AEW were pulling no punches when the topic of WWE's COVID-19 troubles arose on the first night of Fyter Fest. Professional wrestling is a world where The Undertaker comes back from the dead, Kane summons fire and everybody rapidly recovers from being repeatedly stomped on the head, this much we know. But even in this wacky environment, the coronavirus pandemic has brought strange times for the industry. When almost every other sport was closing up shop, both WWE and AEW controversially chose to continue with their weekly programming, recording shows in front of empty arenas.
Th rival companies claimed to be putting procedures and precautions in place to minimize the risk of virus transmission, but the elephant in the room wasn't budging - what happens when someone inevitably tests positive? WWE have discovered the answer to that question over the past two weeks. Ever since lockdown began, a stream of reports (mostly from anonymous sources, but via reputable outlets) have been critical of WWE's approach to COVID-19. It was revealed that WWE weren't carrying out full routine testing initially, performers allegedly felt under pressure to continue working, and it was even reported that WWE were reluctant to let those populating the crowd to wear masks at first.
On June 24th, Ryan Satin stated that multiple people in WWE had tested positive for coronavirus, and the likes of Renee Young, Adam Pearce and Kayla Braxton took to Twitter to confirm they were among those names. Some estimates claim that around 24 positive tests could've been recorded within the company. This had a knock-on effect for AEW since Renee Young is married to Jon Moxley, the current AEW World Champion. Moxley was due to compete against Brian Cage at Fyter Fest, but the match has now been cancelled due to Moxley self-isolating with his wife. despite testing negative himself.
AEW addressed the situation on their July 1st edition of Dynamite - the first night of Fyter Fest. Cage came to the ring with his manager, Taz, who cut a scathing promo on Moxley and referenced the champ being absent due to his COVID situation. During the segment, Taz highlighted AEW's own rigorous testing procedures and dropped the line "we don't run a sloppy shop." Just to hammer the intended target home, Bryan Cage can be seen making a gun sign in the background.
The comment will undoubtedly prove controversial, as both AEW and WWE accepted a certain amount of risk by continuing to run wrestling shows throughout the pandemic. AEW have also been criticized previously for shooting too frequently on their WWE rivals, and is if to prove that very point, Fyter Fest included a second jab at WWE thanks to Cody's "American Nightmare" shirt aping the logo of the "Great American Bash" WWE scheduled to directly compete with Fyter Fest.
With that said, others might see Taz's jibe as valid criticism of WWE's coronavirus approach. On a media call prior to Double or Nothing back in May, Cody explicitly outlined AEW's COVID-19 safety measures, which seemed far more thorough than what was being reported about WWE's own steps. The current spate of positive tests in WWE appear to be a direct consequence of their initial strategy, and AEW will be mightily disappointed at being forced to change their World Championship plans because of another company's possible negligence. If nothing else, Taz's WWE shoot has certainly attracted attention and stoked the ongoing rivalry between WWE and AEW before another head-to-head ratings clash next Wednesday.