{"id":130082,"date":"2025-02-03T06:54:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T11:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=130082"},"modified":"2025-02-03T06:54:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T11:54:39","slug":"wrestling-with-outrage-part-2-limits-of-fan-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/02\/03\/wrestling-with-outrage-part-2-limits-of-fan-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling With Outrage Part 2: Limits of Fan Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heard But Listened To? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Our voices as wrestling fans reverberate across social media. As discussed in Part 1, the way wrestlers are \u201ccanceled\u201d (excluded, isolated, pushed out of <\/a>a promotion or the industry) has changed.<\/p>\n

The rise of social media communication has meant both wrestlers and fans can highlight injustices, moral or criminal, perceived or real, to a public forum. It\u2019s never been easier to communicate every thought, big and small, for good and bad.<\/p>\n

When united, with mass pressure, fans can help force a change. However, ultimately, it\u2019s the companies who make the final decisions.<\/p>\n

#GiveDivasAChance preceded Speaking Out. The former impacted on-screen representation, and the latter impacted the treatment of wrestlers and trainees (predominantly women) behind the scenes to some extent.<\/p>\n

The latter movement saw various wrestlers and industry members fired or removed for their immoral or allegedly criminal behavior in WWE, AEW, TNA\/Impact Wrestling, NWA, and both the US and UK indies. Yet some of the accused remained active in WWE, AEW, or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

At other times, controversial figures have returned without being (in some fans \u2019 minds) properly \u201cpaying\u201d or addressing their wrongdoing. Hulk Hogan and Tessa Blanchard are the most recent examples. There\u2019s been backlash online and from live crowds.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a wider cultural narrative of how those with economic power (companies and individuals) can afford to \u201cget away\u201d with perceived wrongdoing. While there is some truth to this, it does ignore the complicated factors linked to our decisions as fans.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Just Business <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Wrestling companies might listen to fans, but they historically respond to other paymasters quickly. Why wouldn\u2019t they? Wrestling fans online forget that event gates and ratings aren\u2019t hefty chunks of the business pie anymore.<\/p>\n

Then again, how many fans boycotted TNA Genesis or the premier of Raw on Netflix due to Blanchard and Hogan\u2019s presence?<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s tribalism forgets that TV rights, streaming deals, and sponsorships pay the lion\u2019s share of the bills. Historically, plenty forget how, from the late 2000s to the 2010s, WWE\u2019s drop in quality, attendance, and ratings was said to be the death of WWE.<\/p>\n

Yet WWE made money hand over fist\u2014record profits, in fact, without a boom period. AEW is at its most profitable despite attendance and ratings being down.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t misunderstand this. Our money and attention are vital\u2014they\u2019re the long-term lifeblood. In the short term, however, we lack the power to enforce legal and financial repercussions the way TV networks and sponsors can.<\/p>\n

Many companies today care about presenting and promoting moral values. They expect that their associates will also share\/promote these values. In 2010, Bryan Danielson infamously choked Justin Roberts with his tie as part of the Nexus invasion angle. Danielson was fired to appease upset sponsors.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in 2011, WWE producer Fit Finlay was fired to appease the American National Guard, one of the company\u2019s biggest sponsors. National Guard members at a house show felt disrespected when The Miz interrupted the American national anthem. Finlay produced the segment and, therefore, was responsible for it.<\/p>\n

AEW is not exempt from partnership pressure. It\u2019s got nothing to do with violence as I\u2019ve explained here<\/a>. Warner Bros. Discovery barred The Briscoes from appearing on their network. The reason was Jay Briscoe\u2019s homophobic comments in 2013.<\/p>\n

However, all these firings\/bans were temporary. Exile is temporary, not necessarily career-ending.<\/p>\n

Life in Exile?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tessa Blanchard\u2019s TNA firing had nothing to do with accusations of bullying and racism. These accusations surfaced just before Blanchard challenged for the Impact World Championship in 2020. Regardless, Blanchard became the first female Impact World champion. Subsequently, Blanchard denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

