JBL Bullying/Harassing/Torturing Mauro Ranallo/MNM/Justin Roberts Duke The Dumpster Fire Droese Thread

[OSJ]

Typical JBL fans...

 

[SolidGoldBomb]

57 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Most of the original stuff was posted in the Wrestling Discussion Thread before this thread was created

Or do you not think any of that is "information or evidence"? Most of the reporting specific to Mauro has been writing by Meltzer in the last two issues of the WON so there isn't a direct link per se (though I did post the 1st WON blurb in the aforementioned Wrestling Discussion Thread) so if you answer to the information or evidence question is "No" then no one is going to be able to post any other things for you to look at.

If you are looking for a Ray Rice like video in regards to the Mauro situation - none exists.

Yeah, i'm trying to find Dave's story from the observer about Mauro, got a link? 

 

I know about all the other JBL locker room bully stuff, everyone knows all that stuff.  I just want to know what this NEW MAURO INCIDENT is.

[Craig H]

The voluntary cognitive dissonance in this thread here and other places with regards to JBL is very weird to me. There's more than enough info out there on the subject now to educate one's self, Rippa, Cristobal, Dolfan, OSJ, and others have pointed it out, but on here questions of validity continue to persist.

How?

[OSJ]

Just now, SolidGoldBomb said:

Yeah, i'm trying to find Dave's story from the observer about Mauro, got a link? 

 

I know about all the other JBL locker room stuff, I want to know what this MAURO INCIDENT IS

You can get back issues of WON if you like, it isn't expensive or difficult. In a nutshell, JBL made the place a very hostile work environment for a man suffering from a bi-polar or depressive condition. That's about the same as slapping around someone in a wheelchair, possibly worse as the person in the wheelchair isn't a significant suicide risk, whereas the person with depression is. 

[Technico Support]

59 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

 

You have Justin Roberts passport story, which has been independently verified by Johnny Mundo, which is JBL inciting a felony.  

At first I was like, "cool, maybe he can actually be arrested!"  Then I came to my senses.

Whether he's fired, prosecuted, or hogtied, JBL will be fine and will land on his feet without too much personal damage.  There are two sets of laws in this country.  One for rich white guys and one for everybody else.  

[OSJ]

1 minute ago, Technico Support said:

Whether he's fired, prosecuted, or hogtied, JBL will be fine and will land on his feet without too much personal damage.  There are two sets of laws in this country.  One for rich white guys and one for everybody else.  

My friend, I hope to God that you are wrong, but I have an awful feeling he's going to get "fired" and be right back in about six months.

[RIPPA]

6 minutes ago, SolidGoldBomb said:

Yeah, i'm trying to find Dave's story from the observer about Mauro, got a link? 

I know about all the other JBL locker room stuff, everyone knows all that stuff.  I want to know what this NEW MAURO INCIDENT is.

My bad - I actually posted it at the end of the March thread

If the direct link doesn't work - it is Page 33 of the Another March Thread

The 2nd time Dave talked about it in the WON - it was way more Dave somehow managing to make it all about himself

[Technico Support]

6 minutes ago, OSJ said:

My friend, I hope to God that you are wrong, but I have an awful feeling he's going to get "fired" and be right back in about six months.

I was going to say the same thing in my initial post.  He'll be gone for a while, then brought back when the heat dies off.

I'm glad I'm no longer giving a dollar or .000001 ratings point to this shitstain of a company.

[Ace]

12 hours ago, Victator said:

The anger would be at Moonves and not his wife. A lot of people want to overlook Vince's involvement and put all the blame on JBL. 

Because if people hold Vince accountable, they would have to stop supporting WWE. They would not have to, but it would certainly back up their outrage. 

She'd not be able to pull it off anyways. Julie Chen has no power on The Talk other than the fact that it's on the station her husband runs. She works for Sara Gilbert.

[Craig H]

Regarding that second time he wrote about it, was it the same thing as him explaining why he came to this point on WOR?

If Solid Gold or anyone else is looking specifically for Mauro to come right out and say what happened though, then you're going to be waiting. It's not hard to piece everything together though. For about a month to two months leading up to Mauro's departure, you had JBL constantly asking Mauro about rumors that Vince was going to fire Mauro or that his contract would be coming to an end, leaving Mauro to awkwardly respond with those are just rumors and he's obviously there on SDL calling the matches.

