Earlier this week, Stephanie McMahon sent out the following Tweet in response to Patricia Arquette’s inspiring words at the Oscars, moments after winning the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood:
Thank You @PattyArquette for having the courage to fight for #WomensRights on such a grand platform. #UseYourVoice
Former Divas Champion AJ Lee, who hasn’t been seen on television since December, apparently thought McMahon’s words were a bit hypocritical:
@StephMcMahon Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, and yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster. #UseYourVoice
This comes after #GiveDivasaChance trended worldwide on Monday Night Raw this week, causing a wide range of responses from WWE Superstars, Divas and fans alike. AJ’s responses to Stephanie McMahon were re-tweeted collectively over 4,000 times within 30 minutes of being posted.
February 24, 2015
AJ Lee Responds to Stephanie McMahon’s Tweet on Women’s Rights; Says WWE Divas Earn a “Fraction of the Wages” That Men Do
Corey Graves Responds to #GiveDivasaChance Twitter Backlash
Early today, NXT announcer Corey Graves commented on the #GiveDivasAChance hashtag that trended worldwide during Monday Night Raw last night.
While I dig #GiveDivasAChance, I truly believe that our divas will make their own chances in time. Have you watched @WWENXT lately?!
Since then it seems Graves has caught quite a bit of grief over his opinions.
Remember that time I tried to speak rationally to the Internet? Yeah, that'll never happen again. #sicksadworld I’d be willing to bet that most of the people blowing up my Twitter right now also believe everyone should get a trophy for playing. You make a point. I make a point. Repeat until issue is resolved. They call it conversation. Try it. It’s less exhausting. What you all have done, is take a guy (me) trying to DEFEND your cause, and turned me off by being idiots. I hope you all fail.
#GiveDivasAChance Trends Worldwide
As seen on Raw last night, Paige & Emma were defeated by The Bella Twins in a 30 second match which saw Brie Bella pin Emma following one offensive maneuver. After the match was over, the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance was trending worldwide, and names such as Renee Young, Mick Foley, Havok and The Bella Twins either favorited Tweets with the hashtag or sent out Tweets of their own.
February 23, 2015
WWE Confirms Tonight’s Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement
WWE has announced the following on Twitter:
Congratulations to THE BUSHWACKERS, Class of 2015 inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Sting challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania
Triple H wasted no time pontificating about what he thought was Sting’s motivation for coming to WWE. Finally face-to-face with the individual who has caused The Authority a great deal of strife since Survivor Series, The Game discussed Sting’s legacy, citing WWE’s purchase of WCW and his own legacy overshadowing The Stinger’s. With that, the WWE COO left the face-painted franchise of WCW with a simple ultimatum. Sting could turn around and walk away and Triple H would ensure Sting’s legacy remain in-tact through WWE Network, DVDs, action figures, video games and even the WWE Hall of Fame.
Conversely, Sting could remain in the ring and Triple H would make him sorry he ever set foot in WWE. The former WCW Champion remained expressionless, steadfast in his silence and The Game realized there was only one way for the situation to go.
Attacking The Vigilante initially proved to be a mistake, Sting beat Triple H to the punch, but The Cerebral Assassin took down his adversary and unleashed the rage that has been pent up since Survivor Series. With Sting reeling, The King of Kings reached under the ring and retrieved his signature sledgehammer. As he re-entered the ring, he was stopped in his tracks as Sting’s legendary black baseball bat made its first appearance in WWE.
With the very weapon that took out The nWo on numerous occasions pressed firmly under Triple H’s chin, The Game was backed into the corner and forced to drop his sledgehammer. Sting then made his own ultimatum, pointing to the WrestleMania sign, issuing the challenge the WWE Universe has been waiting for.
Sting turned to leave and The Cerebral Assassin attacked but was quickly taken down by the bat. Bringing The Game back to his feet, The Stinger put him down once more with the Scorpion Death Drop.
Moments after the confrontation, it was announced that at WrestleMania, not only will Sting battle Triple H in a veritable dream match, but the icon of WCW will compete inside a WWE ring for the first time ever.
WWE Network Announces Birthday Marathon For One Year Anniversary Week, No New Content
This week marks one year since the WWE Network launched. You would think that new content would debut on the WWE Network to celebrate the anniversary week but that is not the case. With the exception of the new NXT and Superstars episodes, there is currently no new content planned to premiere this week.
