Thursday Sports Entertainment News Report 08.16.12

Greetings, folks, and welcome to another edition of Thursday Sports Entertainment!

WORLD (WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT) NEWS TONIGHT

WWE has announced that Abraham Washington has been released. The company issued the following statement:

“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar A.W. as of today, August 10, 2012. WWE wishes A.W. the best in all his future endeavors.” Soon after the announcement, Washington took to his Twitter for a rant against the company, suggesting that the release had to do with his joke referencing Kobe Bryant’s rape charges from several years back.

Washington then proceeded to post numerous tweets about the situation. I’ve picked out a few for your enjoyment, and because they are relevant to a point I’d like to make:

VINCE MCMAHON CAN SAY THE N WORD ON NATIONAL T.V. BUT @AWPromotions CAN’T TELL A JOKE………….whats wrong with this picture???

so Dx can tell everyone to suck it but u can’t make a joke?

@CMPunk told one of his twitter followers to kill themselves. biggest double standard in the world.

“If I smoked crack or did steroids I’d get suspended but I made a joke and tweeted support Linda and I get fired. #Doesn’tAddUp #Hmmmmm.”

On one hand, I’m glad to see Abraham Washington go. His voice was irritating, he didn’t add much to the show, and his improvising left a lot to be desired. Perhaps he could have improved in time, but we’ll never know.

On the other hand, Mr. Washington does bring up a lot of interesting points. Recent actions by other Superstars, most of which could be considered far more objectionable, have had less severe punishments (or none at all). Randy Orton failed a drug test. Chris Jericho offended an entire nation. Alex Riley was arrested for DUI. Vince McMahon mocked a disabled man. Most of these men faced relatively tame punishments. Also, all four of these men are white.

Now, bear with me, as I’m about to go into some potentially sensitive territory, but if AW wanted to, he could really screw things up for Linda McMahon. I mean big time. AW, if he so desired, could potentially derail Linda McMahon’s senate campaign, making her go from a long shot to a surefire loser. How? He can claim, with enough circumstantial evidence, that the WWE mistreats their black employees/contractors.

Believe me, I am not saying that WWE is racist. That is not my personal opinion and I am not presenting such a statement as fact. However, from a political standpoint, one could make a very compelling case that they are. In the murky world of politics, allegations don’t have to be 100% true, they just have to SEEM true until election day. There’s ample circumstantial evidence that WWE discriminates against their black talent. In fact, there’s so much evidence in support of this that a non-fan may actually believe what they hear. Take the following examples, put them in a political context, and pretend that you don’t watch the product:

– McMahon used the “n-word” on WWE TV.

– Recent reports indicate that certain talent were severely underpaid for WrestleMania, with JTG (an African-American) being the poster child for such complaints. JTG was also ridiculed on RAW for airing those grievances.

– AW was fired for an unfunny, tasteless joke (which wasn’t explicit at all), while white talent like Chris Jericho (desecrating a national symbol of Brazil), Randy Orton (failing a drug test), Alex Riley (DUI) get comparative slaps on the wrist

– Their World Heavyweight Champion is promoted as “The Great White”

– At this past WrestleMania, Brodus Clay danced with his “momma” and her “bridge club,” black women in stereotypical dress, with exaggerated posteriors.

The WWE routinely books African Americans as villains. Where black wrestlers are booked as babyfaces, it’s either done ineffectively or as a caricature:

– Booker T – babyface. Speaks “ebonics,” often portrayed as an imbecile, especially in his heel days

– Cameron, Naomi, & Alicia Fox – eye candy with little to no character development

– Darren Young – Villain

– David Otunga – Villain. Scheming, always losing

– The Rock – 50% African-American, though physically he appears more Samoan than black. The only effectively utilized black member of the roster, even though he isn’t full time

– Ezekiel Jackson – Hasn’t been used in ages. Booked unimpressively

– JTG – ghetto villain, formerly part of a tag team called “Cryme Tyme,” a pair of black criminals

– Kofi Kingston – babyface, could be a positive role model for black children if he were allowed to speak

– Mark Henry – Villain, despite being the strongest man in the world, routinely lost to smaller white men. Formerly booked as “sexual chocolate” a demeaning gimmick where he had an affair with an elderly white woman & a transvestite. Also formerly booked as part of a pseudo Black Panther organization

– R-Truth – former villain, now portrayed as a comically deranged, unintelligent buffoon

– Titus O’Neil – Villain

– Teddy Long – speaks a sort of ebonics, often ridiculed by a white authority figure (John Laurinaitis).

