There was a time that respect is what drove the wrestling business. The "up and comers" always knew to show respect for those who came before them. It didn't matter if it was a wrestler, a ref, a promoter, or a guy on the ring crew. If you met someone from within the business who had been there long before you, you gave them their due respect.
Sadly, that's not how the younger generation does things. They think they know it all, and have little to no respect for those of us who paved the way for them. Now, this isn't saying that all younger people in this business are this way, but it's a large majority of them.
Recently while on Facebook, I had a friend send me a friend suggestion of a young lady who is in her third year working in the wrestling business. She's not a wrestler, but someone who works in marketing. I took the suggestion of this mutual friend, and sent this young lady a friend request. Shortly after doing so, I received an "inbox message" (which, for those not familiar with Facebook, is like the Faceboook equivalent of an email) from her. In this message, she sent a very short, very condescending note telling me that rather than befriend her on Facebook, I should follow her on Twitter as that is where she directs all of her fans and "she will gladly answer any questions asked by fans like (myself) and give honest answers and insider tips" because her Facebook page is reserved for only those in the wrestling business. I kind of chuckled, and replied thanking her, but also letting her know that I have been working in this business for over 23 years and although I do consider myself a fan of the sport first, I am not "just a fan". Her reply? "Oh. Who are you? I have never heard of you, so you can't be a "name" or someone on my level"! My only thought was "WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?" Honestly, I have never heard of this young lady myself, nor of her marketing firm, but I wasn't going to sell her short, and most certainly did not expect such treatment from her! My second thought was to reply, and rip her a "new one", but that isn't professional, and although I have a bad Italian temper, I haven't been able to stay in this business for 23 years by being THAT nasty. I have to chalk it up to the current trend of arrogance and disrespect.
Unfortunately, as I read posts to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as to message boards and even in interviews, where the younger wrestlers and other personnel show no respect for anyone else in the industry, and many times, they go so far as to insult and put down those folks who have been here long before them, and with such bad attitudes, will be here long after they have come and gone. Disrespect and arrogance will almost guarantee you a very short shelf life in this sport.
My advice for those who are new or fairly new the the business is to show respect unless it isn't shown to you. Even if you feel that "Joe Bodyslam" didn't have the ability in his best days that you have in your early days, you still must remember that without the men and women who came to the ring before you, there may not be a ring for you to wrestle in today.
