Mentioning Dr. Death Steve Williams- not others- WWE Again Disrespects The Deceased

[Spaceman Spif]

I see alot of people saying it was a PR move to not say anything on the air, and that they got mentioned on the web sight... In my opinion, screw PR and give all established wrestlers the same send off....

I do understand trying to watch damage control, however look at it this way... If your a parent and your child dies of OD or suicide, are you going to shy away from giving them the proper goodbye??? No your not, you will remember the good things about your child and that is what WWE should be doing with all stars... Because in a way WWE & Vince is like a parent to alot of their past & present stars...

Honestly, is it really such a big deal to you, that you had to post all of this? Yeah it sucks Umaga's dead, but honestly just because his picture didn't get put up on RAW doesn't warrant all this. It's not disrespectful at all, as has been stated countless times, it's buisness and business is business. WWE is not going to associate itself with guys like Umaga anymore. Why should they. Do they let the drug abuse, refusal of rehab and the other problems go just because he died? No, it's pointless. He was a great wrestler, a good guy and was honored by his fellow wrestling friends in their own way and on WWE.com, that's good enough. Eddie's was not directly related to drugs, Eddie was a mega star, a legend in this business, he got a proper send off. Same with Owen Hart, Pillman, Dr. Death, all the others, they got the send offs they deserved, and in the WWE's eyes so did Umaga. So really your whole argument which has been slaughtered is null and void.

Now here's a question I pose for you and anyone else who wants to answer. Ric Flair, arguably the greatest EVER in wrestling, period. However no longer in WWE, when he passes, what's he gonna get? A picture and ten bell salute? A show dedicated to him? And to the orignal poster, if he only gets the pic and ten bell, is it disrespectful as well?

 

[Dysturbed]

I see alot of people saying it was a PR move to not say anything on the air, and that they got mentioned on the web sight... In my opinion, screw PR and give all established wrestlers the same send off....

In fairness to WWE it's easy for you to have that opinion as a fan sitting at home and not being the one in position to have to deal with the flack. You say screw the pr but isn't it partially because you're not the recipient of it?

With that in mind I definitely am understanding of your viewpoint. I understand that when acknowledgment is done on television for all of us to witness it shows a sense of appreciation being offered to the wrestler. Yes his picture was shown on WWE.com but since, despite being 2010 not everyone has the internet, such people may not have had awareness of that. However, WWE has no responsibility to cover all bases by acknowledging every single wrestler in the same exact way for everyone to see. Who are we to dictate that?

Furthermore, there has been talk in this thread about assumptions. I agree that some people assume. However, it shouldn't be assumed (if it is being assumed) that just because we don't always visually see a picture tribute on tv or hear mention of the deceased that overall WWE doesn't reach out to the families and express condolences in a more private way. Looking beyond what we are aware of, the appreciation very well may exist in ways that are far more meaningful to the family than the portion of tribute that you were eager to see.

I'm not saying that I'm right but it's another perspective for you to consider.

 

[Billie Jean]

I agree...with most of the post. Although Umaga was given a mention on wwe.com you are entirely correct when you say that mention on television would not have hurt. I too also feel a mention for John Tenta, Bam Bam Bigalo and Test. I agree with Kenny Powers, drug related or not, they still collected their paychecks from wwe. Umaga was a big part of the wwe during his tenure and his death is a tragic loss.

However, there is one part of your post that I have one problem with.

But again it pisses me off that because he was good buddies with good ol JR, that Dr. Death gets air time, however less then a month ago Umaga was not even mentioned... To make this even more pathetic Umaga was wwe home grown talent and Dr. Death made his career in Japan and the nwa only briefly appearing in McMahon land...

As I recall he did not get that much. Yes the guy made his name in Japan in nwa, but was Chris Jericho not huge in Japan before wcw? Ric Flair got the biggest send off imaginable, and yet a lot of his work was in the nwa and in the company that nearly put the wwe out of business. The point is, it does not matter where they work they were there, and have made a great contribution to wrestling. It was not like he was taken up time that was needed. Next was a commercial any way. Would you rather see another Hornswoggle skit rather than pay your respects to someone who made a lasting contribution to entertaing fans?

Again no respect to Dr. Death, he deserves to get on air condolences, but so did Umaga, Crush, Test, Bam Bam, Mike Awsome, John Tenta & others...

Yeah a great way to end your post, R.I.P to all of the mentioned above.