Nearly every black member of the roster plays to a black stereotype, which is a shame. There isn’t a single full-time, heroic, non-stereotypical black character in the WWE, save Kofi Kingston. Were he allowed to grow as a character, he’d make a helluva role model.

Also, perhaps more damning, keep in mind the following statistics – for the WWE’s top two championship belts:

In the last 10 years, the World Heavyweight Championship, (often considered the “lesser” of the two belts), was held by African Americans for a grand total of 217 days (King Booker’s 126 day reign + Mark Henry’s 91 day reign.) Both times, the African American holding the title was booked as a villain.

In the last 10 years, the WWE Championship (considered the flagship title) was held by an African American for a grand total of ZERO days.

Even though as fans you and I can say that WWE doesn’t come across as a racist organization, you have to admit, there is a lot of evidence available to allow a political hitman to make a very convincing case. The fact that the WWE hasn’t had a positive, black, main event champion in the last ten years is shocking, a fact that I hadn’t recognized before. CM Punk’s current reign with the WWE title is longer than every African American’s reign with a top title in the last ten years COMBINED! If I were a member of the black community, I’d be outraged at such a statistic.

Let me reiterate, there’s no hard evidence that I know of that proves WWE is racist. There’s plenty of evidence to show that they are not. My point is that Linda’s campaign can be derailed by the mere suggestion that they discriminate coupled with the mountain of soft evidence that supports such an allegation.

Regardless of political machinations, in my opinion, it would behoove World Wrestling Entertainment to build up a positive, African American world champion. Give African-American kids someone to look up to, WWE! Kofi has all the talent in the world, why not give him a proper run?

So it’s all up to you, Abraham Washington. Do you want to make Linda spend precious time and money ducking allegations of running a racist corporation? Hook up with the Murphy campaign today!

As a direct result of JTG’s ranting on Twitter, WWE addressed talent dissatisfaction in the locker room prior to Monday’s Raw. Officials asked that if anyone was unhappy that they should speak up, and nobody did. While no one spoke up, one talent stated the following…

“They just fired Abraham Washington and then ask us to speak up in front of the locker room. We may as well ask to be released!”

They ended the backstage meeting by saying to use common sense and be careful with social media.

I find this extremely interesting. First, the unnamed officials using the “speak now or forever hold your peace” approach are displaying poor leadership. The talent needs to feel like they can approach management with any perceived grievances and that they will be heard. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many folks that will speak up out of fear of losing their jobs. While JTG should have first made his case privately (and who knows, maybe he did), he should not have made his anger public unless he felt there was no other option.

However, the WWE is a different animal. The man running things is an old-school alpha male, and there’s enough anecdotal evidence to conclude that Vince McMahon respects people with enough self-confidence to stand up for themselves (aka “to act like a MAN”) , while he’ll totally shit on people who take it without protest. In a bizarre way, JTG may actually benefit from his little tirade. Whether or not you agree with JTG’s actions, one has to admit it takes a certain amount of cojones to put yourself out there, risking your job in the process.

In the interviews I’ve seen with Vince McMahon over the years, he often recounts how guys like John Cena & The Rock approached him and told him that they had what it took to run with the ball, so to speak. You can tell that these actions impressed him, and perhaps that’s why they were given the opportunities to become main event talent. CM Punk recently stated that he wasn’t given his monster push until he started speaking out backstage (and used the timing of his contract running out as leverage). Perhaps the secret for dealing with Vince is: Vince respects big balls.

Following the announcement that Nike had signed UFC Fighter Jon Jones to a major global endorsement deal, WWE star CM Punk wasn’t celebrating. In fact, Punk had the following to say about the new deal…

“Let’s reward more drunk drivers with endorsement deals! #responsibility.”

The straight edge superstar (who doesn’t drink, do drugs or smoke) was referring to Jones’ May 19th incident, where he crashed his Bentley into a utility pole. Jones was convicted for DUI, and after cutting a deal with prosecutors, his driver’s license was suspended for 6 months.

