Read on Twitter
Somewhat niche wrestling/politics tweet
Linda McMahon - former Trump cabinet member and top fundraiser/donator - fronts a group that partly organised/facilitated the events in the Capitol on January 6th
Linda McMahon - former Trump cabinet member and top fundraiser/donator - fronts a group that partly organised/facilitated the events in the Capitol on January 6th
She hasn’t had an official/direct role with the WWE company since 2009. She had two failed bids for Senate seats in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and was one of the least controversial Trump appointees to cabinet when her nom was approved in Feb 2016
She stepped down from her role (Admin of the Small Business Administration) to help raise money (and work with) Trump’s re-election campaign
And WWE, the company, have largely been silent in relation to Trump since his first election campaign, despite his HOF membership
And WWE, the company, have largely been silent in relation to Trump since his first election campaign, despite his HOF membership
In recent days - since the attempted Coup, riot, whatever you want to call it - the only headlines I’ve seen connecting these two things are Mick Foley’s call for Trump to be removed from the WWE Hall of Fame (which is a worthless HoF, all things considered)...
...and WWE possibly removing the Wrestlemania that had Trump as a major part/focal point from their streaming service.
Nothing connecting McMahon’s role in this govt, in the conspiracy theories even, and in the event itself (even if that involvement is somewhat passive/minor)
Nothing connecting McMahon’s role in this govt, in the conspiracy theories even, and in the event itself (even if that involvement is somewhat passive/minor)
And wrestling as a whole (particularly multibillion-dollar company WWE) gets away with such carny shit because “it’s just wrestling, who cares?”
They dealt with (and still do) Saudi Arabia (both pre- and post- Khashoggi) to do propaganda shows on a regular basis. Nobody cares
They dealt with (and still do) Saudi Arabia (both pre- and post- Khashoggi) to do propaganda shows on a regular basis. Nobody cares
In November 2018 - just a month after Khashoggi’s brutal murder and dismemberment at the order of the Saudi govt & MBS himself - Linda’s daughter, Stephanie (who’s a WWE exec and sometimes on-air character) made a joke about dismemberment on tv
https://wrestletalk.com/news/stephanie-mcmahon-mocks-khashoggi-death/
https://wrestletalk.com/news/stephanie-mcmahon-mocks-khashoggi-death/
WWE also categorises its wrestlers as “independent contractors” - essentially sole traders, like a plumber or a builder - despite them clearly being employees
This saves the company money in a multitude of ways, incl no health insurance for talent, no travel/Accom fees etc
This saves the company money in a multitude of ways, incl no health insurance for talent, no travel/Accom fees etc
Talent, who made a significant amount of money through touring and merchandise, turned to services like Cameo, Twitch and (SFW) OnlyFans during the pandemic to earn money
The company then told its “independent contractors” to stop that shit immediately
The company then told its “independent contractors” to stop that shit immediately
The company wanted to forge its own deal with those services (maybe not OF) so the company would get a significant cut of the revenue generated by these independent contractors in their spare time
Also around this time the company tried to get trademarks for people’s real names
Also around this time the company tried to get trademarks for people’s real names
As in, if I was in WWE as “Scott Goldman” they would have that copyrighted (fine), and then also tried to own the rights to Rob O’Sullivan as well
Somehow
Somehow
Talent were given a deadline to pack it in, but a number of people (mostly women) discovered they were actually making much more money streaming on Twitch and doing Cameos
One of them decided to go “fuck it” and quit/was let go https://www.givemesport.com/1618322-wwe-news-zelina-vega-made-more-money-on-twitch-than-she-did-from-wrestling
One of them decided to go “fuck it” and quit/was let go https://www.givemesport.com/1618322-wwe-news-zelina-vega-made-more-money-on-twitch-than-she-did-from-wrestling
Of note: wrestlers also aren’t unionised, and the main companies have always tried to union bust whenever someone tried - and most acting unions typically wouldn’t admit them, for some unknowable reason
Back to politics politics, the McMahons used their political clout in the Trump admin (Vince McMahon was on Trump’s “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups”) to reopen the state of Florida to them, despite Florida being a Covid epicentre https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-announces-great-american-economic-revival-industry-groups/
Like, this is just stuff from this year (back to 2018 for the Khashoggi/Saudi stuff). Wrestling gets away with so much dodgy shit that, like, I don’t think any other industry or area could get away with
Because it’s just wrestling
Because it’s just wrestling
Like, legitimately, Vince McMahon alone is the most fascinating and bizarre human being alive right now. Dude (allegedly) got a guy off of murder charges by (allegedly) flashing a briefcase of cash
And nobody talks about it!
And nobody talks about it!
Fun fact: this is the video package they aired on TV the week the *definite murderer* passed away himself
Completely shameless company that just...always dodged any real scrutiny unless it’s about steroids or something
Completely shameless company that just...always dodged any real scrutiny unless it’s about steroids or something
The fine folks over at @How2Wrestling did a great podcast on Vince that captures a bit of how fucking *wild* his life is (in a bad way)
(Massive CW for...Jesus literally everything) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TEarM9LEiTUXwJRWRT0FP?si=lcvDCwhbSa2Ypt8OvxMOeg
(Massive CW for...Jesus literally everything) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TEarM9LEiTUXwJRWRT0FP?si=lcvDCwhbSa2Ypt8OvxMOeg
