SmackDown! segment in bad taste? (Spoiler Warning)

[Pepsi Man]

Just curious as to what the folks here thought of the shot that the member of MNM took about Hawk being dead.

[Bad Company]

disgusting.

[Joey Slugs]

10x worse than this whole hassan bullshit.

[Kane Knight]

I was thinking how deliciously hypocritical it was of them to air that, but demand Hassan not be on TV.

But again, is there really a lot of GOOD taste in wrestling?

[Watson]

That pissed me off more than ANYTHING I've seen in WWE in recent years. Just absolutely disgusting. I've never been so offended by a comment like that. I know Animal probably knew beforehand that they were gonna say that but still I don't see how he kept from breaking character and just going ballistic on those 2 fucks. Yeah I know they were only doing what they were told to do but that's still no excuse for that kind of shit. If I were them I would rather be fired (which is probably what would have happened to MNM if they would have refused to say what they were told to say) than to disrespect the late Mike Hegstrand. No chance of me EVER becoming an MNM fan.

[Watson]

10x worse than this whole hassan bullshit.
Yep. :y:

[Loose Cannon]

That pissed me off more than ANYTHING I've seen in WWE in recent years. Just absolutely disgusting. I've never been so offended by a comment like that. I know Animal probably knew beforehand that they were gonna say that but still I don't see how he kept from breaking character and just going ballistic on those 2 fucks. Yeah I know they were only doing what they were told to do but that's still no excuse for that kind of shit. If I were them I would rather be fired (which is probably what would have happened to MNM if they would have refused to say what they were told to say) than to disrespect the late Mike Hegstrand. No chance of me EVER becoming an MNM fan.

how come you keep changing your name?

[Watson]

how come you keep changing your name?
E-dentity Crisis :lol:

[James Steele]

:lol:

That was actually kinda amusing.

[Joey Slugs]

:lol:

That was actually kinda amusing.

sick fuck.

[Kane Knight]

how come you keep changing your name?
Who is he?

[Watson]

Who is he?
I am Ric Reckless aka The Reckless One aka The Prodigy aka NoGimmicksNeeded aka Watson. :D

[Shadow]

He's Jeff Hardy that's who.

[M. Banana]

how come you keep changing your name?

And I can't fucking get mine changed again.. bollocks.

[Shadow]

I am Ric Reckless aka The Reckless One aka The Prodigy aka NoGimmicksNeeded aka Watson. :D

Oh it's Prod. Got it.

[M. Banana]

When I first heard it.. I did "ohhhhhhh" just out of reaction.. the kind of "ohhhh" that you do when someone get's burned really bad.

Then I actually thought about what they said.. and I was like.. "WTF?"

[Ruien]

Whow you guys are psyco, it was not that big of a deal. It fit in with the segment. Mabey it was not the best thing, but what not that big of a deal.

[Kane Knight]

I am Ric Reckless aka The Reckless One aka The Prodigy aka NoGimmicksNeeded aka Watson. :D
So...Who are you?

[Pepsi Man]

Whow you guys are psyco, it was not that big of a deal. It fit in with the segment. Mabey it was not the best thing, but what not that big of a deal.
Meh, mocking the dead especially for BEING dead is always a big deal to me. I just feel that there were plenty of other ways for them to try to draw heat.

[Kane Knight]

Whow you guys are psyco, it was not that big of a deal. It fit in with the segment. Mabey it was not the best thing, but what not that big of a deal.
I don't think people would be reacting as much if everyone didn't have their nipples in a twist last week...

[Joey Slugs]

Whow you guys are psyco, it was not that big of a deal. It fit in with the segment. Mabey it was not the best thing, but what not that big of a deal.

maybe i took it a little more personal than most fans. Mike (RIP) & Joe are close friends of my father (both guys are from the south side of chicago and Joe was a bouncer at a bar that my dad was a bartender) and so i grew up knowing these guys away from the ring as well.

it was a bullshit line, reguardless if it was agreed on before hand.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Tasteless, yes...uncalled for, yes...do I blame MNM for saying it rather than not saying it and risking their jobs? No...

Now if MNM made that up on the fly I hope Animal stiffs them at GAB and they lose their jobs after...but I'm sure they were just told to say it.

Also, as KK stated, it is HORRIBLY hypocritical of them to show this yet not show Hassan's speech.</font>

[RGWhat316]

I agree that was a bunch of crap. One thing for putting it into the script, then another for going through with it. Dissing dead people is not a cool thing to do. Johnny wasn't so good this time.

[loopydate]

...it was true, wasn't it? I mean, it's not like they were making fun of his addiction or anything. If anything, they were mocking Animal for coming after them without a partner.