I saw Punk’s tweet before I read the story. I immediately thought of the possible pro wrestlers that he could be referring to. Here they are, from memory:

– Chris Jericho
– Alex Riley
– Kurt Angle
– Rima from Tough Enough
– Matt Hardy
– Batista
– Shannon Moore
– Ric Flair (sort of – he got an underage girl drunk and made her drive)

I’m sure I’m missing others, but you get the point. While it’s a tad hypocritical for Punk to be chastising members of the Ultimate Fighting community for DUI while his wrestling brethren are no better, the difference here is that none of the Superstars on the above list have global endorsement deals with a major company like Nike.

Still, Punk recently said that he doesn’t consider himself a role model, and that people should choose to live their own lives. Can’t the same be said for Mr. Jones? After all, Jones didn’t sign with a car company, he signed with a sportswear company with a history of controversial spokesmen. (Anyone remember the Charles Barkely “role model” commercial he did for Nike?)

At the end of the day, Punk is entitled to his opinion. His most effective way of expressing displeasure would be to boycott Nike products until Jones is no longer a spokesperson, perhaps convincing his numerous twitter followers to join him.

Kurt Angle tweeted the following Friday night:

I’m Gonna Run for Office. Boost Economy, Alter Obamacare to Work for all Of Us. And create More Jobs. That’s It!

Start out as Mayor, then Congressman, then Governor. I Made Mistakes but I Also Have Done Awesome things. I’m Excited.

Word is he’s expected to start his political career right after his next Olympic run and once his MMA career comes to an end, but before he beats up CM Punk for calling TNA an indy.

Word is that there are mixed feelings within WWE regarding Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro reportedly has WWE officials “on the fence” regarding his long-term value to the company. Many within the company view him as a “now or never” talent and they’re hoping he has a breakout moment soon.

I’m not familiar with Cesaro’s work pre-WWE, although I understand he’s a talented performer. I saw him on SmackDown last week and wasn’t too impressed. He said “hello” in five languages, made out with unremarkable Diva #3 and worked an okay match with Santino. I don’t care if you’re the Rock, that’s not enough to “break out” with. At least not right away.

The logic behind this newsbite (assuming it’s true) is baffling. Very few Superstars truly broke out after their debut. The only ones from recent years that spring to mind are Kurt Angle, John Cena, & Brock Lesnar. (I’m sure there are others, but I’m going by memory here). The one thing all those guys had in common is that they were immediately booked as a Big Deal. Kurt Angle was the Olympic gold medalist that went on an impressive winning streak and had the “three i’s.” John Cena nearly defeated Angle in his debut match as Mr. “Ruthless Aggression.” And Brock Lesnar was literally dubbed “The Next Big Thing.” Saying hello in multiple languages isn’t strong booking. It’s actually rather sad booking. A performer may have all the tools in the world to be successful, but he’ll need time and patience to find his groove. If the prevailing thinking is that Cesaro is a “now or never” talent, then he’s doomed.

If I were Antonio Cesaro, I’d be thinking of innovative ways to get myself over. Maybe make a steady stream of Tout videos that show off my charisma. Use that medium to deliver new catchphrases and showcase my personality a bit. This approach would a) Show I’m a good corporate citizen by embracing Tout and b) more importantly, showcase my skills to WWE management and the general public. With any luck, people will catch on a la Zack Ryder. If Cesaro waits for “creative” to hand him a golden angle, then he’s wasting what little time he has left.

Deadline reports that Warner Bros and WWE Studios are working together to create a new Scooby-Doo animated film that will involve a mystery at Wrestlemania.

WWE stars appearing in film, as well as providing voices, include Triple H, John Cena, Kane, The Miz, Brodus Clay, Santino Marella, Sin Cara, AJ, and WWE chairman/CEO Vince McMahon.

The film will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and digital download through Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. WWE will use its resources to promote the film, according to WWE Studios President Michael Luisi.

As much as this makes me scratch my head, it actually seems like a good idea for WWE Studios. Scooby Doo has a ton of brand recognition, and appeals to their target audience of children. Associating with a venerated children’s brand also helps sell the public on the fact that WWE is a family-friendly company. Who knows, maybe this will be the first WWE Studios production to turn a profit!

But how is Sin Cara supposed to provide a voice? The man never speaks!

