It appears that pro wrestling can no longer be pro wrestling. With political correctness in full force more than it's ever been, bad guys in wrestling (heels) can never truly be bad guys anymore. Earlier this year, during a house show (meaning it was a live event that wasn't televised) there was a moment for the National Anthem to play, and it was interrupted by The Miz, a heel. Of course there were National Guard in the audience, and the whole point of Miz interrupting the National Anthem in the first place was to generate heat (negative reaction) from the crowd. Unfortunately, the members of the National Guard that were in attendance were not happy, and they complained to WWE. WWE then proceeded to fire David "Fit" Finlay, the man who produced the segment.
Today, a video was uploaded to youtube. The video was recorded during a house show in Australia where we have CM Punk, a heel. Heels are generally known for harassing fans. They do this to get themselves more heel heat. CM Punk has been known in the past to say things that very easily gets under people's skin, and this video was no exception. Yes, the things he said are offensive things to say. He actually calls one of the fans a homo, primarily making fun of the fan's hair cut. Of course, the footage was eventually put on TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/04/cm-punk-wwe-wrestler-wrestling-homo-homophobic-slur-australia/). This of course is a PR nightmare.
Here is the footage of what happened:
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Now, I pose the following question. Are heels actions becoming too offensive or is this just another case of political correctness going out of control? Personally, I see it as the latter. The whole point of being a heel is to offend the audience. They pay to see you get the ever loving crap kicked out of you. A death sentence for any wrestler, let alone a heel, is no reaction at all, and sometimes you just need to dance a little close to the fire to get the heat needed for the audience to care about seeing you get your ass kicked. I could completely understand if someone, like say, John Cena, who is supposed to be the ultimate face of the company and a role model to children everywhere, says something homophobic like implying that two wrestlers are gay and that's a bad thing. That is definitely something that shouldn't be in pro wrestling, and that has happened, which is why GLAAD and WWE are working together on an anti-bullying campaign. That being said though, I believe that being a heel gives you permission to be more offensive because that is the very point of being a heel in the first place.
I'm sure not all of you are pro wrestling fans, but I think this is something that can still be discussed either way.
Wrestling fan here and I say this as a person who stood up and clapped during Punk's "Shoot" last week of Raw
You're wrong about the circumstances regarding Finlay's firing. That was also the show where a match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus resulted in a chairshot to the head (forgot who delivered it). Since the Benoit incident, the WWE has made it quite clear their policy about chair shots. They actually fined Undertaker and Triple H because it happened in their Wrestlemania match.
Bryan and Sheamus' punishment was being dropped to the Wrestlemania "Dark Match" and not getting a share of the PPV revenue. Now, was The Miz incident the straw that broke the camel's back? Maybe. But to blame it all on that isn't correct.
Quote from: FSBlueApocalypse on July 04, 2011, 10:53:04 PM
Wrestling fan here and I say this as a person who stood up and clapped during Punk's "Shoot" last week of Raw
You're wrong about the circumstances regarding Finlay's firing. That was also the show where a match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus resulted in a chairshot to the head (forgot who delivered it). Since the Benoit incident, the WWE has made it quite clear their policy about chair shots. They actually fined Undertaker and Triple H because it happened in their Wrestlemania match.
Bryan and Sheamus' punishment was being dropped to the Wrestlemania "Dark Match" and not getting a share of the PPV revenue. Now, was The Miz incident the straw that broke the camel's back? Maybe. But to blame it all on that isn't correct.
According to the dirtsheets, they fired Finlay as the scapegoat. Just going by what they're saying since we don't have much else to go by.
Dirtsheets are the John Edwards of the wrestling industry. They take a general shotgun approach and claim victory with every triumph, while explaining misses because of injuries or Future Endeavors.
We're in the middle of Summer of Punk II, which dirtsheet had that predicted? Maybe a vague reference to a storyline of Punk leaving.
Since May, all we've been hearing is Alberto Del Rio vs Cena at Summerslam, what happens if Cena loses to Punk?
Quote from: FSBlueApocalypse on July 04, 2011, 11:13:59 PM
Dirtsheets are the John Edwards of the wrestling industry. They take a general shotgun approach and claim victory with every triumph, while explaining misses because of injuries or Future Endeavors.
We're in the middle of Summer of Punk II, which dirtsheet had that predicted? Maybe a vague reference to a storyline of Punk leaving.
Since May, all we've been hearing is Alberto Del Rio vs Cena at Summerslam, what happens if Cena loses to Punk?
>Cena
>Losing to Punk
Probably not happening, especially with the storyline that if Cena does lose he's fired.
Anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. The point of this thread is to discuss whether or not we should look at these cases like Punk's comments in that video as legitimate reason to be offended or is it simply heels being heels.
Quote from: D on July 04, 2011, 10:17:14 PM
Unfortunately, the members of the National Guard that were in attendance were not happy, and they complained to WWE. WWE then proceeded to fire David "Fit" Finlay, the man who produced the segment.
Are they also going to complain to MARVEL for every anti-American villain that Captain America has punched over the years? Are they going to complain about the upcoming movie too?
Oh, if Andy Kaufman were still alive...
Quote from: MrBogosity on July 05, 2011, 07:17:44 AM
Oh, if Andy Kaufman were still alive...
Heels apparently aren't allowed to be heels anymore. Next thing you know, they'll claim that John Cena is a terrible role model for kids because he actually wrestles his opponents, rather than going to an authority figure to tell on his opponents.
I think the gay issue is another hot button issue for the WWE. Remember the blow up they had over Michael Cole calling somebody a fag on his twitter feed?
If the WWE was really concerned about political correctness, we wouldn't have R-Truth showing up in a Confederate uniform
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People routinely calling Vickie Guerrero fat, even when she's lost a good deal of weight, or the whole segment between the Bella Twins and Kharma. Not to mention some of the really screwed up things like JBL doing a Nazi salute at a show in Germany, Katie Vick, etc.
Vince McMahon and the WWF has a rap sheet a mile long on not being PC and that has continued during the "PG" era. Maybe not as blatant, but its still there.
Quote from: FSBlueApocalypse on July 05, 2011, 02:18:21 PM
I think the gay issue is another hot button issue for the WWE. Remember the blow up they had over Michael Cole calling somebody a fag on his twitter feed?
If the WWE was really concerned about political correctness, we wouldn't have R-Truth showing up in a Confederate uniform
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People routinely calling Vickie Guerrero fat, even when she's lost a good deal of weight, or the whole segment between the Bella Twins and Kharma. Not to mention some of the really screwed up things like JBL doing a Nazi salute at a show in Germany, Katie Vick, etc.
Vince McMahon and the WWF has a rap sheet a mile long on not being PC and that has continued during the "PG" era. Maybe not as blatant, but its still there.
I have noticed that most of the problem stems from GLAAD more than any other organization. The whole partnership with them started due to John Cena making fun of The Miz and Alex Riley. Cole's remark on Twitter towards Josh Matthews only added fuel to the fire.