Sure, it was crass, but it's no more insulting than forcing a connection between a five-man beatdown and terrorism.

[Corkscrewed]

I was like "Ohhhhh... schnap, I can't believe they said that."

But I wasn't offended or anything. Not a good thing to say, but I'm not gonna write the ACLU about it.


Or basically, what loopy said.

[Fryza]

Just curious as to what the folks here thought of the shot that the member of MNM took about Hawk being dead.

They've poked fun at raping dead women, pregnancy, marriage, and a diva's "dying/dead" father. Then, we get the whole French bashing, gay bashing, and terrorist bit. Then Gowen and Eugene...

This seems bad because it's REAL and happened. But people make jokes about dead people all the time, and it was in character. Remember that Vince has no shame at anything...

Tasteless as fuck though.

[Mayo]

Yeah, pretty much what other people in here have said. It was quite tasteless and disrespectful, but the WWE has done many pretty ruthless things in the past. It's part of the storylines in wrestling, just get used to it or stop watching.

[ilt_undertaker]

I missed what happened on Smackdown between them, I guess its gotta be bad if he said somethin about Hawk.

[Pepsi Man]

Yeah, pretty much what other people in here have said. It was quite tasteless and disrespectful, but the WWE has done many pretty ruthless things in the past. It's part of the storylines in wrestling, just get used to it or stop watching.
I'm sorry, but I fail to remember the last time someone actually took a shot at a legitimately deceased worker, excluding Raven's angle in TNA with Sabu in which they mentioned the Shiek, and even then, Raven didn't just go, "Okay, Sabu. It'll be a tag match. Me and Erik Watts versus you and the Shiek! Oh wait, the Shiek's dead. :D"

I hardly think "getting used to it" will be necessary, unless you have some insider information that they're planning on suddenly making dead wrestlers the subject of their promos.

[loopydate]

No, but WWE has made dead fathers the subject of promos on more than one occasion.

[Pepsi Man]

It's not like I was cheering for the Al Wilson situation.

[loopydate]

But you got used to it, didn't you?

Just like you got used to Boss Man and Big Show's father.

[Kane Knight]

But you got used to it, didn't you?

Just like you got used to Boss Man and Big Show's father.
Just a question, did either of those angles involve an actual dead guy?

Not saying it makes sense, but people tend to be a little more bothered when the dead guy in question is real, as opposed to fake. For some reason, it's easier to deal with a fake death. :|

Now Al was staged. Wasn't Show angle also staged tho?

[loopydate]

Yeah. And that is a good point. There's a definite difference between real and fictional death.

But if they'll stoop to fake death to elicit "laughs," why should we think they're above making jokes involving actual dead people?

[Kane Knight]

But you got used to it, didn't you?

Just like you got used to Boss Man and Big Show's father.
I think everyone's a little more on edge because this is supposed to be the kinder gentler WWE. After the events of last week, they ended up pulling two guys off the show, and yet did this.

I don't think I'll ever get "used to" the concept of the dead exploited in wrestling. That's me personally. I also personally just go "It's wrestling, that's all." I may talk about Katie Vick or Al Wilson, but I accept that good taste and thought procedures are not typically part of WWE programming.

However, that doesn't make it GOOD. I think it was in questionable taste to bring him up in that fashion, but Hell. Compared to Katie Vick? Eating Pepper? Bossman and Big Show's Dad? Al wilson? Rape, forced marriage, pregnancy angles? The Lita/Kane Snitskty thing actually DID upset my former girlfriend, because she really did miscarry.

And on that note, I will also point out that different things will resonate with different people...Well, differently. Kind of no shit...

If someone feels more disgusted, there's a decent chance that it's more because it's a real person instead of a fake one (Correct me if SHow's dad DID die...I don't remember for the life of me). I'd rank this as worse than last week's programming (Mostly because last week wasn't really that bad until people started putting their own spin on it), but as long as they don't go any further, I won't really be too horribly decinated. It was bad, but it wasn't a new level of bad, or an "I will stop watching you" bad.

[Kane Knight]

Yeah. And that is a good point. There's a definite difference between real and fictional death.

But if they'll stoop to fake death to elicit "laughs," why should we think they're above making jokes involving actual dead people?
It's fully possible that they will go lower. But may I ask you--What's the point? What difference does it make what they might do? Will you stop watching because you have no guarantee they won't go lower?

