Jericho donated over $38,000 to Donald J. Trump for President Inc, the Republican National Committee as well as Winred and Trump committees in 2020.
To quote Thurston as to whether this information should be made public, “he (Jericho) is a public figure, the total amount is more than many Americans’ income in 2020, the records are public, he has a large audience podcast that hosted political guests (Donald) Trump Jr. and Andrew Yang, as well a recent ep touched on Covid conspiracies.”
You also can’t say you’re “not a political person” then go around donating vast sums of money to someone running for President of the United States. Jericho’s tweet below got a very direct response from his former colleague, MVP.
In light of the absolute shit-show of an insurrection against the US Capitol last week, openly expressing support for a President who instigated that riot against his own government should be carefully reconsidered.
No journalist I know, even those with evident bias and political leanings, have been known to go and donate money to a candidate. The very few times that has happened, those journalists were severely reprimanded. One who comes to mind is Keith Olbermann, who lost his job at MSNBC after he gave some money to congressional candidates.
Overall, Jericho’s position irks me because he is giving a platform for COVID 19 conspiracy theories on his show, even though he is saying he doesn’t agree with all of it. But if you have a huge platform for unproven ramblings, promoting those denials in any form is just outright dangerous.
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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