The Wall Street Journal Vince McMahon Thread.

[AxB]

There was a pretty big section of the fandom whose initial reaction to the original story breaking was to spread memes of him jumping off the ring steps.

[SirSmUgly]

2 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I'd argue that the way pro-wrestling folds reality into itself is somewhat specific. I deeply believe that the response to the initial news regarding Vince's misconduct was muted by his presenting himself as a heel for decades prior. We'd seen him act like a power-mad, lecherous bastard for years on TV. People were used to it.

I think this is possible for wrestling fans. For non-wrestling fans, I think the response being muted is due to two things: 1) pro wrestling being seen as so silly as to be beyond discussing in any serious way, even if the head of the biggest wrestling company is allegedly raping and assaulting the women who work there, and 2) Me Too fatigue in the media. 

This isn't to say that I am absolutely right or anything, but that's my read. 

[AxB]

1 minute ago, jaedmc said:

Remember that Saudi trip when all the wrestlers were "held hostage", while Brock and Vince got to fly away on his private jet? Reads a little different now.

 

 

And it was heartwarming because he made sure that Harper and Rowan’s mallets were on the private jet with him!

[The Great ML]

That poor woman. What a vile creature Vince is…I hope he faces prison and dies penniless.

[Infinit]

Art imitated life

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Somehow I don't think Steph had to tap too deep for this emotion....   

[John E. Dynamite]

3 minutes ago, Infinit said:

Art imitated life

 

The on-screen Vince McMahon character was a less-exaggerated version of the monster he actually is. He showed it to us, mask off, in the stark light of television, and convinced the world it was entertainment.

This is what they do.

[NikoBaltimore]

Why I went to playing Fire Pro when first reading about it who knows.  But fuck it here's Mr. Pogo carving up some fools.

Spoiler

What sucks is that sometimes this can be oddly cathartic but not even this helped.

Edited January 25 by NikoBaltimore

[SirSmUgly]

20 minutes ago, AxB said:

And it was heartwarming because he made sure that Harper and Rowan’s mallets were on the private jet with him!

The combination of parasocial relationships becoming more common in the social media era + Vince being charismatic (as many sociopaths are) means that Vince will have a group of boosters who will see anything he does as heartwarming or misunderstood or okay because actually you just don't get it. 

[Technico Support]

44 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Even going beyond the allegations, which of course are horrendous, my first thought was just how people that seem "good" to fans (mostly Cena and Rock in his case)

 

Oh I'm sure Dwayne and his team are furiously working out messaging to protect his brand even as we speak.

Fuuuuck, every time I hear "brand" in reference to a person, even one as fake and manufactured as Dwayne, I die a little.

How long is the list of people still with WWE who likely knew about all this?

Edited January 25 by Technico Support

[Log]

My kid is so excited to watch the Rumble this weekend. God, I don't think I can sit through it. I don't really want him to watch either, but how do I explain why?

This is all so gross.

[Peck]

Wonder if 3AM Tony Khan will ever Tweet anything about this.

[Eivion]

1 hour ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Even going beyond the allegations, which of course are horrendous, my first thought was just how people that seem "good" to fans (mostly Cena and Rock in his case) had to know about it, but are always supporting and backing Vince. Going places with him, still working together, always being positive. I can't say how I'd respond if I knew my boss was doing those kind of things, especially in an environment where they were the biggest place to work, so I don't feel right judging EVERYONE that knew for not quitting and talking about it. But those two... those two don't need Vince or WWE. They don't need to say nice things about Vince and pal around with him. If they felt it wasn't their story to tell, that can be debated, but regardless they could have distanced themselves from him. And they didn't. It just makes you question things, its not a great feeling.

I am going off the assumption/hope that the women didn't know. I hope Becky, Charlotte, etc. didn't know about it as even if Vince bragged about it he was probably selective on who was around as to not offend the 'wrong' parties. But you'd be hard pressed to convince me that Cena, Rock, and Taker weren't aware.

I feel like this is a bit of bs rabbithole to go down without anything confirming they were aware. It particularly bothers me since it blatantly targets specific people who you seemingly were looking to think bad shit about already while ignoring that there are plenty of nice guys who have been said to be friendly with or loved by Vince. You mention Rock and Cena, but leave out Owens, Danielson, Sami, and numerous others who have all been friendly with Vince. I'd say its best to wait till something more concrete actually comes out like with all the clues about Brock. Otherwise its just a witch hunt. 

I will say this I suspect for a lot for those people they likely didn't know or suspect anything until they were too deep in, either financially and/or emotionally. I think when this stuff came up back in 22 it was Danielson who didn't really defend Vince but also implied you kind of take the good with the bad when it comes to those you love. Basically he wasn't going to defend Vince, but he wasn't going to shit on him either. I suspect many of those people took up similar positions.

 

Will say the recentness of all of this does explain now why everything happened back in 22 the way it did. I assume people who didn't know found out when they started putting together things for the sale/merger and tried out get Vince out as much and soon as possible. I recall at least one of the board members leaving when Vince forced his way back in. And Stephanie didn't stay for too much longer after either.

Edited January 25 by Eivion

[Brandon Bones]

6 minutes ago, Peck said:

Wonder if 3AM Tony Khan will ever Tweet anything about this.

I’m never going to need to watch Succession at this point.  The fucking plot twists never end.  