Then you have JBL talking shit about Mauro on Twitter even before Mauro was voted announcer of the year by WO readers. Once Mauro was voted announcer of the year and tweeted about it, JBL went off on Twitter about it and then went on a rant about it on Bring it to the Table. After Mauro was absent from SDL that first time, JBL talked more shit then that Mauro didn't make it because of the weather, but somehow everyone else made the trip.

That's just the shit that's on air or in print. If you then take a look at JBL's history, is it that much of a stretch to think that JBL was bullying Mauro backstage and off air as well? You have Bas Rutten's tweets about the matter, which would point to some kind of action from JBL pushing Mauro into the state he was in. And now recently, as of a day ago, you have Mauro saying that there's basically no love lost between he and JBL without actually saying it, in addition to JBL doing all of his blocking.

So can you take ALL of that, take the accounts from Roberts, Mundo, and others that are all in alignment about JBL's behavior, and can you still question the validity of JBL holding some of the responsibility?

[Overly Critical Man]

Not to look like I'm defending JBL or anything, but as long as no one is going to come right out and say anything specific about the matter, this reminds me of that one episode of the Simpsons...

[

"Well your Honor, we have plenty of hearsay and conjecture...those are KINDS of evidence."

 

[NikoBaltimore]

I'll say this in advance, but there's a parallel to current events that troubles me greatly.  It seems that because it's Dave and not somebody else (Pro Wrestling Sheet for example) reporting this then they just won't believe anything he's saying.  He's like CNN in that there will be JBL defenders that will claim "Fake News" or "Alternative Facts"  (they might not use those words but that's pretty much the mindset)  And even if there's other sites to back up what he's saying they'll dismiss it because of who first talked about it.  I respect what Meltzer has done and read the Observer every week.  If somebody can explain why people have a such a need to trash him and dismiss what he says I'd like to know.  Some people act like he went to their house and killed their puppy.

As for those who want evidence, even if you dismiss what Dave's said there's tons of that.  It's one thing if JBL did all that stuff years ago and in time has settled down.  But there's been tons of evidence to support that he hasn't and is doing shit in a very public forum (TV, Network, Twitter, etc.)  I think a lot of the blame goes squarely on him.  Even if he was "Following orders" that's still no excuse for being a piece of shit.  Yet JBL is but a puppet doing the puppetmaster's bidding.  If the majority of the blame is to go on Vince then I'd be fine if he just left the company and let Steph/HHH run ship (a pipe dream at best)  But much like with current events rich white guys get away with anything they want.

Either way this has made me embarrassed to be a WWE fan, I feel dirty giving them my money or adding to their ratings.  I don't know how effective it will be contacting Be A Star's partners or folks like Mattel who work with WWE.  But if there's a chance this is actually effective then time permitting I'll be all-in on this.

[The Natural]

As someone who was bullied and has mental health issues, my thoughts go out to people experiencing this. My disgust to those who bully and I hope for better understanding of mental health. Thanks.

[John from Cincinnati]

1 hour ago, NikoBaltimore said:

I'll say this in advance, but there's a parallel to current events that troubles me greatly.  It seems that because it's Dave and not somebody else (Pro Wrestling Sheet for example) reporting this then they just won't believe anything he's saying.  He's like CNN in that there will be JBL defenders that will claim "Fake News" or "Alternative Facts"  (they might not use those words but that's pretty much the mindset)  And even if there's other sites to back up what he's saying they'll dismiss it because of who first talked about it.  I respect what Meltzer has done and read the Observer every week.  If somebody can explain why people have a such a need to trash him and dismiss what he says I'd like to know.  Some people act like he went to their house and killed their puppy.

I don't think it's this so much that's the problem here. I think this is a case where some people really don't seem to trust the "unnamed sources" part of journalism. Or even understand why this is a common practice. 

And yes, that's a problem which also reflects current events. 

[SolidGoldBomb]

For reference this is what's JBL is being accused of regarding Mauro

Quote

Mauro Ranallo missed his third straight week of WWE broadcasts due to battling depression.

Ranallo, 47, had disappeared from public view and only been in touch with his closest friends like Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock.

“I’m deeply touched by your tweets of support,” Ranallo wrote on Twitter to fans who had written in support of him in his only contact since missing the 3/14 Smackdown tapings in Pittsburgh. “My doctor wants me to stay off social media for now, but I wanted to thank you.”

The story of what caused this is, and it could be a lot of things, or perhaps very minor things, is Ranallo has battled bipolar disorders since his teenage years and spoken openly on the subject.