Instead, WWE has announced a "birthday marathon" of their best Network content that will begin after tonight's RAW. They wrote the following:
In honor of WWE Network's first birthday, the fastest-growing digital subscription service ever will air a marathon of its best programming, immediately following Raw. New subscribers to WWE Network can sign up now and get the rest of February FREE on The Road to WrestleMania.
Don't miss WWE Network's 24-hour birthday marathon, starting immediately after Raw with WWE 24: WrestleMania 30. Also, catch other amazing programs such as Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, the "Stone Cold" Podcast, NXT TakeOver: Rival, The Monday Night War, WWE Legends' House, and much more!
February 21, 2015
February 20, 2015
WWE Addresses CM Punk Allegations Regarding the WWE Medical Staff & Subsequent Defamation Lawsuit Filed by Dr. Chris Amann, Video Included
The WWE says it has proof that CM Punk NEVER had a baseball-sized lump on his back at the Royal Rumble -- and insist they have the video that shows he's lying through his singlet.
Punk first brought up the alleged lump on a podcast back in November -- when he claimed he was misdiagnosed by a WWE ringside doctor ... and it eventually led to a life-threatening staph infection.
The doctor filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Punk -- and now, the WWE is making it clear they have the doc's back.
"WWE continues to have the utmost confidence in the ability and expertise of our world-class team of physicians, including Dr. Amann," the organization said in a statement.
This is where it gets aggressive ...
WWE says it completed a full investigation into Punk's allegations and made the following conclusions:
-- "CM Punk did not discuss this alleged condition with WWE’s team of physicians and trainers, nor did he discuss it with anyone in our Talent Relations department. WWE has no medical records documenting this alleged condition.
-- The first time WWE was made aware of this alleged condition was when we received a letter from CM Punk’s attorney on August 22, 2014 after WWE terminated his contract.
-- "There is clear video evidence from the 2014 Royal Rumble, which allows all to decide whether there is any appearance of a baseball-sized growth on CM Punk’s back."
You can view the video here.
source: tmz.com
ROH CEO On WWE Trying To Limit WrestleMania Week Events, Promoters Being Afraid Of Vince
Ring of Honor CEO Joe Koff recently spoke with Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com. Koff commented on WWE cracking down on other wrestling promotions that try to run in the area during WrestleMania weekend and said ROH plans on being in the Dallas area in 2016:
"We'll be fine. We'll be in Fort Worth or Dallas [in 2016]. That's not going to become a problem, and if it becomes a problem then we'll deal with it. Everything they do I respect. They're in business just like I'm in business and they're there to protect their franchise like I'm there to protect my franchise. I have no fault with that. They can't put everything out of business. They made it a little less convenient for the fans that are going into WrestleMania weekend, but like I said, it hasn't stopped us from selling out that show. Look, I'm purposely there when they are there because they bring in a ton of fans and they bring in a lot of international fans. "WrestleMania is our Super Bowl and if I can be near it, I'm going to be near it."
Koff also commented on working with promoters back in the 1980's and said they were scared of Vince McMahon and what he was doing:
"One of the things I learned when I was working with the promotions is that they were very fearful of Vince McMahon and what he was doing and I think it took their eye of the ball and I think they didn't know how to compete. The economics scared the local promoters. They just got scared of it and they didn't know how to fight it because they didn't have some kind of national distribution to deal with. The one thing about professional wrestling and the one thing we have is we've got distribution. We're in 40 percent of the country. We're in 40 million homes. We have the capability to be reached 40 million homes through TV. That's something that most other promotions don't have. Because we have that, I'm not that concerned about what everyone else is doing. I'm only concerned in bettering my product, keeping my eye on my ball and not worrying about the rest of the business."
Rumor Mill - Sting And Triple H Rehearsing Their ‘WrestleMania’ Match At WWE Performance Center
Sting is set to confront Triple H this Sunday at WWE’s Fast Lane pay-per-view, but it appears that the two of them will be face-to-face before Sunday’s show, as Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that Sting and Triple H are not only rehearsing their WrestleMania match at the WWE Performance Center, but they’re also going over their face-to-face confrontation that will take place this Sunday.