[John from Cincinnati]

 

[Phantom Lord]

I was reading some of the twitter dm's. Wow. Yeah he needs to sail off to a far off island never to return.

[Contentious C]

44 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

How long is the list of people still with WWE who likely knew about all this?

That Venn diagram is a fucking circle.  Burn it all down.

[jaedmc]

41 minutes ago, Log said:

My kid is so excited to watch the Rumble this weekend. God, I don't think I can sit through it. I don't really want him to watch either, but how do I explain why?

This is all so gross.

I feel you. We're planning a party with the kids to watch it. I'm making pizzas and we're all drawing numbers. I'm trying to remember that Vince doesn't own the company any more, and it looks like some of the worst offenders are either out or being ousted.  Many of the people who work there are clearly much happier now that he's gone.

Sadly I think the biggest life skill WWE has taught me is how to compartmentalize.

[Casey]

I’m on page 25 so far and besides the headlines that we’ve all seen already, what’s struck me so far is that Vince shared pics with a former referee, made her get a new doctor that Vince chose himself, and “protected” her from being fired/furloughed during the pandemic.

Fucking gross.

EDIT: The first threesome they had, set up by Vince, was with a physical therapist at the new doctor’s practice. Her first time trafficked was at her new doctor’s office. Oh my god. During a pandemic, no less.

Edited January 25 by Casey

[dogwelder]

40 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I think when this stuff came up back in 22 it was Danielson who didn't really defend Vince but also implied you kind of take the good with the bad when it comes to those you love. Basically he wasn't going to defend Vince, but he wasn't going to shit on him either.

One also has to wonder, with Johnny Ace being involved in all of this crap, how much of it does Danielson know?

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

I always hoped we'd get one last classic Vince voiceover of the Rumble competitors.

After reading the section about him naming sex toys after wrestlers in that context, I think I'd throw up.

[odessasteps]

26 minutes ago, jaedmc said:

I feel you. We're planning a party with the kids to watch it. I'm making pizzas and we're all drawing numbers. I'm trying to remember that Vince doesn't own the company any more, and it looks like some of the worst offenders are either out or being ousted.  Many of the people who work there are clearly much happier now that he's gone.

Sadly I think the biggest life skill WWE has taught me is how to compartmentalize.

Presumably, teaching a child about "separating the art from the artist" is a valuable life lesson in 2024. 

[Kevin Wilson]

58 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I feel like this is a bit of bs rabbithole to go down without anything confirming they were aware. It particularly bothers me since it blatantly targets specific people who you seemingly were looking to think bad shit about already while ignoring that there are plenty of nice guys who have been said to be friendly with or loved by Vince. You mention Rock and Cena, but leave out Owens, Danielson, Sami, and numerous others who have all been friendly with Vince. I'd say its best to wait till something more concrete actually comes out like with all the clues about Brock. Otherwise its just a witch hunt. 

I will say this I suspect for a lot for those people they likely didn't know or suspect anything until they were too deep in, either financially and/or emotionally. I think when this stuff came up back in 22 it was Danielson who didn't really defend Vince but also implied you kind of take the good with the bad when it comes to those you love. Basically he wasn't going to defend Vince, but he wasn't going to shit on him either. I suspect many of those people took up similar positions.

 

Will say the recentness of all of this does explain now why everything happened back in 22 the way it did. I assume people who didn't know found out when they started putting together things for the sale/merger and tried out get Vince out as much and soon as possible. I recall at least one of the board members leaving when Vince forced his way back in. And Stephanie didn't stay for too much longer after either.

Sorry you are "bothered" so much by someone having a different thought than you on a public situation. While I sincerely appreciate you being able to read my mind and my intentions, you are of course extremely wrong. I mentioned Cena and Rock as they have left the wrestling industry and have their own revenue streams not related to Vince, and still decide to rub elbows with Vince anyway. I specifically said I do not blame those that wrestle as a livelihood from being in a tough spot. Nor do I know of Owens, Danielson, Sami, and numerous others spending their free time with Vince. So while that was a quality attempt to twist my words and make up things I had in my brain, I just felt the need to let everyone know how wrong you are and maybe you should focus more on your own thoughts instead of making up the thoughts of others. I am also suspicious of anyone that uses the term "witch hunt" so I'll put you in a special category in my brain of people whose opinion mean nothing to me.

[Cobra Commander]

Just saw the Weezer "Beverly Hills" music video (which has Hugh Hefner inviting Weezer to play their song at the Playboy Mansion) and realizing.. a lot of the time this sort of stuff doesn't drop on somebody until they die.

Like how Hefner died and people realized "hey this guy who ran a pornography magazine actually didn't treat women well". Or how British celebrities have had that drop on them for legal reasons (British libel laws aren't broad enough to allow for the dead to sue)

Playboy Magazine tried to distance themselves from Hef, but they had the whole problem come to a head of "hey, a magazine of naked women is gonna have some financial problems in a world where you can just see nudity for free on the internet" so the Magazine hasn't been in print for almost 4 years and they're doing whatever they're doing online. Just something that comes to mind with how some people have typed about the existential threat to the WWE from all this.

[Shartnado]

Yeah, when I said I'd wait for more info before resubscribing to WWE Network, this wasn't exactly what I meant, but it will certainly do. So that would be a no, then.