Game Changer Wrestling promotor Brett Lauderdale recently sat down for an interview with Fightful’s own Sean Ross Sapp. The interview discussed the recent controversy with covid-19, the protocols put in place, the alleged sexual harassment incident involving Logan Stunt, and more.
Some of the extracts from the interview can be found below,
Why did GCW run The Last Resort on October 17 after the positive COVID-19 tests from The Collective?
“In hindsight, this was probably not my best decision when it comes to scheduling. I have discussed it with my partners and my team. If I could do it again, I probably would have changed the date of this show. I did discuss possibilities earlier in the week, the pros and cons of continuing with this date, our options, and the move that makes the most sense. We met in the middle. What it came down to was, how could we do this show in the safest manner possible that’s not being blatantly dangerous. I took feedback from my team and the outside, there were guidelines laid out and if everyone can follow along, it’s not unreasonable and not anything different that we’ve done any other weekend or any other company is doing. We’ve implemented some of those things and we’re going to move forward following the safest guidelines we can follow.”
What changes the company has implemented since The Collective,
“It’s a smaller crew in wrestlers and staff. One of the things we’ve done is no one traveled to California this week without a negative COVID test. Everyone participated in that. Most people have gotten two tests and most got them in the latter part of the week. Some of the other things we’re doing is dramatically cutting back on the personnel in the locker room. I’ve stressed, ‘unless you are in the ring, you are expected to be wearing a mask.’ There’s going to be no physical interaction between wrestlers and fans this week. This has been our policy the whole time, but we’re going to be on top of it extra tomorrow. No high-fiving, probably no pictures.”
What stopped Brett from canceling GCW The Last Resort in California,
“We laid out a whole bunch of factors; who is going to be there? where are they coming from? From a fan standpoint, 99% of these people are locals who were not at The Collective. These are people who haven’t gone anywhere or done anything in many months. They’re not people who were in Indiana last week and are bringing it here, untested. I cannot regulate fans health and behavior. I did explore other options. Could we push the show back or move it? When we weighed them all, it was determined that if we could do this, this, and this, the risk is no greater than what we’ve already done. At the end of the day, with the added level of testing, the risk appears to be no great than any other show we’ve promoted or any other company has promoted. There is a lot of repeat talent, but as I said earlier, they’ve all been tested at least once since The Collective. Many have been tested twice.”
What mandates did GCW adhere to,
“When we first signed up, there were still restrictions in place. I had to write a 12-page COVID-19 risk mitigation plan, which spelled out our precaution and what we planned to do to keep spectators and the athletes safe. I went through all 12 pages and spelled it all out. These had to be evaluated and these plans were approved before Indiana rolled back. When this was planned, there were rules in place.”
Why didn’t GCW mandate negative tests,
“When we first signed up, there were still restrictions in place. I had to write a 12-page COVID-19 risk mitigation plan, which spelled out our precaution and what we planned to do to keep spectators and the athletes safe. I went through all 12 pages and spelled it all out. These had to be evaluated and these plans were approved before Indiana rolled back. When this was planned, there were rules in place.”
If someone does test positive, why not mandate (a test result) it to at least reduce the spread?
“We tried to enforce this and other promotions tried to enforce this, but for a lot of people, they just can’t get tested. In a perfect world, we would be able to do this with every show and every performer. I wish we were at the point to where we could do that. Going forward, I’m going to do my best to enforce this. We are going to make this part of our requirements going forward. I wish we had done this for The Collective and I apologize and am sorry that we didn’t. There were many performers who were asked to, depending on who they were in the ring with, who did do it. If that was a requirement, then we failed and we should have done it. It just very difficult to get done.”
Brett was asked if he accepted responsibility for putting other Independent shows in disarray,
“I do not accept personal responsibility for those shows not happening. If there were performers than not could performer and you need to replace them, then do that. That’s what everyone does on a regular basis. Us running a show is no different from them running a show. If they run a show and someone is exposed and someone else has to replace a talent the following week, are they at fault? We don’t know who gets COVID from who and we don’t know when or where they got it. To place any sole blame on any one person or company, I think is unfair. I’m sorry that [St. Louis Anarchy] had to re-schedule their show. Right after they canceled their show, they announced five new shows, three on three consecutive weeks. It makes you question the sincerity of their statement in the first place. Are they just mad? What’s the real story? Based on the concerns that they voiced, it doesn’t seem like they’re doing any different. I have no ill will towards them and I understand people say things when they are frustrated and he’s reached out to other members of The Collective and apologized. Everybody just needs to take a deep breath and keep things in perspective, myself included. We’re living in an uncertain world right now.!
(H/T Fightful for the transcript)
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