Throughout Sting’s professional wrestling career, there have been a lot of people who have come out and called Sting a “spot misser,” claiming that Sting — especially during his TNA run — would constantly forget spots, and even miss spots during matches. Sting’s work has been criticized as well, as some people in the business say that he’s not capable of carrying a bad worker to a good match, which is why he’s wrestling Triple H at WrestleMania instead of The Undertaker, as people within WWE feel — especially after last year’s WrestleMania– that age has finally caught up to The Undertaker, and it has greatly affected his work in the ring.
Sting’s very first WWE match will be at the biggest event in the history of professional wrestling — WrestleMania– against a WWE legend, in front of the biggest crowd he’s ever performed for. That’s a lot of pressure. Not to mention that Sting is in his mid-50’s, and this will likely be his one-and-only WWE match. So, WWE, Triple H, and Sting are rehearsing it in advance to assure that it will be good, or at least memorable.
When Sting steps through the ropes at WrestleMania 31, it will have been well over a year since his last professional wrestling match. So, the rehearsals likely are to not only ensure that the match is good, but to make sure Sting knocks off all of the ring-rust, and is in good shape for his match with Triple H, because it’ll likely be between 15 and 20 minutes long.
It’s very likely that Sting and Triple H will do something physical at this Sunday’s Fast Lane, which is why they’re working out their segment at the WWE Performance Center. Sting is also set to appear on at least two more episodes of Monday Night RAW after Fast Lane to build to his match with Triple H at WrestleMania.
February 19, 2015
WWE Physician Suing CM Punk & Colt Cabana For Defamation
WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann has filed a defamation lawsuit against CM Punk and Colt Cabana over comments made on Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast last November.
Amann claims Punk (whose real name is Philip Brooks) and Cabana (whose real name is Scott Colton) made false statements about him, were defamatory and put him a false light by improperly insinuating “a lack of integrity … and/or inability or lack of competence to perform his professional duties as a medical doctor.”
Amann is seeking more than $1 million in compensatory damages, as well as an undetermined amount of punitive damages.
In the suit, Amann claimed Punk “repeatedly and falsely impugned the integrity” of him as a doctor by saying he misdiagnosed a growth on Punk’s back as a fatty deposit and disregarded requests to remove it.
The suit alleges that Punk never sought treatment for or showed him the lump and that he never prescribed Punk antibiotics for a lump or concussion. A lengthy transcript of the podcast was provided as an exhibit.
Amann alleges Cabana helped Punk falsely depict him as a lazy and bad doctor. He claims they “knowingly fabricated the false and disparaging statements” about him, knowing they would be heard by others.
His complaint stated the statements made by Cabana and Punk “are highly offensive in that they accuse [him] of a gross lack of integrity as a medical doctor, an inability to perform his professional duties as a medical doctor, and in placing the financial interest of his employer above life-threatening health conditions of his patients.”
CLICK HERE for complete coverage by The Cook County Legal Journal.
Vince McMahon On His Favorite Superstar, Topping 'Mania 3, Who Will Replace Him When He Dies, More
As noted earlier, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon is on the cover of the March issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. The issue contains an interview with McMahon, thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader "The Brass Ring" for sending in these highlights:
His favorite WrestleMania moment:
"WrestleMania III in front of what was the largest indoor attendance record- 93,000 people at the Silverdome in suburban Detroit. When Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant. I think that's been the biggest moment thus far."
If the company will surpass the WrestleMania III record:
"I think there's a good opportunity with an announcement we'll make soon." [Editor's note: the interview was likely conducted before WWE announced that WrestleMania 32 would take place at AT&T Stadium outside of Dallas, TX]
The future of WWE if he retires or goes "up to that big ring in the sky":
"Our future from a corporate standpoint is extremely strong because we have so many talented executives, and they all bring different strengths to the table. Steph and Paul will certainly have significant roles going forward. I think when I kick, the organization is going to change, and I think for the better, because there's no one person who can do all that I can do because of my background. There's no one individual who's going to take my place."
His favorite WWE Superstar:
"That would be Undertaker because of his loyalty, his longevity, and his extraordinary commitment to his character. We have lots of fun creating fun. [Superstars] try to crack each other up from time to time, and we all have tried to get Undertaker to break character, and we can't do it. He is such a professional and an extraordinary human being behind the character. He's committed to his craft and has worked through his injuries."
