The last week couldn’t have gone much worse for WWE NXT star Velveteen Dream following accusations of sending underage fans a nude picture and continuing communication with them. The evidence is being hotly debated in fan circles as the voice recording sounds like him to some, and not like him to others. As for the photo, Dream has claimed he was hacked and denied any wrongdoing, and the WWE is standing by Veleveteen Dream.
WWE support
Whether or not he’s guilty is for a further investigation to decide, as everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But more telling in whether he may or not be guilty is the support he’s gotten from the WWE.
While the WWE has remained quiet on the allegations, Dream was mentioned several times on last night’s NXT (4/29) and his match against Adam Cole for the NXT Championship is still on for next week.
What does this mean?
In an era where the WWE is quick to erase anything questionable PR wise from their history, the fact that Dream is still being mentioned and still slated to challenge for the NXT Championship speaks to the WWE’s belief in his innocence.
In many ways, it’s similar to what we’ve seen in professional sports like the NFL and NHL where they stand by an accused player or coach if they believe they’re innocent, or sever all ties by releasing them right away.
As similar as these situations may seem, are they really that similar?
More invested
In both scenarios, a lot of time and money are invested in teaching and training their athletes. In professional sports, it’s understood the players may not make it, so teams employ the Next Man Up philosophy, meaning others are expected to step up and fill the void no matter who the player was or is.
Professional wrestling is a combat sport despite the wrestlers trying to be as safe with each other as possible and the outcomes predetermined. But the difference is, the locker room unity may not be viewed as integral to the organization’s success as in professional sports.
Professional wrestling is often called a sea of sharks, as each is looking for their opportunity at another’s expense. While it appears the locker room mentality has changed in some cases (The Big Show has stated in an interview the WWE’s current locker room is too nice compared to the Attitude Era), has it really shifted from a me first mentality to the extent we’re told?
Sure, they have to work together in the ring and in promos to put each other over, but that doesn’t mean a me first or selfish mindset isn’t as prevalent.
More than the locker room mentality is the fact that in Velveteen Dream’s case, he’s one of NXT’s top stars and he’s currently being pushed. That means more has currently been invested in him than may have been in others, so it’d make sense they’d continue on until something’s proven.
As usual in cases like this, there’s more to come so we’ll have to wait and see, but it looks like Velveteen Dream has the promotion’s backing for the time being.
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