 

[Davi323]

Why does the WWE have an obligation to mention the death of any wrestlers that are not actively part of the WWE universe? Why is there this assumption that it is somehow the WWE's job to mention the death of wrestlers? Are they the obituary pages? Would you have never known they died, but for the WWE? Of course not. With the internet, when a wrestler of any name at all dies, you know about it already. I am sorry if this sounds cold, but, it isn't the WWE's job to inform everyone when any wrestler ever dies, certainly not for wrestlers that are not part of the company. They may mention some wrestler's deaths, but, it is not unfair if they don't mention all of them. It isn't their job.

 

[Razz]

Why does the WWE have an obligation to mention the death of any wrestlers that are not actively part of the WWE universe? Why is there this assumption that it is somehow the WWE's job to mention the death of wrestlers? Are they the obituary pages? Would you have never known they died, but for the WWE? Of course not. With the internet, when a wrestler of any name at all dies, you know about it already. I am sorry if this sounds cold, but, it isn't the WWE's job to inform everyone when any wrestler ever dies, certainly not for wrestlers that are not part of the company. They may mention some wrestler's deaths, but, it is not unfair if they don't mention all of them. It isn't their job.

In a way I agree with you but disagree also. Many of the wrestlers contributions brought money and recognition to their show. Even if some were considered minor in a way it kept their business moving along. But for example wrestlers like Test, Bam Bam, Crush and Umaga should have got recognition for their efforts in the WWE. Especially in the case of someone like Test who had been there a long time and had not really done anything bad in the or against the WWE.

 

[Suffy]

I finally make my first post here, but it appears Davi323 beat me to the point I was going to make.

On CNN when McMahon was being interviewed after the Benoit tragedy he was asked about other former wrestlers who were once part of the WWE that had also been deceased in which he replied "I can only speak for four or five names because they were with the company of the time of their death, and one of them was an accident". Which putting it in consideration this a smart move and thus doesn't necessarily make him obligated to give air time to acknowledge the death of Fatu and Andrew (However I do believe the passing of Fatu was acknowledged on WWE.com). Not to mention I keep seeing names mentioned in this thread like Pilman, Guerrero, Benoit, etc.. All of these people were part of WWE and also all involved in storylines at the time. Thus making it unavoidable to not acknowledge their death as opting to not do so would strong inconsistencies that would automatically be recognized by fans at the time.

Their deaths also occured atleast a year after their WWE release, and both fell under drug related circumstances. Neither Andrew or Fatu got to become a megaface either so their releases were easily forgotten by most fans if even recognized. This does however raise the question as say for example someone like Jeff Hardy or Kurt Angle passed away under controversial circumstances would WWE publicly acknowledge this on air?

I am curious as to why Steve Williams death was mentioned at all as he wasn't really know by the majority of todays fans, nor was his WWF run really anything to write home about. Perhaps his friendship with JR had something to do with it.

 

[JJohns]

I hate to sound like an ass, but not everyone who has died in the wrestling business deserves a picture, or a ten bell salute.

Umaga's death, while tragic, partially came about because he wouldn't take responsibility for his own body. He was ordered to go to drug rehab, and he flat out refused. On top of that, he really didn't do all that much in or for the wrestling industry.

One guy that passed that I don't remember seeing a memorial for was Allen Coage, best known as Bad News Brown. He did more for the industry, and his passing wasn't acknowledged outside of the WWE.com site. What did Umaga do that should have made him more worthy of a tribute on TV than a man that was more memorable?

Dr. Death on the other hand was more than deserving. The only thing in his career that could be viewed as a slap to the face of the business was allowing himself to be a part of the "Oklahoma" angle in WCW.

Sorry, like I said, there are guys that deserve it, and guys that don't.

 

[Razor]

I know I have seen a post recently saying something very similar, however after seeing something on Raw tonight I must say my blood is boiling...

Let me guess. RAGE, they showed a photo montage of a wrestler because he died, RAGE. Show me some more tits and sexually oriented angles, RAGE.

Dr. Death Steve Williams got words said about him by Cole & Lawler & then a picture tribute... No disrespect to Dr. Death but that was bullshit...

You know, a teacher of mine once told me "Avoid using qualifiers like 'No disrespect' or 'I'm not trying to be mean, but...'. It completely makes you sound like a jackass. If you really didn't mean disrespect, or if you really didn't mean to be insulting, you wouldn't say what you're about to say."

You should listen to that anecdote, and listen well. "No disrespect to Dr. Death," when it is followed closely by "but that was bullshit" is not only completely disrespectful, it makes no sense. It's like saying "No disrespect, but your mom is a ****e." Oh, really? Then I won't take offense.