The timing of this came after a very strange public set of circumstances involving broadcast partner John Layfield, which most figured was just part of the show since the two play characters at odds with each other on Smackdown.

Evidently, at some point this got too real, which is unfortunate for WWE right now. Apparently, Layfield wasn’t even aware of it until a few days after Pittsburgh, because he went after Ranallo on social media for missing Pittsburgh (where the public reason given was weather problems in transportation) and saying how every other person in the company made it to the show. He then took the tweet down and hasn’t said a thing about Ranallo since, although WWE has continued to air the WWE network episode of “Bring it to the Table” that first aired on 3/13 that apparently played a part in all this.

Ranallo hasn’t talked, and those close to him have only said that he’s getting stronger and recovering. However, Rutten, who has talked with Ranallo almost every day, has made hints and outright told people about his feelings for Layfield.

In a tweet he said, “JBL? Ha ha, would love to meet him.” At another point when people thought he was knocking someone on twitter who said something on the subject, said, “I’m flaming those Ahole (s), JBL, whatever is his name.” He also wrote, “Please attack me for that comment, JBL, please.” “I mean, he was a pro wrestler, but please, you always take care of your broadcast partner. Always.”

Those close to the situation said things had been building. On the air, JBL had always made fun of Ranallo being so active on Twitter and re-tweeting to many comments, and JBL talked about how he blocked Ranallo. While it appeared in fun on television, JBL evidently got mad especially when Ranallo tweeted the results of the Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year awards, where Ranallo won, and later wrote, “Honored to Have won the award two years in a row.”

Within wrestling, the general rule on any awards unless they are given by your promotion and you are promoting those awards, is that you don’t acknowledge them. But Layfield was legitimately very upset, and must have said something in response. Ranallo sent out a tweet on 3/13 saying, “Jealousy is one hell of a drug.” There was no saying it was aimed at Layfield, or even a hint, but it was clear people took it as a response to that.

A few hours later, the episode aired, which was likely taped before that tweet. A lot of viewers were mad, although when watching, I just figured it was all in character. Layfield getting mad about he results of the Observer poll was funny, but he also skewered Ranallo’s announcing and pop culture references. If it was part of the character, it would be one thing, but obviously, it wasn’t the case and evidently played a key part in triggering things. Even if it was “in-character,” it was mean spirited and the key is that those are the type of things, as far as being that vicious about announcing style, that you don’t do with your broadcast partner unless you are involved in an angle with him. If anything, with Ranallo’s background and being hardly a secret, such a move was terribly ill-advised

Ranallo has made no secrets in the past about his episodes and once missed an Invicta show, but in the past, these were short-term things. I don’t know that this was the most serious issue, but it was the longest down time he’s had since he started working regularly on U.S. television for Showtime covering MMA and then boxing. Ranallo got his start in pro wrestling for Al Tomko’s promotion in British Columbia as a fast-talking heel manager and later started as an announcer, and then transitioned into other sports, but wrestling was his first venture and he was a fan of the genre since childhood. Even though he announced the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, perhaps the biggest non-team sports events in the world of this generation, he legitimately described the WWE gig when he first got it as his ultimate dream job.

The WWE has said nothing publicly about this, and really the company is in a no-win situation. On 3/21, they stated Ranallo missed the show because he was sick, and on 3/28, there were no references made at all.

It’s a complicated issue. It would look terrible publicly if Ranallo wasn’t used again, particularly with the WWE Alliance with Be a Star and the backstage bully environment and dominance games of the past that corporate partners have known about, but looked the other way at. The feeling is WWE is a powerful company and the alliances are valuable because of the celebrity status its biggest stars now have, and how kids look up to them. But at times, notably during the period Vickie Guerrero’s weight and appearance was used regularly by performers and announcers to make fun of, there were people in those places holding their nose, or their mouths. WWE on television has become far more careful since then.

Within the industry, the feeling is that publicly acknowledging the Observer award on Twitter was a political mistake, because of the unique nature of the wrestling business. Such a thing would be perfectly acceptable in any other industry. Layfield’s going after his partner on that show in the manner he did was horribly unprofessional. And that’s the problem WWE faces, because in theory, unless changes are made, the two would be working together again as soon as possible. I’d like to go with the idea that Layfield clearly had no idea the result of what he did and would never do it again. But it was bad judgment to tape the segment, worse to air it, and far worse to continue to air it.

Does anyone have youtube footage of the 3/13 episode of SD Live or Bring It To The Table that was referenced so we can all hear what actually happened?

