OK. So. This one goes out to wrestlers/promotions/people otherwise wrestling-affiliated everywhere.

I'm... trying to word this right, so apologies if it doesn't come across clearly, but. There's something I feel needs to be said, because it's really, really important.

I imagine that in the wake of Speaking Out, there's more than a few wrestlers/promotions who maybe feel like they've been unfairly maligned by the actions of a few. Who didn't do anything wrong, and weren't connected to/didn't book anyone who did, but still feel maligned.

And who maybe want things to go back to normal, albeit with less people 'cause, y'know, fuck the abusers. But now there's all these new guidelines and codes and stuff, and I imagine some people feel that it's not fair because they didn't do anything/none of it happened here.

And the thing is... OK. You didn't do anything wrong, fine. You didn't book anyone who did, fine. You weren't associated with anyone who did, fine. But here's the thing: you're still involved whether you like it or not. Because wrestling *as a whole* has been severely affected.

The actions of all those people are reflecting on everyone else. Which I'm sure y'all already knew. But it's not a matter of 'OK, we promise to be better, let's go back to normal'. People's lives were shattered by the abuse they suffered. You don't get to brush that off.

Wrestling as a whole has been deeply damaged because of how many rapists, bullies and other abusers were exposed- and that's just the ones who got revealed by Speaking Out. God knows how many are left. It's not an automatic case of 'if you weren't named, you're a good person.'

And so many fans are still devastated by this. By finding out that their heroes are horrible people. By learning about the trauma people just like them experienced, about how they were preyed on and victimised by people they thought they could trust.

So here's what I'm getting at: All of you need to be better. That might sound like it goes without saying, but you need to be better *because we want to be able to trust you again*.

Because face it, anyone could be an abuser. We just haven't found out yet.

Right now, the big question isn't just 'can I go to a wrestling show without getting sick'. It's 'can I go to a wrestling show *and be safe there?*' Can I go without being harassed? Can I go without being preyed on? Will the promotors and wrestlers look out for me?

As someone who spoke out against a very popular wrestler, that's a question I wonder a lot. If I go to any show he used to be booked on, will he be there? Will he come after me? Will his friends come after me in retaliation? Will the promotion have my back?

Because... no, I can't automatically trust the promotion. I can't automatically trust the wrestlers. I can't trust that I'll be safe, even though I used to. Not anymore. I know that if I go, I won't feel safe. I know I'll be constantly on the look out for retaliation.

Because from my perspective... these people knew what he did and they still sided with him, so who's to say they won't retaliate? And that's what we as fans are stuck with. We can't feel safe. We're afraid for our safety. We need you to have our backs when it counts.

So I guess what I'm saying is, show, don't tell. We need all of you to walk the walk and stand by us. Protect the victims. Throw out the abusers. Don't brush off accusations. Be there when it counts. Because *we need you to*. Because we want to trust you, but right now, we can't.

And if you don't? We have no reason to stay silent. Fans talk a *lot*. And we'll make sure everyone knows that they're not safe around you.