What was White supposed to say when WWE Network got brought up on Twitter? “Oh, yeah, buy that. It’s great.” White understands that WWE is competition. (McMahon understands that UFC is competition, even if he won’t verbalize it. Problem is, he can’t bully UFC. It’s slightly bigger than ROH.)
Why should White respect pro wrestling? It’s beneath everything UFC represents. Competitors win and earn. They don’t politic and finagle. They don’t main-event (or not) based on one man’s whim. WWE isn’t Akira Maeda shoot-kicking Riki Choshu. It’s an ordinary fireman’s carry being used as a devastating finisher by John Cena.
Pro wrestling is fake. That’s not always an insult. It’s a definition.
Seth Rollins being a notable exception, there’s no shortage of jabronis ready to get their blood boiling when an outsider uses the F-word. It’s mostly an attempt to justify a life spent pursuing something fake. It’s difficult to attach nobility to pro wrestling. But participants (especially lesser ones) certainly try by way of hoping some rubs off on them. No one rallies around the flag like pro wrestlers.
But the stars know: The world little notes, nor long remembers. I didn’t see Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart lambasting White.
I love pro wrestling. I love the art. I loved the people I worked with. I love the twisted, bastard sense of history. I respect it. I will always watch it.
But I also understand exactly what it is: It’s fake.
I heard that, on yet another of his endless series of sex tapes, Hulk Hogan calls wrestling fake. THAT’S THE FINAL STRAW! HULKAMANIA IS DEAD!
BTW, how come DJ Bubba the Love Sponge isn’t a bigger villain in the Hogan controversy? He pimped out his wife, surreptitiously taped his “best friend” Hogan having sex, and talked about how much the video might be worth. “Somehow” the tapes got leaked. Bubba reportedly used the N-word on one of the tapes. That doesn’t change what Hogan did or said. But BTLS is the worst best friend ever. What a creep.
Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMaddenX
