**MERGED**** AW Discussion: Release, comments, etc (Keep it all in here!!!!)

[Da Truth]

Over the last month or so I've enjoyed the outside the ring antics of AW. It reminds me of Jimmy Hart back in the days. Tonight AW may have messed up. When AW made the comment, "Titus O'neil is like Kobe Bryant in a hotel room in Colorado." everyone in my house busted out in laughter, then I thought about it, that was a pretty bad comment. Even though the kids don't know what he was talking about, it's still a PG show. I have to ask you guys the following:

Will AW be disciplined for this?
How will this affect PTP's push or will the WWE just leave the situation alone?
Would you pull the plug on the AW gimmick?
I hope I'm just overreacting because I like the dynamic of the team; if the WWE continue to push them I believe they'll either take the mic away from AW or script (or bullet) what he says.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I don't think so. During the match with the Colons at Money in the Bank he said some fairly racist stuff about hopping the borders and Taco Bell (and everyone heard it too, that was the deadest crowd for a match I've ever seen) and no one seemed to mention it. Though with all of this controversy about Daniel Tosh and his rape joke going on at the moment, he probably picked a bad time to make a joke like that.

Pretty dated material anyway, though I still chuckled. I doubt we'll hear anything about it.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

I thought it was funny, i'm open to seeing more racist and sexual jokes, it's very amusing

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

I didn't think I heard him right, so I kind of forgot about and moved on that during the match. After they acknowledged he said something they had to apologize for, I knew he had made a rape reference on national television. I don't find rape jokes to be funny, but I'm not going to go out of my way to complain or say "Hey. That's fucked up" or anything along those lines. I think it's hilarious when kids fall down, the mentally handicapped do some things, and I love a good dead baby joke. Sadly, we can't all have the sense of humor I do though. The next week or so will be crucial for AW. If this gets blown up in the media, he's done. A.W. is expendable. Bring in another manager to manage to the PTP's. If there's no media backlash, I think he's going to be on a tighter leash from now on. Definitely don't expect him to live miked anymore either. That'll be the first thing to go.

 

[CM Steel]

That wasn't cool by AW. That weak comment!

1. AW comparing Titus O'Neal to Kobe Bryant? WTF? So is he calling Titus O'Neal a rapist?

2. This is not a good time to be talking about the state of Colorado. That state is still recovering from the events from two weeks ago.

I just feel that the WWE should remove AW's hot mic during matches. Not a good look by the company.

 

[sTyLnK]

During the Attitude Era the stuff A.W said was daily. Hell even TNA says things like this at times. It goes to show you just how much things have changed in the WWE. I get that times have changed, but personally I found it funny and I don't think he should be punished. Unfortunately, you can't even sneeze in the WWE without getting in trouble. It's ridiculous. But what I find very silly is that if someone like CM Punk said it or a top WWE wrestler, would the WWE have issued this apology? Not sure about that one.

 

[jerry20xx]

A similar joke was done years back when Big Show and John Cena had a rap battle, Big Show something along the lines of "You're the white girl and I'm Kobe Bryant"

Nothing was done to Big Show. I see AW is punished. I do like the Prime Time Playas and AW but I hope this doesn't get him in too much trouble.

I say, just take away his mic and let him only use the mic to introduce Titus and Darren and cut small, scripted promos.

 

[DirtyD79]

Geez WWE really needs to grow some cajones. What are they gonna start calling foreign objects "International objects" now? Pro wrestling is not, never was, and never will be politically correct. Hell I remember back in the day when Nailz beat up the Big Boss Man with the nightstick WWF Magazine said he "Pearl Harbored The Big Boss Man."

 

[CleverName51]

Considering the WZ front page reports that "appropriate action" has been taken


http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/258...n-taken-following-aws-kobe-bryant-joke-on-raw


I'm going to guess AW has been suspended. If Jericho got 30 days for Flag-Gate last month, I'm guessing AW is getting the same and it will be officially announced tomorrow.

