sek69 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Seems like this issue is ripe for a topic, so lets recap: WWE splits up Lana and Rusev and pairs them off with someone neither has chemistry with. People immediately start the "lol WWE must be trying to split up a real couple" half-jokes that always come up when a real life couple is broken up on TV. Lana breaks her arm and is off TV for a while, during said absence TMZ (who is one of WWE's approved outlets to get first dibs on their stories they want to go mainstream) posts Lana and Rusev's engagement photos. I guess that could be explained by a news agency breaking a story, but TMZ is famous for sitting on stories that would hurt people/companies they work with. Word starts coming out that Lana has the dreaded "nuclear heat" for breaking kayfabe on social media since her and Rusev were still broken up on TV. Heat, it must be noted, with a company where both the top heels have "I play a bad guy on TV" on their Twitter profiles and routinely show up in PR videos putting smiles on faces betwixt segments where they play evil heels. WWE runs a ham-handed quickie angle where they try to retcon the last few months and say Rusev and Lana were secretly back together despite feuding on TV. No big deal, there's been worse plot holes in wrestling right? Lana disappears from TV almost immediately, and starts making cryptic (and not so cryptic) comments on Twitter about not allowing outside forces to destroy you or whatever. People start putting two and two together and assume WWE must be still trying to break them up. Rock shows up and does his usual spiel on Raw, and seems to go extra hard in the paint on Lana to the point she was looking uncomfortable the whole time. The jist of the segement is that Rusev is marrying a whore who's so whorish she even taught known frequent sex-haver the Rock a thing or two. Dave mentions he got reports from people in the company that "something else happened" to create another wave of heat towards Lana and stressed that the company isn't mad at Rusev at all. Rusev, it must be mentioned, has not faced the same wrath as Lana for all this despite seemingly breaking the same kayfabe laws she did. So based on everything, the easy inference is that WWE seems mad Lana's got the nerve to fight their petty ass attempts to break them up in real life and she has to take all the heat since the company has a whole has all the class and professionalism of a teenager getting jilted at the prom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I wonder if people are blowing the Rock/Lana segment out of proportion... The reason I ask is because: aren't Rock and Rusev somewhat buddies because Rusev was trained by Rock's "cousin" Rikishi? If so, then why would Rock agree to go along with WWE's petty heat grudge and shame Rusev's fiancee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I think she got a lot of heat for saying Paige was a bully in NXT. I don't see the big deal with Lana Alexa Bliss is younger, just as hot, and can work matches. It's no big loss for WWE if they cut her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Rock probably has no idea. It's a woman, he calls her a slut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I don't see the big deal with Lana Alexa Bliss is younger, just as hot, and can work matches. It's no big loss for WWE if they cut her. Disagree. I like Bliss too, but she doesn't have the pizzazz and gimmick Lana has. Lana is unique. Bliss, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Rock probably has no idea. It's a woman, he calls her a slut. Quoted for motherfucking truth. All the while bragging about how much pie he gets in a night, of course. Because THAT is totally different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Already mentioned in the OP, but yeah, Steph literally says on Twitter that she plays a character on TV, and shows up in multiple charity events, despite being easily the most protected heel of the company. Hunter soaks up goodwill acting as the beloved benevolent father figure of nXt, and before that, used to break kayfabe just to get pics clicked with Justin Bieber. This company sometimes makes me hate myself for being a wrestling fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Normally Rock would see a woman, make a sex joke or two, and that would be the end of it. This started like that and devolved into Rock going on and on about the time they had sex until the point it was like those Walking Dead memes of Coral and his dad. REMEMBER THAT TIME WE HAD SEX, LANA? (moves closer) WE HAD SEX, LANA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is the same company that treats Ric Flair sexually assaulting Becky Lynch as a comedy spot. Divas Revolution, indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I noticed Lana had to sell it like it actually happened too. She was smiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Here's an alternate explanation: maybe that segment was a receipt for Lana no-selling Rock's promo the last time they were on TV together. Granted, that's not much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is one of those times when I just think to myself...imagine trying to explain WWE/the wrestling business to an outsider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Knowing the long history the company has for petty behavior, why would it be seen as jumping to conclusions to think anything else but the obvious when a woman that rubbed them the wrong way has a promo cut on her calling her a slut? if it was literally any other company in the world I could see giving them the benefit of the doubt, but history has shown if you assume the worst with anything involving WWE and women you're going to almost always be correct. Also bonus points for them airing a Be A Star video later in the show where the focus was boosting kids' self esteem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is the same company that treats Ric Flair sexually assaulting Becky Lynch as a comedy spot. Divas Revolution, indeed. Okay listen I find Flair kissing Becky weird and kind of creepy but people really need to calm down on this "sexually assaulting" part that everyone is using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is the same company that treats Ric Flair sexually assaulting Becky Lynch as a comedy spot. Divas Revolution, indeed. Okay listen I find Flair kissing Becky weird and kind of creepy but people really need to calm down on this "sexually assaulting" part that everyone is using. Kissing a woman without her permission IS sexual assault. It cannot get more cut-and-dry than that. The fact that wrestling has had hundreds of those over the years does not mitigate that. Weird and creepy would be Flair telling the world how beautiful Steph's ass is. This is an outright criminal offence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 It's a sign of how far sensibilities about this have come in recent years. That is a spot that has been a common wrestling trope forever - manager kisses opposite sex wrestler to distract them/vice versa - and years ago even I never batted an eyelid, but when I saw the Flair/Becky thing I felt quite uncomfortable and couldn't just laugh it off as a comedy spot. Times have changed. In the same way that while a Rock promo about women being sluts and bragging about sex was the height of fashion in 2000, that same promo now feels kind of sleazy and disrespectful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Yeah, that whole "women are human beings and it's not being a PC pansy to treat them like one" sure has caught on of late. Of course it shouldn't be surprising pro wrestling would be late to that party since it seems WWE is at least 20 years behind the curve on social issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 The Rock promo to me was much more offensive because I am not sure how much Lana was involved in the joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fando Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is an outright criminal offence So was Roman spearing his boss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 It wasn't sexual assault. It was two actors cooperating with each other. Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 The portrayal of sexual assault then. Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 It wasn't sexual assault. It was two actors cooperating with each other. Christ. In kayfabe terms, obviously. Point being that a scripted case of sexual assault should not be used as a comedy spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Remember Ryback's line a few months ago about Dolph having sex with her was a double cross. She didn't know he was going to say that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is an outright criminal offence So was Roman spearing his boss. Well then, might as well have people using n-words freely and freely raping women. because most things that happen in wrestling are criminal offences. There is a place for tasteless shit in wrestling, but in my opinion, sexual assault being used as a comedy spot is not one of them. Roman spearing his boss was treated as a huge deal, so even in wrestling terms, the treatment of both was different. If the announcers had talked about how despicable and horrible Flair was for doing that to Lynch, and how he should be put into jail for that, then it wouldn't be much of a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I don't want to steal Grimmas' gimmick here, but it never fails to amuse me how some folks get mad, like really really illogically mad, when anyone suggests women be treated like people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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