Wrestlers’ welfare has improved since the 1990s – but they still have a fight on their hands

In the recent Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon (2024), former wrestler and bodybuilder Tony Atlas claimed: “We would have been looked upon, in today’s society, as some of the worst human beings walking the face of the Earth.”

Abusive behaviour, violent risk taking, scandals, drug use, misogyny, homophobia and racism have characterised professional wrestling since its inception from the 19th-century fairground onwards. Even during the filming of Mr. McMahon, which explored the controversial...