Another Wrestler Tests Positive For COVID-19 Following GCW Appearance, Promoter Explains What Precautions Were Taken

Well, another report has come in that yet another positive COVID-19 test has come out of GCW's The Collective event--- this time, it's Jaden Newman.

I have sent private messages to those I have been in contact with but if I missed you then please get tested. Please keep @MrsFckingNewman and I in your thoughts and prayers as we quarantine for the next 14 days..

Be safe and please take care of yourselves. https://t.co/HFKZvIVsLy pic.twitter.com/FMhI63iKh7

— Jaden Newman (@Jaden4Real) October 17, 2020

GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale was interviewed by Fightful about this whole incident.

What protocols were GCW mandated to enforce?

"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 before talent came in?

"There is no good answer that would soothe everyone’s concerns. Now that Indie wrestling has come back and there are promotions running regularly and there are big shows occurring and the top performers are working regularly, what you’re basically doing is, putting the validity of any testing into question. There are those incubation periods and the severity of cases as well. It may take your three days to test positive, it may take me seven to ten days. Do we know if we get an accurate result?"

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."