McMahon also discussed if he is worried for his safety while wrestling, inspiration for the McMahon character, if he was concerned about making others look small, his fitness and nutrition regime, what the WWE corporate gym's like and more.
WWE Responds to Cassandra Frazier's Lawsuit
WWE issued the following response to PWInsider in regards to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Cassandra Frazier, widow of former WWE star Nelson Frazier Jr., who appeared as Viscera, Mabel and Big Daddy V:
"WWE has not been served with a lawsuit by Cassandra Frazier. If served, we will vigorously contest this lawsuit brought by the same lawyers who have been soliciting people to sue WWE without merit."
February 18, 2015
What Sean Waltman Has Said About Triple H Potentially Assaulting Chyna, More on Waltman’s Own Issues with the Former Diva
As we reported several weeks ago, Chyna revealed during an interview with Vince Russo that while she and Triple H were in a relationship, Triple H physically assaulted her. Triple H quickly issued a statement denying the assault claim.
In an update on that story, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reports Sean Waltman, who also had a relationship with Chyna, has told him a similar story about Triple H assaulting Chyna, but later admitted all Triple H did was push Chyna out of the way.
No further details were provided by Waltman as he said he cared not to be involved in a “mudslinging” story with Triple H and Chyna.
Furthermore, while Waltman was an admitted junkie during his relationship with Chyna, he revealed the claim she makes in her book, which is that she was raped in college, is not true as Chyna later told Waltman it wasn’t true.
Additionally, Waltman has denied much of what Chyna had to say publicly about him during the time they were together.
**Update**
Waltman posted the following response on his twitter page:
"I haven't read whatever was written about me in The Observer, so it's hard to comment. One thing I can tell you is that Paul never hit Joanie."
Samoa Joe announces departure from TNA Wrestling
Samoa Joe, one of the longest tenured performers in TNA Wrestling, announced on Twitter that he is leaving the promotion:
"I have decided to part ways with @ImpactWrestling. My very best to them moving forward, and my eternal thanks to the fans."
February 17, 2015
Video: The vigilante Sting’s longtime rival, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, tries to talk some sense into Triple H
February 16, 2015
The Bella Twins Talk About Frustration With NXT
This past weekend a report came out that WWE talent is frustrated with the wrestlers in NXT getting far more time to wrestle and show off during their matches, compared to what the main roster talent gets. The Bella Twins appeared at Comic Con in Indianapolis over the week and talked about having that exact sentiment.
When asked about the women in NXT wrestling lengthy matches while WWE Divas only get a few minutes to work each week, Nikki said that she and Brie were just talking about that the other day. Brie said:
“I was saying that. If I was in NXT I would not wanna come up to the main roster because you get so much time down there. If you come to the live events you’ll see we get a lot of time at the live events. When it comes to TV we get so frustrated because it’s hard to tell a story in 3 minutes and especially when they want an entrance. We want time to wrestle. Especially after watching NXT Rival pay-per-view and seeing them go 20 minutes, it’s like a dream. It’s something we’d love and we’re trying so hard to get more time. There’s a three hour Raw and you can’t give more time to the Divas? But, hopefully in the future.”
The twins also talked about Total Divas, with Brie making note of how silly it is for WWE to have storylines crossover to WWE programming. With Total Divas being taped months in advance, it is difficult to act like events took place on Total Divas the night before.
WWE Superstar Cesaro's Twitter Hacked
WWE Superstar Ceasro appears to have had his Twitter account hacked today after a series of questionable tweets appeared on his timeline. One of the tweets wished Cancer on WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
We have combined the tweets below for easy reading:
"You know what? I’m sick of Vince McMahon and his bulls*it. I don’t even get a chance to get the tag titles with Kidd now. I hope that old man gets cancer, I would of been one of the best for sure in the WWE. But that old washed up has been has no idea. I lack charisma? Yeah right I’m the Swiss superman everybody cheered for me at WM. This company is a piece of s*it."
"I lack charisma? Yeah right I'm the Swiss superman everybody cheered for me at WM. And why did they give me this gimmick and this awful theme music? They're constantly burying me." The posts continued: "I think it's about time I get pushed, what do you all think WWE universe? Even the rosebuds get more TV time than me. "I've pretty much had it with WWE. I just found out today that I won't ever get a chance at a major title. "This company is a piece of s**t. Everybody get #PushCesaro trending #PushCesaro."