I do understand what Steve Williams accomplished in wrestling, I do feel he deserves to be recognized, & I am truly saddened by his passing...

Then why is it bullshit? No, wait. You'll hopefully tell me, or Sid wouldn't have let this thread stand.

However what makes mentioning his passing on air more important then that of Umaga,

Drugs.

Test,

Drugs

Mike Awesome,

Suicide. He also got an article on WWE.com about his death, by the way.

Crush,

Steroids, ala Umaga

Bam Bam Bigelow,

OD on cocaine and other prescription drugs, plus a problem with diabetes

& John Tenta just to name a few...

You would have had a point here, only he had an article on WWE.com and a little pop up thing before both the Raw and Smackdown episodes that week. Fail.

It seems like the WWE doesn't want to pay respects anymore since the Benoit situation and all the press of wrestlers dying to young...

They don't want to bring public attention to wrestlers who died of drug overdoses. It makes sense when, you know, you're catering to younger audiences. You don't want them to know their idols are snorting cocaine or killing themselves. Not only is it bad for business, but it would tear the children up to know their idols died from drug overdoses. Seriously, do you not care about the children?

But again it pisses me off that because he was good buddies with good ol JR, that Dr. Death gets air time, however less then a month ago Umaga was not even mentioned...

He had a heart attack due to chronic steroid abuse. Yeah, the WWE are really going to tell all of his child fans that their idol died because he shot up on human growth hormone. Great idea.

To make this even more pathetic Umaga was WWE home grown talent and Dr. Death made his career in Japan and the NWA only briefly appearing in McMahon land...

So Dr. Death, a respected figure in the wrestling community, shouldn't get a picture show on TV. But Umaga, the man who died because he abused steroids should be paraded in front of the fans as a dead hero? I fail to see your logic.

Vince & Company needs to be consistent, if your going to mention 1 passing, then mention them all, not just the 1's that wont draw any negative press about how they might or might not have died...

Actually, they are being consistent. They are showing their fans the wrestlers who didn't die because they abused their bodies or because they were mentally unstable. That's called not showing your audience that their heroes are dying because of their own mistakes. It's a good idea.

Again no respect to Dr. Death,he deserves to get on air condolences,

1) What did I say about qualifiers?

2) Wasn't the entire post about how he didn't deserve them because Umaga didn't get a 25 second picture show?

but so did Umaga, Crush, Test, Bam Bam, Mike Awsome, John Tenta & others...

John Tenta did get a tribute. The other wrestlers died because of steroids or mental illness. Not exactly something you parade around to their viewers, the people who looked up to them as heroes.

 

[Splinter48708]

Who is to say, though, that the WWE can't say, "John Wrestler lost a battle with substance abuse on [insert date] and spin the death from drug usage to an advantage. If even one person realizes that a face/heel died from drug usage and says "Wow...this crap is not good for me, so, I won't follow the bad example," then the death would have not been in vain. If a life is saved by such a mention, then, it's worth all the flak Vinnie Mac would get.

However, WWE doesn't even have to state a cause of death if they do not want to when they offer on-air condolences and just air a tribute to the person. They do not have to dedicate a whole show to everyone that dies with video segments, either.

They showed a respectful tribute to Captain Lou when he passed on (and that was expected for a few days at least), and at the passing of Dr. Death as well. Owen, of course, got the biggest sendoff in recent memory...so did Eddie. Owen got not only a 10-bell salute in the WWF, but, even tiny promotions gave Owen a salute (You can check Youtube for those). Not sure if the baby outfits gave Eddie the same respect, but, that's beside the point.

Also, Umaga was just the guy's final gimmick. When he was in 3 Minute Warning...they flattened all those Bischoff fed to them...including a favorite ring announcer. He was not a no name mid-card wrestler who gets a squash match or two to put over someone else. He probably would have wanted to get back into a WWE ring at some point, and, given he did the Hulkamania Tour would have told me that he was (somewhat) serious about getting his life back on track.

But, like I said before, we were all praying and hoping for the best with Umaga, but, prepared in case word came down that he had passed away.

Heck...FOXnews.com had an interesting article on wrestler deaths the day that Umaga passed on. I had forwarded the article to the WZ editors...then, requested that they not use it when it was clear that Umaga would be pronounced dead out of respect.

I'm sorry...black armbands, while a show of respect from the individual wrestlers, was not enough since WWE Corporate officials decided to pull a "STFU" instead.