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Last week, Todd Martin of our sister site Sherdog and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer went online to question WWE’s handling of the announcement that Roman Reigns will appear on tonight’s RAW to update fans on his leukemia treatment. As expected, Twitter went on the attack, but not on WWE.
Is it really classy to use concern about his health as a ratings ploy rather than just providing information to people who care whenever it becomes available? https://t.co/evowyBv2wm
— Todd Martin ?? (@ToddMartinMMA) February 21, 2019
The scary part is I'm so accepting of the uniqueness of the company that I didn't care until a sportswriter friend told me how if this was done in a real sport, it would be considered a level of sleaze they'd never sink to. When put that way, it did become clear. https://t.co/euYNOb3yrC
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) February 22, 2019
No, instead Martin and Meltzer suffered the blue bird’s wrath from fans. Some gave reasons, others just resorted to name-calling. “Why can’t you just let the story play out?” “Ghoul”, “What if Roman wants to do it this way?”.
I’m sure this RAW appearance is absolutely what Roman wants and I, like mostly everyone else am excited to lean on the idea that it is good news, but does anyone really think it was him who said, “hey, you know what? Let’s make ‘em wait.” That doesn’t seem like The Big Dog’s style.
I completely understand the promotional allure of pro wrestling, but no other sport (which pro wrestling at its heart is a simulation of) would leave fans on the hook on updating a player’s health, particularly if it was life or career threatening. I couldn’t fathom Scott Van Pelt addressing his ESPN audience with a bombshell news story “Folks, Tom Brady’s severed right arm that Von Miller ripped off and beat him senseless with at the beginning of the season was put on ice and this week when the Patriots take on the Dolphins, Brady will be there to update you on the status of his quarterback future. Tune in to find out!” In-game severed arm or not—revealing what happened five days before game time have just about an equal shot of happening in any other genre dealing in athleticism, but the fact that WWE refuses to let go on on any opportunity to make business leaves the brand with a smell still permeating off the carnival fair grounds.
Granted, no one should be surprised about this. I’m not. Vince has been compromising morality before I had the motor skills to turn on a television, but the only thing eyebrow raising in today’s world is how more common of an occurrence it seems to be with him. This method to grab eyes already happened to Roman Reigns the night he left when Vince decided to play it into a (failed) Dean Ambrose heel turn. He’s done it several times in real-life situations that circle around all their talent, sometimes so heavy-handed that I cringe to even write them out (so I won’t). Vince seemingly lives in South Park where all topics of contention are up for attack, but unlike Trey Parker & Matt Stone, his abrasive humor barely has any substance behind it, therefore he continues to remain relevant by remaining out of touch.
Overall, is this the most callous decision Vince has made? Not even close, not even for the last year would it probably make the top ten, but it does continue to tell us something when you package that with last Monday’s NXT call-ups. Vince is desperate, angry and unadmittedly lost in the woods at this point. All that will continue to rise to the top as we further down the road of 2019.
Tune in to find out.