The hacker then admitted that he was not Cesaro, tweeting: "Ok I'm not Cesaro, but I think Cesaro needs to be pushed. This company pushes lacklustre talents that nobody cares about. "Why can't WWE open their eyes and realise how good Cesaro is? When he won the Wrestlemania 30 Battle Royal I was so excited.
These tweets have now been deleted but have again cast a shadow over WWE's social media a week on from the hack on Seth Rollins’ Twitter last Monday.
Former WWE Creative Writer Claims Shawn Michaels & Triple H Buried CM Punk & Other Big Name Talents, HBK Responds & More
Former WWE creative team member Court Bauer, during a recent edition of “Bauer and Pollack,” made the following claim with regards to Shawn Michaels and Triple H having a habit of burying top talents like CM Punk while the two worked together in WWE:
“One time, Triple H along with HBK buried CM Punk. I think it was his 2005 tryout,” Bauer said. “Maybe he didn’t know the name, and wasn’t familiar with who it was but they buried him. They annihilated his look and his work and I’m like, ‘you just sunk the guy in front of the Chairman!'”
HBK has been making the media rounds lately to promote his new book, and during an appearance on Sirius XM’s TapouT Radio, Michaels not only denies the claims made by Bauer, but adds he never even met Bauer even though the two were working in WWE at the same time:
“I had someone tell me, ‘Triple H, he buried CM Punk.’ One, I never even met the guy [Court Bauer], supposedly he worked for us. Dave Lagana will tell you, as Punk will, that I was one of his biggest fans. The reason [WWE] didn’t like him is because he had a bad attitude. I’ve never seen anybody’s tryouts, they usually have them at the beginning of RAW.”
In response to the claims made by HBK, Bauer took to Twitter, @courtbauer, and posted the following:
“HBK followed me on twitter until recently. Worked w/ him on Rob Conway stuff. Other writers (@AlexDGreenfield) saw the Punk stuff. It’s easier to play dumb than be honest in wrestling. Problem is others saw it. It is what it is.”
Alex Greenfield, mentioned in Bauer’s Tweet, is also a former WWE writer, and during MLW Radio episode #166, Greenfield had the following to say regarding Bauer’s claims:
“It was Shawn, Triple H and Arn [Anderson],” Greenfield recalled. “They just f-cked Punk up! I don’t know if they knew who CM Punk was, because I certainly didn’t…They cut his work apart, they really buried the guy.
“When Shawn and Hunter were together man, they buried a bunch of people who were just starting out. I remember they did the same thing to Bobby Lashley…Shawn and Hunter backstage at that event curtainside, they looked out there and just buried the guy [Lashley]. You know how everybody has the friend that brings out the worst in you? That’s what it felt like all the time to me, dude. They just turned into catty f-cking b—–s.”
WWE Hall of Famer Signs Deal w/ CBS Sports For Weekly Series
Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com is reporting that 16-man world champion and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair has signed a deal with CBS Sports that will see him record a weekly podcast. He is expected to interview all kinds of personalities from around the entertainment business, including wrestlers, musicians, actors and other non-wrestler athletes.
CBS Sports is the same group Taz is currently signed with for his Human Podcast Machine series. The official announcement should be made at some point in the next two weeks.
February 15, 2015
Rumor Mill - Backstage Talk On WWE's Main Roster Talents Being Frustrated Over NXT
Handcuffed WWE talent are becoming frustrated at being constantly told by fans that they're underperforming in comparison with NXT's top acts. The feeling is mutual, as those NXT wrestlers are frustrated that they aren't on the main roster making big money...More?
source: cagesideseats.com
Yahoo Finance Calls WWE Network A Rough Draft For Other Brands
In the video above, Yahoo Finance talks about WWE stock shooting up 15% on Friday. They called the WWE Network "a rough draft of future offerings from content providers like HBO, Disney and all those other brands."
February 12, 2015
WWE Network Grows in the Middle East, North Africa, and Canada
The WWE Network continues to expand, announcing that it will grow its presence in the Middle East, North Africa, and Canada “in time for WrestleMania” on Sunday, March 29.