[Aussie Skier]

can someone post what they wrote plz..

i haven;t seen it

[RGWhat316]

Basically what happened was Road Warrior Animal came out and challenged MNM for the tag championships. Nitro then said he didn't have a partner, and that his partner was dead. Which brought Heidenreich over, after he had just gotten beaten up by MNM, to ask to be Animal's partner.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

First of all, lighten up. It's good to know everyone has suddenly become the moral police in regards to talking about the dead. Lets be honest here, shall we? Animal was part of one of the most successful teams in wrestling... The other half died. He's known for that team, so when he challenges someone alone to a tag match, it's obvious he doesn't have a partner anymore, they just pointed out why...

Second, they are promoting the Road Warriors DVD. Now according to that commercial, the video not only highlights their career, but the DEATH of Hawk. Bringing up his death was more likely than not a petty attempt to create an interest in the matter to further sell the DVD...

And Watson, stop blaming MNM. You're telling me you'd give up a good contract with the only big time company in your proffession instead of mentioning the fact that someone was dead? While I don't know you personally, I somehow doubt that ;)

[Pepsi Man]

First of all, lighten up. It's good to know everyone has suddenly become the moral police in regards to talking about the dead. Lets be honest here, shall we? Animal was part of one of the most successful teams in wrestling... The other half died. He's known for that team, so when he challenges someone alone to a tag match, it's obvious he doesn't have a partner anymore, they just pointed out why...

Second, they are promoting the Road Warriors DVD. Now according to that commercial, the video not only highlights their career, but the DEATH of Hawk. Bringing up his death was more likely than not a petty attempt to create an interest in the matter to further sell the DVD...

And Watson, stop blaming MNM. You're telling me you'd give up a good contract with the only big time company in your proffession instead of mentioning the fact that someone was dead? While I don't know you personally, I somehow doubt that ;)
lmao @ the "moral police".

I knew everything you said, but frankly, I STILL can't see how that was the only thing they could've done in this situation. I'm sorry. I just don't see how it was necessary.

[M. Banana]

can someone post what they wrote plz..

i haven;t seen it

BASICALLY

Animal: The Road Warriors vs. MNM at the Great American Bash
MNMember #1: We can't do that
MNMember #2: Why?
MNMember #1: His partner's dead..





Honestly, if I was in the crowd at the time I would've stuck him in the jaw... don't care if I got kicked out, beaten up.. wtf ever..

[Pepsi Man]

BASICALLY

Animal: The Road Warriors vs. MNM at the Great American Bash
MNMember #1: We can't do that
MNMember #2: Why?
MNMember #1: His partner's dead..





Honestly, if I was in the crowd at the time I would've stuck him in the jaw... don't care if I got kicked out, beaten up.. wtf ever..
Actually, it wasn't even Animal that made that challenge. It was a member of MNM saying he'd "give Animal a shot".

[M. Banana]

DONT FUCKEN KNOW

HAVENT SLEPT IN 27 HOURS

FU







:heart:

[Joey Slugs]

a simple... "you're short a partner for a tag title shot" could of worked. saying it without saying it kinda thing.

after thinking about it for awhile i would like to know why in the world Joe agreed for that to be said... i've known him for a long time (as i explained before) and i dont get it.

[KayfabeMan]

Honestly, if it were me and they came to me with that line, I'd have nixed that shit. Fire me, do whatever, but $$ don't override my personal beliefs - and I feel that that was out of line.

What the fuck do you expect though from a guy who spraypaints nWo on a picture of his dead father, all in a desperate attempt to regain fan interest that would've still been there if he'd been doing his job right all along.

[LK]

What the fuck do you expect though from a guy who spraypaints nWo on a picture of his dead father, all in a desperate attempt to regain fan interest that would've still been there if he'd been doing his job right all along.
????? are you talking about Animal there

[LK]

Just a question, did either of those angles involve an actual dead guy?
Well technically the Big Show/Bossman feud did involve a real dead person since Show's Dad had died a few years before this due to cancer.

[Corkscrewed]

^ doh, I was gonna mention that

[Joey Slugs]

????? are you talking about Animal there

vince did that during his "i'm going to infect the WWF" promo

[KayfabeMan]

No, not Animal.

What ST7 said - it was done during the promotional videos for the arrival of the nWo, and it aired over and over and over again. Completely tasteless - especially since if it wasn't for his father Vince would probably be shoveling shit out of ditches for a living.

[Kane Knight]

No, not Animal.

What ST7 said - it was done during the promotional videos for the arrival of the nWo, and it aired over and over and over again. Completely tasteless - especially since if it wasn't for his father Vince would probably be shoveling shit out of ditches for a living.
Not to mention that he only "saved" wrestling because he nearly destroyed it.

[LK]

No, not Animal.