Now, the PTPs push could be halted because without AW, they're kinda generic and bland, AW IS their personality...anyway, after the suspension is over, I'd just put a heavy script on him, make sure he's not going off script and saying stuff like that


Moving on, maybe the tag division is cursed? every revival has been stomped by a team screwing up, Kofi's partners in recent history come to mind as examples

 

[trashboy]

Apparently that joke flew over my head when he first said it because I don't follow basketball and especially don't follow Kobe Bryant. So yeah, i don't remember what happened with him those years ago. And if AW is suspended or whatever for this, I couldn't care less. He's one of the most annoying people in WWE right along with the Prime Time Players. I seriously don't like the team. There's nothing entertaining about them at all. Can't WWE put together good tag teams?? I didn't like AW on ECW and I still hate him. Doesn't bother me any if I never see him or PTP ever again.

 

[rge2010]

I don't think so. During the match with the Colons at Money in the Bank he said some fairly racist stuff about hopping the borders and Taco Bell (and everyone heard it too, that was the deadest crowd for a match I've ever seen) and no one seemed to mention it. Though with all of this controversy about Daniel Tosh and his rape joke going on at the moment, he probably picked a bad time to make a joke like that.

Pretty dated material anyway, though I still chuckled. I doubt we'll hear anything about it.

AW is in hot water with WWE. Wrong about this. I was shocked when he said it. Joking about rape isnt something they should be doing on a PG show.

I like AW, really do but that was inappropriate.

 

[thedon2001]

Over the last month or so I've enjoyed the outside the ring antics of AW. It reminds me of Jimmy Hart back in the days. Tonight AW may have messed up. When AW made the comment, "Titus O'neil is like Kobe Bryant in a hotel room in Colorado." everyone in my house busted out in laughter, then I thought about it, that was a pretty bad comment. Even though the kids don't know what he was talking about, it's still a PG show. I have to ask you guys the following:

Will AW be disciplined for this?
How will this affect PTP's push or will the WWE just leave the situation alone?
Would you pull the plug on the AW gimmick?
I hope I'm just overreacting because I like the dynamic of the team; if the WWE continue to push them I believe they'll either take the mic away from AW or script (or bullet) what he says.

As soon as i heard it i knew this guy was going to get punished. I don't think it has anything to do with the TV rating, because the majority of the crowd doesn't even know what happened.

Imagine this:
1. Colorado is going through a major travesty right now and the last thing the state needs to be reminded of is a Kobe Bryant incident that happened in their state a few years back.

2. The Olympics are going on and Kobe's on the team. Bringing up that incident is only going to cause negative attention, if any and Kobe along with the team doesn't need this at this point.

3. Hammering one of the leagues biggest stars is only going to hurt future promotions with the NBA and it's stars.

4. A few weeks away Summer slam is being held in Kobe's town. I'm sure this doesn't help create a nice atmosphere for the WWE. Bashing the cities biggest star right before you're coming to put on a show isn't the wisest thing to do.

5. This incident happened years ago and he was never convicted. I'm sure AW could have used a different analogy to get his point across.

The AW gimmick is annoying. He probably watched too much Tosh and started copying the rape jokes. The guys only talent is on the microphone so he needs to be in a role that utilizes his verbal skills, but after this debacle who knows what's in his future. Do i think the gimmick is going to get scrapped? Not right off the bat, but he's definitely in the dog house and he'll probably be on a short leash. The tag team will probably continue for the foreseeable future.

 

[smizzy]

Assumming the PTP have a title shot against Lil Jimmy and company at Summerslam, they can't just abruptly take AW off tv because he was a main cog in the story of PTP. He accepted them to All World Promotions and is leading them to their path for gold.

Jericho was suspended because that threatened international relations/ Linda's political image.

They take the Wellness Policy the most seriously showing no mercy with these suspensions. Obviously this doesn't fall under that category. So in the name of saving the storyline, I'd imagine he will be hammered with a huge fine. $10,000 or so. I'm sure the guy only makes an over under of $95,000, so the 10k will sting him hard, but keeps him on tv. I'd say they should take the mic off live, because he obviously doesn't think before he speaks. He's trying his best to be entertaining, but he doesn't own the wisest wit among comedians by any means.

