Personally, I have plenty of contacts. They're in a little maroon book I call my "wrestling bible". It's a little old now, falling apart in places, but it's hanging in there. I bought it over nine years ago and it grew from ONE wrestler's personal email address to what it is now — an alphabetical collection of names, numbers, and email addresses for HUNDREDS of pro wrestlers and wrestling personalities.
Yay for me right? Not really. Most of them aren't even valid anymore because wrestlers, especially those most sought after, change their numbers about as much as they do their socks. It's impossible to keep up with, unless you're extremely close with all wrestlers and stay in constant contact.
I don't. Most don't.
So, a guy like Mike Killam (sorry Mike, by the way, for making you the guinea pig here), just starting out in his pro wrestling media career, with very few (if any) contacts at this point, has no option to get it "straight from the horse's mouth" in this case.
And CM Punk's "people" do not exist. WWE Headquarters doesn't stand in as such either. WWE superstars (and even TNA stars these days) are virtually untouchable, especially to a green reporter trying to get his feet wet.
Option #1 is apparently not the best option for Mike, so you say? Let's look at option two.
2) Don't report it.
This is a fair argument. He could have easily left it alone, or at least waited until another primary source reported it. Let them take the fall first, and then just follow suit.
We do this quite often actually. It's safer.
In this particular case, I can tell you Mike definitely considered this option, but he chose to take a risk and report it. Crucify him all you want, but it's a tough decision to make and one that comes up every single day.
I guarantee you 80% (or more) of what is reported on wrestling news sites online is via hearsay evidence. Even the Dave Meltzer's of the world RARELY get their information directly from the person involved in the story.
This isn't just wrestling-specific either. Very little news reported anywhere ABOUT someone comes from that actual person. When the story is negative or potentially damaging, that percentage goes down even further.
