unfitfinlay

Point taken. I just find it interesting that so many stories have come out about Benoit since the murders that weren’t reported at the time. They paint a very different picture of the guy. I’ve gradually gone from thinking “nobody could’ve seen it coming” to “how the fuck did nobody see it coming?” He clearly got off on beating and humiliating people he saw as weaker than him, even going back to making Japanese Young Boys do press ups while he pissed on them. Even now, people tend to blame CTE and steroids for the murders, and ignore the possibility that he was just an evil fucking prick.

Yep. Bruce Prichard went into detail about it on Something to Wrestle With. Kurt Angle told him to speak to Eddie as a rib, Eddie explained that his Dad invented the move and Hassan, who legitimately didn't know, immediately apologised. That got turned into him demanding Eddie stop using it. Another one was when they were running late so Jerry Brisco grabbed Hassan's bags and carried them off the tour bus, despite his protests. "The Boys" twisted that into "Mohammed Hassan thinks he's so good that he forced Jerry Brisco to carry his bags." Basically, they were just looking for excuses to treat him like shit. Aye. That was brutal. Benoit certainly comes off as a complete fucking psychopath. Guy would attack Roberts in public, for no reason, and then a few hours later go "Hey man. How's your Dad?" Anyway, the thing that gives Massaro's affidavit credibility to me is the tone. She doesn't come across as being bitter or spiteful. It reads like someone who is genuinely hurt and confused and wants things to change. She's not Billy Jack Haynes. Interesting that WWE's statement focuses solely on them being unaware of the rape and ignores everything else. No acknowledgement at all that she was put in matches with very little training, or physical situations against Doctor's orders, both of which are pretty much impossible to deny.

Not just him. It really feels like it was a set up. The soldiers used the fact that she was swooning a little in the heat as a pretext to get her on her own so their mate could rape her. The quote Iain posted from WWE's website backs her claim that they "insisted" she go, even though she didn't want to. I also don't believe that the guy (and the woman who kept a look out) just happened to be walking round the Medical Centre with a syringe full of muscle tranquillisers, just on the off chance that there was an ex-Playboy Model around. This is the exact opposite of how I feel. There's no excitement at all. Just disgust at WWE, and at myself for supporting them for so long. It's not like I didn't know that the company was run by scumbags - I've read plenty of stories over the years. I'm not sure I necessarily want to see them go bust either. I'm just not giving them any more money. The rape might be hard to prove but it's hardly like it's the only shocking thing in there. They can't deny, for example, that they put her in the ring with very little training, because we were watching at the time. If it does turn out that she was suffering from CTE then they as good as killed her. She's no Chris Benoit after all. She didn't get multiple concussions working as a model. Meltzer can fuck off as well. A judge throws out a class action lawsuit involving 60 people and it's proof that every one of them must be lying? Fuck right off.

Does anyone have a list of WWE's current sponsors? I can't cancel the network, because I already did, but I can certainly stop drinking Coke. Or eating Mars Bars, and I'm more than happy to let those companies know why I'm doing it.

Yep. The whole story is just horrific. Even more so when you consider the likelyhood that the CTE and addiction problems from her time in WWE are what led to her death. They can argue that they didn't know the risks of CTE back then but they've got no excuse for putting someone with no training in the ring. They've had "Don't try this at home" warnings on their shows for as long as I can remember. Yet they actively forbid her proper training, even on her own time. The rape and WWE's.....response to it is just unbelievable, and yet it shouldn't be that surprising. I knew Vince was a weirdo, after all, but it was still extremely jarring that he was so quick to forgive the rape of an employee independent contractor to protect a business relationship. Same for the rest of the dickheads who didn't see a problem with leaving a young woman alone in fucking Saudi Arabia without a burqa, days after she'd already been raped. How fucking dense can you be? She must've been scared out of her mind and with good reason too. I cancelled my subscription after Wrestlemania but I was considering renewing. No chance of that happening now.

Good shout. I think that story could support a short series, to be honest. It really deserves some in-depth coverage. At the very least, I'd love to see someone from the Time Warner side try and justify that deal. I mean, not only did they pull out of a FAR more lucrative deal with Fusient, but they then immediately sold to Vince without giving Bischoff any time to react. The company might well have been worthless to him without TV but he never even had time to talk to his backers to see if another offer was viable. I think Jerry Jarrett wanted to make an offer too but nobody would return his calls. Instead of getting about ten times the money AND getting rid of all the wrestlers contracts. They got $2.5 million and had to pay a whole bunch of guys to sit at home. All to get rid of the highest rated show on their Network. Plus if you believe Kevin Sullivan then the deal meant that all PPV revenue that hadn't been paid yet went to the WWF, so Time Warner essentially paid the WWF to take it off their hands. *If* you believe Kevin Sullivan, of course.

