With WWE ‘s business impacted by the global financial downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on Wednesday that it has released or furloughed dozens of wrestlers, backstage workers, and other employees. While Monday Night Raw superstar Seth Rollins was one of the many who expressed great disappointment on social media over how many of his colleagues lost their jobs, he also made it clear that he wasn’t happy about how angry fans blasted WWE for letting go of so many on- and off-air talents in a matter of hours.
In an Instagram live appearance on Wednesday afternoon, Rollins reacted to the massive job cuts by saying that his “heart is broken” and stressing that the day was a “difficult” one for everyone involved, as quoted by Bleacher Report . However, a report from Wrestling Inc . went through the rest of the former WWE Champion’s comments in detail, quoting him as saying that he was slightly upset over the “negativity and hostility towards [sic] WWE” in the aftermath of the releases.
“I think if there ever was a moment for us to unify, for us to kind of band together and to try to do the best we can, to keep this business alive the best we know how, that this is that moment. I think pointing fingers or saying you should have done this, or you should have done that… I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel like the time nor the place for it.”
WWE has announced financial cuts
?Reducing executive’s salaries ?Cutting talent expenses ?Pausing new HQ construction pic.twitter.com/B2SspX2w5R
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) April 15, 2020
Rollins went on to say that the time is right for compassion, empathy, understanding, and support for one another — not just for the people who were released by WWE but for everyone else in the locker room who remains employed by the company. He also expressed hope that the myriad negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the world will only be “temporary” and that his now-former colleagues would be able to make it back on their feet, may it be with WWE, a rival wrestling promotion, or in a completely different line of work.
As observed by WhatCulture , Rollins’ criticism of the negative response toward WWE amid the mass releases had, as expected, drawn a “divisive” reaction from wrestling fans. The outlet opined that messages of support and calls for unity are very much appreciated in extraordinary situations such as this. However, it also posited that the public outcry against WWE for letting go of so many people is “relevant,” considering how the company was still on track to turn “record-breaking” profits, even with coronavirus-related financial losses taken into account.