 

[Nate DaMac]

AW is in hot water with WWE. Wrong about this. I was shocked when he said it. Joking about rape isnt something they should be doing on a PG show.

I like AW, really do but that was inappropriate.

Yeah, I was wrong apparently. I didn't think they would have anything to say about this considering they seemed to let him get away with his racist comments at Money in the Bank. But hey, apparently women mean more to the WWE than people of Hispanic descent. Would have never guessed that.

 

[smizzy]

But hey, apparently women mean more to the WWE than people of Hispanic descent. Would have never guessed that.

I don't even think WWE knows who they care about more yet. There's always a new flavor of the month. One race or gener is getting defamed while the other is being protected under policy and campaign. The next month parallels it.

Makes for confusing television and a nightmare for PR.

Glad I don't have to take the phone calls in Connecticut, that's for damn sure.

 

[CleverName51]

Yeah, I was wrong apparently. I didn't think they would have anything to say about this considering they seemed to let him get away with his racist comments at Money in the Bank. But hey, apparently women mean more to the WWE than people of Hispanic descent. Would have never guessed that.

I think the biggest difference between the racist stuff at MITB and this was that the MITB stuff didn't target one individual, it was "racist" and inappropriate, but didn't cross the line protected by free speech

This joke, I think, could be interpreted as slander since it referenced a criminal investigation and implied Kobe committed a crime that he was not found guilty of.

That's why I think the line got crossed

 

[Beyond Pro Wrestling]

Anything CAN and SHOULD be able to be said as a JOKE... I just don't understand why anyone would take serious offense to a comment. It's RIDICULOUS!

 

[Nate DaMac]

I think the biggest difference between the racist stuff at MITB and this was that the MITB stuff didn't target one individual, it was "racist" and inappropriate, but didn't cross the line protected by free speech

This joke, I think, could be interpreted as slander since it referenced a criminal investigation and implied Kobe committed a crime that he was not found guilty of.

That's why I think the line got crossed

I don't buy that at all. Why isn't Daniel Tosh being sued at every turn? He rips on people every week, including Kobe Bryant. Why aren't Family Guy writers being sued at every turn? They go way over the line and they're watched by more than twice as many people as Raw is.

The problem is that he said something like this on a PG show, where it really isn't appropriate. The difference between this and MITB is that Hispanic rights aren't the hot topic issue today, women's rights are. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just happens to be the case.

AW needs to stop making jokes anyway, he isn't funny. And not in a "Oh how could you say such a thing? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" kind of way, in a "Dude, your material was dated in 2006. Stop it." kind of way.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Anything CAN and SHOULD be able to be said as a JOKE... I just don't understand why anyone would take serious offense to a comment. It's RIDICULOUS!

I completely agree with you. Anything should be fair game for comedy. However, it has to be the proper forum. A PG Primetime television show is not the place. Late night on Comedy Central or FX? Absolutely.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

People have mentioned a few reasons why it was not appropriate to say, but to address the reason why a rape joke is more severe is because of the population it targets. People of different races, sexualities and genders have voices to defend themselves, and can retaliate en masse. One in five women have been raped at some point in their lifetime--1 in 5--and they are a population that is reluctant to defend itself because rape is a subject that many people don't take seriously, when it is in fact a traumatic and violent crime that scars people for life.

Specifically in the context of wrestling, if AW makes a racist joke toward a Hispanic worker, the context is a scripted dynamic of good vs. evil, and it's limited to the players directly involved. He's supposed to be an asshole, and you're supposed to want to see him get what's coming to him. Making a rape joke that isn't even related contextually to what's going on in the match creates an uncomfortable situation for any viewer or audience member who has been affected by rape. Consider the statistic, and that's a huge portion of your paying customers. You can't script a rape victim to knock AW off of the apron and hit him with a chair.

It's unfortunate that his stupid joke could affect PTP. Sure, the team can still be pushed without him, but his presence is supposed to command attention for them, and if he randomly disappears, it will just raise questions for people who aren't in the know.

 

[dakikko049]

Whether its funny or not and whether you think WWE need to wise up or not you have to admit, it wasn't the smartest idea ever on the part of AW. You know how the WWE is with trying to have a super clean image and all that, so it was clearly clumsy to let that little joke slip out, probably should have known better.

