Legendary wrestler Tommy Dreamer has been dealing with a positive COVID-19 test recently.
In an episode of the House of Hardcore Podcast, the former ECW star explained how he contracted the virus at a WrestlePro event in Alaska. He clarified that the promotion did everything right, and he was extra careful, but he still got sick.
“This is day 24 for me since I’ve been exposed to COVID, and the title of this is, ‘I had COVID,'” said Dreamer. “And I’ve never been sicker in my life. Long story short, I went Alaska and I was exposed on that Friday. To get into Alaska, you get COVID tested, the company I went for did everything, everyone got tested, everyone tested negative, which is awesome, and kudos to WrestlePro and Kevin Matthews for testing all his talent.
“They were there though, a week before I came in, and somewhere along the line, someone got tested and tested positive, I should say. How that happened, it was a wrestler, and that wrestler had to fly home, and he had to fly home and he had to get tested. And that wrestler tested positive. So Saturday mid-afternoon, when we’re actually heading to the show, we all find out this news.
Dreamer than stated that WrestlePro told the wrestlers that they didn’t have to perform if they didn’t want to, and the fans were quite understanding of the situation because they didn’t ask for a refund. “The Innovator of Violence” explained that he has been taking extra precautions to stay safe, but he still wasn’t immune to the risk.
When reflecting on his positive test, Dreamer argued that wrestlers have a responsibility to let people know when they contract the virus.
“I don’t understand why, and this is the reason why I’m doing these podcasts, a lot of companies don’t, I know there’s HIPAA, which is, you don’t have to disclose health reasons, but I feel you do kind of have a responsibility,” said Dreamer. “And kudos to the wrestlers that have come out to say they had COVID or [were] exposed to COVID. But yeah, you have a responsibility. You have a responsibility to a locker room. You have a responsibility to your family. You have a responsibility to fans.”
Dreamer then described how exactly he was exposed to COVID-19 ahead of his diagnosis and eventually, his positive test. He explained that it either came down to the presence of a fan who had the virus, or the risk of wrestlers going to a bar.
“So the chain of events, and they did everything, they were washing down the ropes, they had hand sanitizer for everyone,” said Dreamer. “This is the world that we’re going to live in. But apparently there was, on one of the shows, I guess a fan passed a couple of weeks, again the week I wasn’t there, a fan had said they had COVID. Or some of the wrestlers went out there and went to a bar, they did things because they’re on the road and you sometimes forget.
“This was WrestleMania week, and I also remember seeing, the week of WrestleMania, people without masks on.”
Dreamer emphasized that he had a great time in Alaska, aside from the unfortunate consequence of testing positive for COVID-19.
“So again, I don’t do anything,” said Dreamer. “I don’t go out. I’ve wrested for 31 years, never got to Alaska, wanted to go to Alaska. Things were awesome. Again, can’t speak higher of the promotion and my experience there except for the fact that I got deathly ill.”
https://open.spotify.com/episode/16YXsGM3ukcrwJ4tqhbxrV?si=O6VDw8r0RbizkipXt-jJkQ
