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APRIL 2019 WRESTLING DISCUSSION


RIPPA

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Also, there's a little "boy who cried wolf" going with online social media mobs. You saw it with the backlash to James Gunn's firing and the reversal and you see it with places like Fox and MSNBC now holding the line when talent get called out (barring the truly egregious like Judge Jeanine getting put in timeout).

And, at the end of it all, it's still about ratings, audience and the risk/reward of advertising. I think in 2019, the Moolah thing actually doesn't become an issue because there was a lot of pushback on the story and in the last year there's a lot more skepticism about woke hysteria and its actual impact. 

FWIW - I actually really disagree with sponsor boycotts. 

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6 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

"John Oliver has his facts wrong and we invite him to WrestleMania to learn more about our company"

Yup - totally going to change everything

"We refuted every one of his points"

 

Oh, so they're employees then?

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I feel like the HBO label on all the clips should be a clue to where he's from (watch the clips dude they're really good!)- he's a pretty big deal as a result.  LOTS of people watch the show.  It's a pretty gigantic ratings draw and a lot of new eyes are going to be on this as a result.  They just might not give a shit.

Still though, I saw that 20/20 shit.

He needs to not go to Mania.

"Here's our friend Haku to show you around and teach you the business."

"Hey Tonga, did you see the special?  He totally called wrestling fake and said that the Islanders were a shitty tag team."

Edited by Tromatagon
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Guest Edwin
24 minutes ago, Hagan said:

2) This is the one I subscribe  too. A lot of what we see on TV can really be summed up as theater and performance art. So, it's not Vince McMahon the person saying a racial slur - it's the character who is supposed to be an evil deranged billionaire. 

That's exactly what John Oliver said.

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I don't recall anybody mentioning sponsor boycotts but I never saw what good that did unless they willingly said they stood in agreement with the decisions that were made.  But when Snickers had WWE take Moolah's name out of the match I sure as shit got one that afternoon (that's also because I'm fat but I digress)

And I am not surprised this is WWE's response though they lied on that whole refuting part (ex: What Raziel said above)  But let's say that John did attend.  What good are they expecting to come out of it?  Are they going to arrange on the day of the biggest show of the year to have him talk with top brass?  Or are they going to hand him off to some low-level PR rep that normally twiddles their thumbs anyway while the high-ranking PR rep is having fun.  I'm very curious about this.

Knowing John he doesn't seem to have an issue with doing stuff like this and will likely tie this into either the beginning or ending of the show.

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1 minute ago, Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 said:

Who is this jabroni John Oliver? 

Former Daily Show writer/correspondent (and fill-in host occasionally when Jon Stewart was off)

The show the clip posted came from is on HBO

(Also has done movie work)

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Just now, Edwin said:

That's exactly what John Oliver said.

Okay, groovy. I actually haven't watched it yet but I'm glad I'm not too off base. I think even fans and critics sometimes blur the reality/fiction line where we take what we see on-screen as being indicative of reality. A good example of that is when heels bully a babyface and you get the 800 Be A Star jokes when the whole idea is that the good guy defeats the bully and shows how misguided the behavior was.*

*I know Hunter vs Booker says otherwise but it WAS 15 years ago. 

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4 minutes ago, Tromatagon said:

I feel like the HBO label on all the clips should be a clue to where he's from

He needs to not go to Mania.

"Here's our friend Haku to show you around and teach you the business."

"Hey Tonga, did you see the special?  He totally called wrestling fake and said that the Islanders were a shitty tag team."

Stossel had hearing damage, this guy will have straight up head trauma.  

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1 hour ago, Craig H said:

Rippa brings up a good point about sponsors, in particular, Snickers. Are the sponsors that blind to Vince's history or even WWE's history? If sponsors drop like flies from dickbags on Fox News, then how is WWE and Vince so fucking bulletproof? Any one of us could spend, what, 5 to 10 minutes and come up with a hours worth of videos to show to sponsors that would make them say "what the fuck is going on here?"

The sponsors only care if enough people are aware and motivated to pitch a fit. People are putting Laura Ingraham and Tucker's shit in the street all the time, and rightly so. Vince doesn't get that kind of love as often. 