I get where your coming from. Again, though, they only had 45 minutes to work with, which isn't even nearly enough time to cover that side of the story. They could rush through the Lance Von Erich debacle, for example, just by having Kevin say what a horrible mistake it was to lie to the fans. You can't do that when it comes to attributing blame for all the deaths. They'd actually need to investigate that and justify it. Plus there's no way Kevin is going cooperate with a documentary like that, which makes it even more complicated to film. For what it was - a short documentary aimed at an audience who may not be familiar with wrestling - the story they told was fine. It was about a family who suffered some horrible tragedies and how the one surviving son is dealing with it. The only people who'll notice that stories are missing are people who already know them anyway.

Confirmed by who? Unless you've got some pretty strong evidence - not the DVDR "Sleaze Thread" - then you can't put something like that in a documentary without risking a lawsuit. It would've also cost them access to Kevin, who was really the focal point of the documentary. I don't think getting deeper into the sleaze would've added to it anyway. The idea was to make the family sympathetic and tragic. If they brought up stuff like Fritz supposedly wanting to use Mike's death to put heat on the Freebirds (as in try and convince the fans that they'd killed him) or them forging David's signature to sell autographs to grieving fans, then it would've been a very different story. One that you aren't going to cover in 45 minutes. I really enjoyed it.

To be fair, I understand WHY it started. Wrestling was essentially a criminal enterprise for decades after all. They had to make sure they could trust any newcomers before they really let them in or it could've all came crashing down. No different to the Mafia in that respect. Carrying people's bags, setting up the ring, etc, were ways to test people and see if you can trust them before you reveal anything incriminating. That I get. The fact that is still happening in 2019 is fucking stupid. Even more open is how waiting staff are treated. They get an absurd minimum wage - $2 an hour, I think - and have to live off tips. If they don't GET any tips, for whatever reason, then that's their problem. Doesn't matter if the food is shit, the kitchen is slow, or there's simply no customers, they're the ones who'll suffer. It's a weird mix of employment, self-employment and flat out begging.

It only works because, as we've established WWE wrestlers have very little in the way of recourse when it comes to harassment and bullying. If the mainstream media ever pick up on it then it'll get stopped quicker than you can say "Bill DeMott". The whole thing is bollocks. It's clearly a hangover from the ultra-kayfabe "We must treat the rookies like shit to protect the business" days, which is ridiculous now that it's 2019, everybody knows wrestling is pre-determined and Lio Rush has been wrestling for years. It's not even like it applies to everyone either. For example, the Hardys HAD to vandalise Don Callis' car as an initiation and to prove themselves to "the boys". Rene Dupree accidentally gets Bob Holly a speeding ticket and it's seen as a lack of respect worth a public beating. I'd bet money that the likes of Brock Lesnar or Kurt Angle weren't carrying anybody's bags after they got called up either. Has the Triple H stuff actually been confirmed by anybody besides Shane Douglas. Aside from that, what exactly is the advice he's been ignoring? Is it even valid? Who is it from? It might sound harsh but there's a ton of "vets" on the WWE roster who probably aren't worth listening to. I mean, would you take advice from a guy who has been floating around the midcard for years and doing nothing of note? Good point. As I recall most of the internet fans were always solidly behind Punk. I'm sure someone on here went as far as to claim "He's a bigger star than Arn Anderson ever was!" when it came out that Arn didn't like him, and was behind the end of his winning streak. Punk's a good one to bring up though. Remember when he apparently had heat for going out with Maria when they were in OVW, because "She's too hot for a developmental guy". Wrestlers really are fucking weirdos.

Really? I just find it hard to believe that, say, a reputable theatre group would expect one member of the main cast to carry another actors water, bags, and generally just expect them to be their bitch. An understudy? Perhaps, but not a member of the actual cast. I mean, it's not like he's a rookie, or a "Young Boy", who needs to kiss arse to get a break. He's a fairly recognisable part of a multi-billion dollar entertainment company. They clearly see something in him to put him in that spot so why shouldn't he feel a bit of pride and refuse to demean himself. I didn't know he'd asked for his release. Still, the fact that it's even listed as a reason that his days "might be numbered" is daft. That's shitty behaviour as well. A trainee, or a school kid on work experience? Aye, okay. I can sort of understand that. Fellow co-worker who just happens to be new? Nope.

Well, that one is fucking stupid. Is there any other industry in the world where something like that would even be an issue, much less a sackable offence? It makes me wonder if (a) WWE even HAS a H.R department and (b) what would happen if wrestlers filed grievances the way any normal person would if they were getting this sort of shite at work.