It’s interesting…  While I don’t think that Joey Ryan should be carrying on about his interactions with iMPACT Wrestling, I agree with his core point of view which is (I think) that he shouldn’t be made to grovel for a position or walk into the backstage area with his tail between his legs as a starting point.  I have two comments in support of that point of view.

First, the only reason any old-timers want the youth to act like that at the beginning of their careers isn’t because they want to teach them respect.  Not at all.  The old-timers request that tail-between-the-legs attitude because that’s what they were forced to do when they started 5, 10, 15, 20+ years ago.  As someone who does a lot of volunteer work and training for fraternity men believe me when I say this – the old-timers making an atmosphere where younger performers feel that way is nothing more than hazing and it’s totally inappropriate (and yes, it’s inappropriate and illegal in professional and collegiate sports, too).

Second, if a guy walks into a promotion and he’s “that good,” then he should be given a contract and a main event push sooner rather than later.  Now, I’m not saying that Joey Ryan is “that good” and should be given a contract or anything like that, but I am saying that this mindset of “go earn your stripes” is ridiculous and one of the things that holds professional wrestling back.  Case in point – was LeBron James told that he had to earn his stripes after he graduated high school and wanted to go to the NBA?  Was he asked to ride the bench for a few years so he could learn some antiquated idea of “respect?”  I think not.  Do you know why?  Two reasons:  1. James was that good and 2. the man sold merchandise.

I’m not saying that my second bullet point applies to Joey Ryan in any respect, but it’s something that people should be more aware of in professional wrestling.  It’s called reality.