Or just continue talking about how JBL beat up The Blue Meanie and soaped up Edge's ass 10+ years ago...

For the record I love Mauro's announcing and his enthusiasm, and hope he's back to normal soon.  Even Meltzer states no one knows for sure what caused this bout of depression in Mauro, but most likely there's a lot more stuff going on in his personal life that would lead him into a depression than a couple on-air jabs from JBL about winning an Observer award.  Or maybe some people just can't handle all the social media, and are better off unplugging (Both JBL & Mauro).

 

[Technico Support]

One thing that bothers me is something that looks like hypocrisy from Dave.  On one hand, he defends Mauro celebrating his Observer award win (which JBL was pissed about).  On the other hand, Dave shit on AJ Lee for getting a tattoo to celebrate her first major title.

Both are "markish" displays of enthusiasm over questionable indicators of industry success.

[Victator]

http://www.wrestlingnewsworld.com/jbl-gets-angry-mauro-ranallo-cancelled-tv-show-bring-table/

Here is the Take It To The Table video. I don't know what happened off camera, but this was just some heel shtick. A friend of mine (who isn't following this closely) felt it was self depreciating. I don't know what happened off camera and JBL has enough history to not give him benefit of the doubt. But the on camera stuff is heel shtick. 

5 hours ago, piranesi said:

Also: T minis 5...4...3... On Lawler tweeting how much he loves to mentor up and coming guys.

If they left King on commentary, this would have never happened. 

[NikoBaltimore]

33 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

One thing that bothers me is something that looks like hypocrisy from Dave.  On one hand, he defends Mauro celebrating his Observer award win (which JBL was pissed about).  On the other hand, Dave shit on AJ Lee for getting a tattoo to celebrate her first major title.

Both are "markish" displays of enthusiasm over questionable indicators of industry success.

If Rippa or somebody wants to c/p the entire block from WO that's fine, but the quote below is related to your point:

Quote

My own warpedness of standards from understanding the uniqueness of what pro wrestling was, in the sense a relationship and view of media completely different from any other profession, made me actually think Ranallo tweeting the awards standings and being publicly happy over winning was a mistake. I mean, politically, when I saw it, that’s the conclusion that hit me immediately and really until the past few days was still my view.

Don’t get me wrong, even last week I noted that in no other profession would this be the case. If an NFL announcer got an award and thanked people on Twitter, nobody would say a thing. If an actor got a fan or media voted award and brought it up, nobody would say a thing. In UFC, it would be the same thing. Honestly, I think in pro wrestling, in any company other than WWE, at this point in 2017 it would be the same thing, although ten years ago that wouldn’t be the case.

 

1 hour ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

I don't think it's this so much that's the problem here. I think this is a case where some people really don't seem to trust the "unnamed sources" part of journalism. Or even understand why this is a common practice. 

It makes perfect sense why sources can't be named.  There's many things in wrestling to wear a tinfoil hat over, this isn't one of them.

[John from Cincinnati]

8 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

It makes perfect sense why sources can't be named.  There's many things in wrestling to wear a tinfoil hat over, this isn't one of them.

POTUS has had a bug up his ass for ages about unnamed sources. Stupidity on this matter isn't going away anytime soon. 

[Victator]

I do get why you can't name sources. At the same time it should not be your only resource. There is a price to staying anonymous and that is your word is less valuable and that is how it should be. Our society guarantees us a right to face our accusers in court. Now this is not a court of law, but I believe in the principle. In the end I am going to give more credence to the person willing to show their face. 

[NikoBaltimore]

2 minutes ago, Victator said:

I do get why you can't name sources. At the same time it should not be your only resource. But there is a price to staying anonymous and that is your word is less valuable and that is how it should be. Our society guarantees us a right to face our accusers in court. Now this is not a court of law, but I believe in the principle. In the end I am going to give more credence to the person willing to show their face. 

Fair enough.  But in the case of JBL even if you take out the unnamed sources there's still plenty of named ones that give plenty of evidence to back up what's going on.  Whether it's the Blackman story of Mundo's side of the Justin Roberts issue all signs point to JBL needing to get his punk ass fired immediately.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Due process please. 

Or at least please stop namedropping wrestling identities by their first name inferring some sort of non existent familiarity. 

[odessasteps]

 

[Craig H]

3 hours ago, Victator said:

I do get why you can't name sources.

Uhhhh wut?

[Victator]

5 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Uhhhh wut?

I UNDERSTAND WHY A REPORTERS SOURCES NEED TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS.

You people, this has to be an act.