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12 minutes ago, Hagan said:

Okay, groovy. I actually haven't watched it yet but I'm glad I'm not too off base. I think even fans and critics sometimes blur the reality/fiction line where we take what we see on-screen as being indicative of reality. A good example of that is when heels bully a babyface and you get the 800 Be A Star jokes when the whole idea is that the good guy defeats the bully and shows how misguided the behavior was.*

*I know Hunter vs Booker says otherwise but it WAS 15 years ago. 

On that note one line that stood out applies to this.  John said "While the character Vince is an asshole it's important to know that the real Vince is ALSO an asshole"  So he makes sure to point out that Vince the character and in real life are incredibly shitty.  I find real life Vince is much worse than can ever be portrayed on TV.

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6 hours ago, Casey said:

I feel like a hashtag or something directed at WWE's Twitter account, or Vince/Stephanie/Triple H could do more than encouraging fans to bring signs or start chants next weekend. 

This right here. Oliver has done bits in the past that direct more specific action than this piece does. Without that, any fan response is starting from a place of disorganization and will struggle to gain traction. 

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2 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

I'm not sure they would care as much last year if sponsors had an issue with something.  It worked out when Snickers made them take Moolah's name out of the women's battle royal.  But with that Saudi money they got coming in plus Fox coming up I can see Vince not giving a crap.

But on the chance Snickers's issue with something does lead to change I'll send the video their way anyway.

Renaming the battle royal did not cost the WWE a single dollar (okay, a couple of hundred bucks for rebranding maybe, but still), changing the independent conctractor situation would cost a lot and (I assume) at least in the short term effect the stock prize.

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The health and wellness of our performers is the single most important aspect of our business, and we have a comprehensive, longstanding Talent Wellness program. 

Am I missing something?  What does their "comprehensive" Wellness Program cover?  From what I can recall:

  • Drug testing (recreational and PEDs, except for the people they have reasons to not want to test)
  • Free drug rehab for past and present wrestlers
  • Healthcare/rehab for injuries sustained at work

Everything else, you're on your own.  How is that "comprehensive?"  Just give these fucking guys insurance.

I had this long screed typed up about how the mainstream's lack of respect or care about wrestling is a result of the business' slavish dedication to kayfabe long after the horse had left the barn.  Likewise, they're going to die on the "treat these boys like prostitutes" hill instead of bringing their labor practices into this century, aren't they?

I mean come the fuck on.  Trump's Small Business chief helps run a  company that treats its people like this and there's barely a peep to be heard.  That headline writes itself.  This is how little the mainstream cares about our beloved fake fighting.

Edited by Technico Support
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1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

"John Oliver has his facts wrong and we invite him to WrestleMania to learn more about our company"

$5 says this was John Oliver's clever way to get to Wrestlemania for free. 

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Love this idea that that "fans" will help in getting wrestlers to be unionized and remove or get treated like an actual "independent contractor".  Do you know of any fans that actually give a shit about that this?  Sure they want them healthy and probably not needing gofundme in order to pay for things but the idea that this something they care about is laughable.  

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I do think there is an actual interesting debate regarding the pros and cons of unionization and the re-labeling of the independent contractor status. I also think it's fair to say that the WWE is a lot better now than it was even 10 years ago regarding treatment of past and present talent. 

I mean, for me, the big issue is that they really should provide full health care. They can certainly afford it. The stuff with pensions or their weird contracts is less of a factor to me and you also get into the issue of is it just WWE that's held to these standards or is it every wrestling company? 

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6 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Love this idea that that "fans" will help in getting wrestlers to be unionized and remove or get treated like an actual "independent contractor".  Do you know of any fans that actually give a shit about that this?  Sure they want them healthy and probably not needing gofundme in order to pay for things but the idea that this something they care about is laughable.  

You're right. Nobody ever discusses this. 

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12 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

$5 says this was John Oliver's clever way to get to Wrestlemania for free. 

Going to this year's show seems to be the exact opposite of clever, even if it would be free.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

"John Oliver has his facts wrong and we invite him to WrestleMania to learn more about our company"

Yup - totally going to change everything

I can 100% see Oliver accepting their invitation, and it falling apart when WWE refuses to let him bring a camera crew of his own. Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him follow up to this one way or another.

 

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