In Canada, the wrestling network made a deal with Rogers Communications, which will allow Canadians to watch OTT WWE content via carriage agreements with TV providers Telus Satellite TV and Videotron (which will go into effect on February 25) in addition to Cogeco Cable Canada, Telus Optik TV, and Shaw and Shaw Direct, which will begin in March.
WWE and Rogers had made a deal back in August 2014 that granted the media company exclusive distribution rights to WWE’s flagship Canadian programming for 10 years.
In MENA, pay TV network OSN now has an exclusive, five-year partnership with WWE that will let it distribute the network’s content in the form of a premium, linear channel. Viewers can subscribe to OSN to watch the channel through their set-top boxes and OSN Play. OSN’s Go will also let users access the content directly through the WWE app.
The WWE Network is currently available in over 170 countries.
Recap From WWE's Earnings Call: Vince Comments On Rumble Twitter Controversy, Network Content, More
Vince McMahon and other senior members of WWE management will be hosting an earnings call from WWE headquarters in Stamford this morning at 11am. The call starts with Michael Weitz, SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations. Weitz gives a brief introduction before handing the call over to Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
* Weitz welcomes us and gives an introduction.
* Vince tells us good morning and talks about Network and TV ratings increases. Vince touts social media followers being up 85% from the same quarter in the previous year. He also touts their YouTube views, saying they're the #1 sports channel on YouTube now. Vince also talks about WWE App growth and says everything is in support of the Network. He talks about subscriber increases, which were detailed in the earnings release. Vince talks about the Network and hands it over to Barrios.
* Barrios says 4th quarter results surpassed their expectations. He talks about new features on the Network and how they've added new subscribers. They still expect a gradual subscriber increase over time as consumer awareness grows. He talked about the Network expanding internationally. He said the UK and Ireland became their second biggest market almost overnight. Barrios said other international markets that they won't be in by the end of this year will be worked on at a later date.
* Barrios talked about how the live NXT specials helped with growth. He also bragged on Steve Austin's live podcasts, saying they were two of the most watched Network shows ever, and said they're working on having more live specials and working on more exclusive content like talk shows. He talked about revenue increases and other financial data that was detailed in the earnings release.
* Barrios talked about some projects WWE came out with in the last year and talks about their reach on social media and with the WWE App. They expect more growth all across the board next year.
* It's time for the Q&A. Barrios was asked how they monitor to make sure fans who previously used a free month of WWE Network don't sign up for another free month. We've heard of many fans being able to do this but Barrios said they have some tools in place to check for this but didn't go into details.
* A caller asked to compare the WWE fanbase to UFC/MMA and asked about WWE signing talents from the MMA world to help bring some of those fans together. He didn't answer the second part but said WWE is all about multi-generational family viewing and that's different from MMA audiences.
* Barrios was asked about the budget for WWE Network content and feature films in 2015. Fixed costs for the Network will be about the same as last year but the films budget will be between $20 and $30 million.
* A caller asks Vince about Twitter controversy and the #CancelWWENetwork hashtag after the Royal Rumble, asking if it's good or bad for them. Vince says it's good for WWE because it created controversy. Vince said it was like "Santa Claus didn't come" to some fans for the Rumble. Vince mocked fans who say they're never watching again, saying he knows the fan will be glued to the TV next week.
* Barrios wouldn't comment on Network advertising revenue. Barrios took a few more questions before wrapping it up.
February 11, 2015
Darren Young Deletes Tweet About WWE's Abu Dhabi Tour, Says His Freedom of Speech Is Gone; WWE Responds
Darren Young spoke out against WWE's tour of Abu Dhabi earlier today with the following tweet:
"Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu dhabi and they look down upon women and gays? I get it! #MillionsofDollars"
Young has since deleted that tweet. He posted the following after deleting it:
"My freedom of speech is gone. Gone but not forgotten."
WWE released the following statement:
“WWE does not discriminate against individuals regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation, and we continue to proudly support Fred Rosser (aka WWE Superstar Darren Young) for being open about his sexuality.
Unfortunately, WWE cannot change cultures and laws around the world, and thus we did not send Fred Rosser to the United Arab Emirates for our upcoming events for his own protection.
WWE also fully supports Fred Rosser’s right to express his views on personal social media accounts rather than WWE’s corporate platforms.”