“Ruh Roh, Raggy! Vince has a rerection!”

SPORTS ENTERTAINER NET WORTH

I’ve come across a site called Celebrity Net Worth, which takes estimates of how much value a celebrity has accumulated over his or her career.

Wikipedia defines “net worth” as:

In personal finance, net worth (or wealth) refers to an individual’s net economic position; similarly, it uses the value of all assets (long term assets) minus the value of all liabilities.

So the site takes into account how much a person’s house is worth, how their investments are doing, how much they owe in debt, etc. The information on the site ranged in dates from 2010 through 2012, so don’t think of these numbers as how much a celebrity is worth right now, more like a snapshot of how much they’ve been worth at some point within the last two years.

I thought it would be fun to see where some of your favorite Sports Entertainment personalities were worth. So there they are, in order of least net worth to most:

– Ric Flair (Richard Morgan Fliehr) was born in Tennessee and has an estimated net worth of $5 million dollars.

– Michael “The Miz” Mizanin is an American wrestler with a net worth of $5 million

– Randy Orton was born in Tennessee and has an estimated net worth of $6 million dollars.

– Shawn Michaels (Michael Shawn Hickenbottom) was born in Texas and has an estimated net worth of $7 million.

– Sheamus is a professional wrestler and actor with a net worth of $7 million.

– Phillip Jack Brooks, or better known as CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler with a net worth of $7.5 million.

– Kevin Nash was born in Michigan and has an estimated net worth of $8 million dollars.

– High-flying luchador Rey Mysterio has a surprising estimated net worth of approximately $8.5 million.

– What is Paul Heyman’s net worth? Paul Heyman’s net worth is $10 million dollars.

– Jeffrey Nero “Jeff” Hardy is an American wrestler with a net worth of $12 million.

– Brock Lesner is a South Dakota-born wrester and mixed martial artist with an estimated net worth of $15 million dollars.

– Chris Jericho was born in New York and has an estimated net worth of $18 million dollars.

– John Layfield was a professional wrestler and commentator, with a net worth of $20 million.

– Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, with a net worth of $20 million.

– John Cena was born in Massachusetts and has an estimated net worth of $20 million dollars.

– Michael Francis “Mick” Foley, Sr., is an American wrestler, author, comedian, actor and voice actor with a net worth of $22 million.

– Triple H has an estimated net worth of $25 million.

– Hulk Hogan’s net worth is $30 million dollars, or at least it was before his divorce was finalized!

– The Undertaker (Mark William Calaway) was born in Texas and has an estimated net worth of $34 million dollars.

– Steve Austin (Stone Cold Steve Austin) was born in Texas and has an estimated net worth of $40 million dollars.

– Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) is an American actor and former professional wrestler, with an estimated net worth of $65 million dollars.

– Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, commentator, film producer and occasional wrestler with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.

How about that, eh? Some observations:

– Despite having one of the longest, most decorated careers, Ric Flair is one of the poorest main eventers in wrestling. So much for Naitching! Woooooo!

– I’m surprised that Randy Orton’s net worth is so low. Either he has a ton of debt that I don’t know about or this is a mistake. Anyone know why Orton is worth $1 million less than Sheamus?

– Speaking of which, how is Sheamus worth so much in so little time? Did he inherit a big chunk of change?

– For someone who’s supposedly a poor businessman, Paul Heyman is worth more than Kevin Nash, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio.

– JBL has done nicely for himself, making as much as the Big Show and John Cena through his investing prowess.

– Mick Foley is worth more than John Cena! Good for Mick. All those years of cheap motels really paid off for Mrs. Foley’s baby boy.

– Stone Cold Steve Austin is worth $40 million and has a successful B-movie-but-trending-upward career going for him. Why would he risk injury in a return match, again?

– And kudos for Vince McMahon for, at some point in his career, being a billionaire. Recent reports state otherwise, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there’s a few offshore bank accounts that contain more than a few of McMahon’s nickels.

YOU’RE IN FOR A REAL TWEET

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SIGNING OFF

Thank you for making Thursday Sports Entertainment your go-to destination for Wrestling News, Opinions, etc. Join us next week when we discuss SummerSlam fallout and Yoshi Tatsu’s WWE title victory (card subject to change).

Hasta Jueves,

This is Sean.