As for the "appropriate action." I'm not the biggest fan of the PTP or AW but I hope these consequences aren't too severe, for the sake of he tag team division as a whole.

 

[rge2010]

Yeah, I was wrong apparently. I didn't think they would have anything to say about this considering they seemed to let him get away with his racist comments at Money in the Bank. But hey, apparently women mean more to the WWE than people of Hispanic descent. Would have never guessed that.

Playing off stereotypes and joking about a woman who was sexually abused are completely different things. Surely you are not comparing the two? I'm pretty sure Del Rio took a dig at his own people the other week.

If I could give you negative rep again I would. I gave your original post negative rep because you were WRONG and downplayed this incident. Thanks for my negative rep and the abuse. Calling me a cunt is really classy for disagreeing with you. It's also 'You're' and not 'Your' by the way.

WZ really knows how to pick its moderators. You are a big baby who needs to grow up.

 

[Rayne]

For people worried about the PG rating and the poor children- save it. It's one of those jokes that you just aren't going to get until you're old enough to get it. Twelve-year old kids are going to google to understand it if they care enough.

This is part of the ongoing conversation about the appropriateness of the rape joke in mainstream society that's been occurring recently. A few years or even months ago, and this would go by unnoticed. As jokes go, A.W.'s wasn't even that bad; a bit of a groaner, not terribly funny but not terribly offensive. The timing, however, could not be worse. Daniel Tosh is finally starting to be let off the hook, but the story is still warm and can be heated back up quickly by an eager media outlet, and with their former CEO running for political office, the WWE handling an attack by a women's group is just a no-win situation. I don't give much creedence to the whole "the WWE makes major business decisions based on Linda's senate run" talk around here, but I couldn't imagine a worse scenario for Linda McMahon then having to confront a woman's group; her strongest numbers are amongst women and it could only end up as a brutal Swift Boating.

So a joke that would have slipped passed in prior days gets hauled out, repudiated publicly, and the performer given a very public slap on the wrist.

Will this effect A.W.? Hell no. He's been told to make a public apology, which is like saying "we don't think you did anything wrong, but we have to make it look like we think so."

 

[matman8540]

Something similar happened about 35 years in New York, when WABC weatherman Tex Antoine said the following, "With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of Confucius: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'" This happened after a small child was raped. Needless to say, Mr. Antoine was fired. And this was after he'd been their weatherman for 10 years; to go along with 17 years at WNBC. If someone with that long of a tenure can be let go, AW is about to be "wished well in his future endeavors".

 

[The Crock]

Something similar happened about 35 years in New York, when WABC weatherman Tex Antoine said the following, "With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of Confucius: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'" This happened after a small child was raped. Needless to say, Mr. Antoine was fired. And this was after he'd been their weatherman for 10 years; to go along with 17 years at WNBC. If someone with that long of a tenure can be let go, AW is about to be "wished well in his future endeavors".

I thought the joke was tasteless myself -- rape is no laughing matter, it's a traumatizing and life-altering event, and it's absolutely despicable -- but, this is an overreaction if I've ever seen one. Look, A.W. made a Kobe Bryant rape joke, Tex Antoine tried to make light of a small child being raped; the two situations are do not correlate, let's not compare apples to oranges. It doesn't matter how long you've worked somewhere or, in this case, how low on the totem pole you are, there's a fine line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable," if you cross that, then you deserve your punishment. For what A.W. did, firing him would be going too far. The joke wasn't funny, but he didn't go out there and finger an open wound, by trying to make rape seem okay. Yes, he made light of it, but he didn't condone it -- there's a definite difference between the two.

A.W.'s punishment is sufficient; a public apology works out for all parties. I would hate to see this come in the way of A.W.'s performance, as he has been fairly good, for the most part. In front of thousands of people, with millions more watching at home, A.W. is under an immense amount of pressure to put on a good show -- the comment wasn't planned, it just came out. After all, the WWE's at fault for putting a live mic on him; however, I will admit that A.W.'s judgement was VERY poor. I say the apology is enough, though.