This past week, the wrestling world was shattered by the news of The Ultimate Warrior’s passing, which occurred the night after he made an appearance on Monday Night Raw. It didn’t take long for speculation to arise and with that came the reporters, requesting to speak with wrestlers on air. When Page Joseph Falkinburg — aka Diamond Dallas Page — got the call from CNN, he agreed to appear on a show with Nancy Grace, a prosecutor turned journalist.
“I was asked to go on her show and talk about Warrior the man. I was even given bullet points from her producers about the topics we would discuss. After seeing the topics which were pretty basic,” DDP said.
But that wasn’t what Nancy Grace had in mind. Instead of discussing the life of Ultimate Warrior and the relationship between he and DDP, along with all the memories that came with it, Nancy Grace ambushed Page, grilling the former wrestler on the topic of anabolic steroid use in the WWE and all the wrestlers that have died young because of the usage.
Nancy Grace didn’t check her facts
Before getting to her snide, tasteless interviewing ways, allow me to bring up part of the list that scrolled on the ticker. According to Grace and CNN, these wrestlers all died due to use of anabolic steroid use:
Mike Von Erich – 23
Art Barr – 28
Rick McGraw – 30
Buzz Sawyer – 32
D.J. Peterson – 33
Owen Hart – 33
Gary Albright – 34
Big Dick Dudley – 34
Pitbull #2 – 36
Mark Curtis – 38
Brady Boone – 40
Johnny Grunge – 39
There is so much wrong with this list. Granted that a few of these wrestlers (Barr, McGraw, Sawyer) died from overdose of drugs and alcohol, there are a few names that left me scratching my head.
First of all, Mike Von Erich committed suicide. Doesn’t mean he didn’t take steroids but it also doesn’t mean he died from them either, as Grace was eluding to in her interview. Brady Boone died in a car accident and DJ Peterson suffered a similar fate, only he crashed a motorcycle. Gary Albright had diabetes and other medical complications and he died in the ring. Mark Curtis? The referee that took down a fan inside the ring and will forever be remembered by Bobby Heenan’s “The smallest referee in the world just took him down” line? He passed away from stomach and bowel cancer.
But the one that is puzzling the most is Owen Hart. The cause of death aside for a moment, was his passing NOT covered by all forms of the media at the time? It was. I remember arriving home from a neighbour’s house after that infamous Over The Edge PPV ended that night, telling my mother “Mom, Owen Hart died.” That night on the news, his death was covered. Local news in Montreal had it covered, news networks around Canada had it covered. It was covered all over the United States. This wasn’t just some no-name person dying of natural causes. This was a professional wrestler that lost his life on worldwide televised pay per view…
DUE TO A FREAK ACCIDENT.
Owen Hart, who was going by the gimmick of the Blue Blazer, was making his entrance to the ring via descending from the rafters on a cable line. He was held by a nautical clip, which was later revealed to be a cheap one that you can find at the store for $20, and in a moment of him trying to loosen his cape from his neck, the clip opened and Owen fell to his death. He fell 78 feet and landed chest first on the top rope of the ring. He was later pronounced dead due to internal bleeding from blunt force trauma.
Did anyone do some fact checks over at CNN? I think not.
Nancy Grace’s lack of Professionalism
To make matters worse, Nancy Grace showed a true lack of professionalism in her interview with DDP. If it wasn’t the delivery of her questions and how she put a stop between each word for that extra added drama, it was her careless way of handling a person who had just lost a friend dear to him just days after the death. Before Nancy went to DDP to ask inquire about the events leading to Warrior’s death, she made sure to go to a doctor first to touch up on the dangers of anabolic steroid use and then she went to an online reporter to find out exactly what happened. The only thing uglier than Grace’s ability to pronounce the word “catastrophic” was her re-affirmation that Warrior’s death was indeed a heart attack, which ultimately leads to her agenda-pushing belief of steroid usage being the prime killer of all wrestlers.
Then, Grace turned to DDP and asked the following question:
“Question. When you first heard that he was dead, what did you think?”
Again, it’s the delivery. After a friend loses his mother, do you log on to Facebook and ask “Hey man, is it true? Did your mom really die?” No, obviously not. You handle to case with care because the death of that friend or family member is weighing heavily on the shoulders of the person you are asking the question to. Although Page handled the question with class, you could tell he was rattled still by the passing of Ultimate Warrior when he drew out a heavy sigh before answering. As he claimed that Warrior was in great shape and worked out as if he was still in his 20’s, Grace cut him off with this bombshell:
“If he was in such great shape, why was he found dead?”
“The last thing I am is a doctor, Nancy,” Page answered.
You could feel it in the air at that moment that Page became aware of what he had gotten himself into and showed viewers that you can respond to your attacker with sarcasm while remaining perfectly calm. Once more, Nancy Grace’s true colours show when she can’t even let her guest finish his sentiments on a deceased friend. Instead, an attempt to further push an agenda and grill Page, which is tabloid tactics at best. I’d even argue that tabloids have a touch of dignity to their ways, something Nancy does not.
Page would explain to Nancy that steroid use was a thing back in that day and that “everyone did it.” In euphoric state, Nancy raised her voice (because the louder you are, the more right you are) and claimed that not everyone took it, she never did and would not know what a steroid is if it hit her in back of the neck. Maybe she’d know what a Mongolian Chop was if that hit her in back of the neck.
Obviously Nancy failed to understand that by “everyone”, Page meant wrestling guys, which if it wasn’t everyone it was most guys. Thank God we have the knowledge that Nancy Grace, respected CNN reporter and known-Saint to the world, NEVER touched the stuff. Too bad she never touched up on how to conduct an interview with class and respect.
A credible reporter would have made note that wrestling today is a changed atmosphere from what it was two decades ago. A credible reporter would have stated that the WWE and other big name promotions have a wellness policy in place to prevent it’s performers from using steroids and any other harmful substances, going by a strict “three strikes and you’re out” code.
Nancy Grace however is not a credible reporter. She continues to spread her fallacies on television and gets away with it. She can get called out by the masses — and believe me, she already has — yet she sits comfortably in her CNN chair and continues to do what she does best; Lie.
It’s a shame that her attitude in no way reflects her family name.
The day after the interview took place, Page released a statement: “Had I known the only topic discussed would be steroids I would not have participated,” he writes. “At the time I was also unaware of the list that was shown to the viewing audience. To imply that all of the wrestlers on that list died from steroids was wrong and for that they owe the families an apology.”
The Petition
In a burst of outrage, a petition was created online by AJ Keller to unseat Nancy Grace from CNN and have her completely removed from television. As of this writing, the petition has reached over 16,000 signatures and is just a pinch under 9,000 from it’s goal. The results accumulated have happened over just a few days. A few quotes from those that have made their voices heard.
Jennifer Polk, from Los Angeles writes:
“I believe we all have a freedom of speech, but if you are going to take the journalist route you owe it to yourselves and those who listen to you the truth about the stories you’re covering.”
Jeremy Hawthorne, from Talladega writes:
“She is nothing but a hateful fear-monger who preys upon the emotions of the uninformed masses. Her brand of yellow “journalism” is chock full of lies and fallacies set forth to push her own twisted agenda. While she sits there in pious judgment, she and her crack team of assistants cannot even be bothered with the facts when they go forth with a story. How she has lasted on a supposed legitimate news channel for so long is beyond me.”
Carl Davis, from Loveland writes:
“We need credible sources reporting the news. Not people that fabricate stories for their own personal gain and bias opinion.”
If you are interested in signing the petition, you may find it here.
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