When TNA released Blanchard during the pandemic, it was due to a refusal to commit to creative plans. Living in Mexico, Blanchard didn\u2019t return to the States for TV tapings.<\/p>\n

Reportedly sympathetic to her concerns, Blanchard was given the option to send in video promos. Refusing to comply, and with a few days left on her contract, TNA stripped her of the championship and released her.<\/p>\n

Blanchard became toxic as a wrestler. WWE or AEW did not sign her, and she was somewhat exiled.<\/p>\n

Or was she?<\/p>\n

Out of sight out of mind, Blanchard remained active. Blanchard competed for various promotions in Mexico, including CMLL and the Indies. Then, in 2018, Blanchard had a chance of redemption\/rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

Signing with WOW, who had a TV deal with AXS TV, Blanchard won the promotion\u2019s world title. She was also a trainer at WOW\u2019s training facility. Blanchard lost the championship at the end of the second season, fell out with the company, and left.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Blanchard still got work prior to her TNA return.<\/p>\n

Out of Sight?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hulk Hogan was released from his WWE Legends deal after racist comments were made public in 2012.<\/p>\n

While references to Hogan were seemingly erased from WWE history, its website, and its Hall of Fame for a time, this was again temporary. This tactic of distancing and removing controversial figures explicitly from company history isn\u2019t unique to wrestling.<\/p>\n

It can minimize outrage for a time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a repeated tactic in WWE, even prior to the murder\/suicide of Chris Benoit, for various reasons. And was not necessarily always for concerns of moral backlash.<\/p>\n

At some point, Chyna, Alundra Blaze, and Randy Savage were all selectively censored from WWE history before their WWE Hall of Fame inductions for various reasons. This again demonstrates how perspectives can change over time.<\/p>\n

Booing Hogan for his past behavior isn\u2019t new. It happened at WrestleMania 37. Recent booing might have pushed WWE to remove Hogan from Saturday Night’s Main Event; Hogan\u2019s Real American Beer is present every week on Raw.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a prominent sponsor on the mat, underneath the turnbuckle pads. Despite the negative PR, WWE is a minority owner of Hogan\u2019s beer company.<\/p>\n

In both Blanchard’s and Hogan\u2019s examples, just because someone is out of the spotlight doesn\u2019t mean they are suffering, punished, or excluded. Beyond wrestling, the same patterns can be seen in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

The Divided Fandom<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Wrestling fans are divided and tribalistic, reflecting wider cultural trends. Yet because wrestling fandom is so divided in our thoughts and social media posts, it\u2019s hard to find large-scale agreement around moral concerns.<\/p>\n

Some fans want Blanchard removed from TNA. Yet plenty want The Young Bucks fired from AEW for Brawl Out. Some regularly call for wrestlers to be released for the pettiest of subjective reasons.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re unable to agree on Babyface World Champions, let alone on repercussions for other human beings committing potential moral wrongdoings. There\u2019s a serious and complex set of issues related to our relationship as fans with wrestling and moralism. I\u2019ll unpack this in part 3.<\/p>\n

Regardless, as a fandom, we have and can cause change. We can amplify and support victims or accusers. We can push the industry to be better, but often the wheel of progress turns slowly.<\/p>\n

It required a united effort to push them forward. Given our divisions in our thoughts and, therefore, our actions, why would companies listen if there isn\u2019t a united, mass wave of public or financial pressure to do so?<\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WikiMedia Creative Commons \u2013 Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heard But Listened To? Our voices as wrestling fans reverberate across social media. As discussed in Part 1, the way wrestlers are \u201ccanceled\u201d (excluded, isolated, pushed out of a promotion or the industry) has changed. The rise of social media communication has meant both wrestlers and fans can highlight injustices, moral or criminal, perceived or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4960,"featured_media":130429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192],"tags":[587,303],"class_list":["post-130082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","tag-hulk-hogan","tag-tessa-blanchard"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130082"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130432,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130082\/revisions\/130432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}