Rick Steiner was banned from WrestleCon, then invited back and now the WWE Hall Of Famer is out again.
Just two days after Steiner was announced to be at the upcoming WrestleCon in Detroit for SummerSlam weekend, he is now removed from the event. Steiner was originally banned from WrestleCon after making transphobic comments towards IMPACT Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw during WrestleMania weekend so the reveal that he’d be returning in August with his brother Scott came as a shock to many. That reveal also came with a lengthy statement from WrestleCon owner Michael Bochicchio defending the decision to bring Steiner back.
A New Statement From WrestleCon Regarding Rick Steiner’s Second Removal
The announcement of Steiner being uninvited was no different as Bochicchio came with another statement on why he is retracting his invite, citing several conversations and fan feedback received as main reasons. Bochicchio added that after the feedback, he requested a public apology from Rick regarding his actions at the WrestleMania WrestleCon, giving the legend a 24-hour window to do so. However, Steiner didn’t do so and Bochicchio claims he didn’t expect him to. You can read the announcement of Rick’s removal below:
“Attention: Rick Steiner has been removed from Wrestlecon.
“When we allowed Rick Steiner to return to our Convention as a vendor guest of Tony Hunter Promotions, we did not adequately take into account the impact his past words from our last event still held in the LGBTQIA+ community. We initially allowed him to return because 1) We still feel that people deserve a second chance. 2) Rick did make an apology to all parties that chose to be present. 3) We lacked any type of code of conduct/harassment policy that clearly defined our expectations as a convention participant.
“After a thoughtful dialogue with Brian Bell from SB Nation’s Outsports and host of the LGBT In the Ring podcast on Monday morning, we agreed with his opinion it was necessary to have some type of public acknowledgment/apology from Rick Steiner, at an absolute minimum, to allow him to attend Detroit. Because we understand this issue required great urgency, we gave Rick Steiner 24 hours to make such a statement. Unfortunately, there is not currently and we do not expect to receive such a statement, and we have therefore made a decision to revoke our permission for him to attend.
“Additionally, we now have created a first draft of our Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment policy that will be posted on our website for everybody to see later today. We will continue to improve upon this code of conduct over time and with the cooperation of others. We understand and appreciate that there will be many differences of opinion among our participants and we want to create a safe and enjoyable space for everybody at our Conventions. At this time, we have partnered in solidarity with other Wrestling industry Convention leaders, notably Starrcast, Wrestlecade, and The Gathering (Charlotte Fanfest) who also agree to adopt and adhere to a similar code of conduct for their events.”