What ST7 said - it was done during the promotional videos for the arrival of the nWo, and it aired over and over and over again. Completely tasteless - especially since if it wasn't for his father Vince would probably be shoveling shit out of ditches for a living.
Huh can't remember that

[Watson]

Honestly, if it were me and they came to me with that line, I'd have nixed that shit. Fire me, do whatever, but $$ don't override my personal beliefs - and I feel that that was out of line.
Amen to that.

[Gerard]

BASICALLY

Animal: The Road Warriors vs. MNM at the Great American Bash
MNMember #1: We can't do that
MNMember #2: Why?
MNMember #1: His partner's dead..





Honestly, if I was in the crowd at the time I would've stuck him in the jaw... don't care if I got kicked out, beaten up.. wtf ever..


I had the same feeling, i just watched that vid on wwe.com and yelled out "what the fuck" after hearing that. Utterly pathetic they'd come off with something like that. :n:

Was kinda weird hearing the lod theme playing and only seeing animal come out, even knowing hawk was dead i still sort of expected to see both of them. :'(

[Jonster]

Oh it's <s>Prod</s> Sue. Got it.
Fixed :y:

[Watson]

Fixed :y:
:love:

[loopydate]

I had the same feeling, i just watched that vid on wwe.com and yelled out "what the fuck" after hearing that. Utterly pathetic they'd come off with something like that. :n:

Was kinda weird hearing the lod theme playing and only seeing animal come out, even knowing hawk was dead i still sort of expected to see both of them. :'(
It will be weird for the inevitable pre-match interview to not include a "Well!" Hawk had a really bizarre promo style, but - at least to me - he was always the face of the Warriors. Not that Animal wasn't phenomenal in his own right, I was always a Hawk man. GAB is going to be really odd.

On a semi-related note, can anyone else picture Vince McMahon trying to make Jon Heidenreich induce vomiting in his office? "HE'S GONNA PUUUUUUUUUUUKE!"

[Schoenauer]

Heidenreich and Animal are now The Legion of Friends.

[Watson]

On a semi-related note, can anyone else picture Vince McMahon trying to make Jon Heidenreich induce vomiting in his office? "HE'S GONNA PUUUUUUUUUUUKE!"
LMAO!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Danny Electric]

lol

Ok, I know it was in bad taste but to acertain extent they were stat8ing the obvious ina heel persona, I'm guessing that alot of marks probabaly don't know that Hawk(RIP) is dead and was done for their benefit who thought 'wow, why is there only one half of the Legion of Doom out there'.

[darkpower]

I think there is a case of overreacting myself. I agree it was more of a shot at Animal that he didn't have a partner (everyone associates his partner along with him when they think of the LOD/Road Warriors). I don't think it was meant as a shot against Hawk, and even then, it was in character of MNM, two people who are supposed to be cocky assholes, anyway. Maybe if they went about saying more than him being dead (like, say, if they went about how he died and all of that other shit, maybe, but just a mention to take a shot at Animal's being without a man in his corner I wouldn't see as too big of a deal).

I think this is just us overreacting a bit here.

[vampiro03]

It was in bad taste because the road warriors were the best tag team ever. I don't like seeing animal without hawk. I don't like seeing the road warriors taken to school by anyone. whenever wwe brings someone out from the past its just to push someone else. when you see sgt slaughter come to the ring you KNOW we will see him get beat down. I think they will make animal look like a fool and push mnm. the WHOLE thing disgusts me. I would like to remember lod for being awesome.

[darkpower]

It was in bad taste because the road warriors were the best tag team ever. I don't like seeing animal without hawk. I don't like seeing the road warriors taken to school by anyone. whenever wwe brings someone out from the past its just to push someone else. when you see sgt slaughter come to the ring you KNOW we will see him get beat down. I think they will make animal look like a fool and push mnm. the WHOLE thing disgusts me. I would like to remember lod for being awesome.
To be fair on that statement, though, he has Heidenrich in his corner now, and they could use this to push Heidenrich, since they want to do that anyway, or have MNM win by beating Heidenrich.

[Kane Knight]

It was in bad taste because the road warriors were the best tag team ever. I don't like seeing animal without hawk. I don't like seeing the road warriors taken to school by anyone. whenever wwe brings someone out from the past its just to push someone else. when you see sgt slaughter come to the ring you KNOW we will see him get beat down. I think they will make animal look like a fool and push mnm. the WHOLE thing disgusts me. I would like to remember lod for being awesome.
Shut the fuck up.

[loopydate]

Agreed.

Besides, I have yet to see Hogan come back to "push someone else." It's usually to "bring WWE TV to a screeching halt."

[vampiro03]

Agreed.

Besides, I have yet to see Hogan come back to "push someone else." It's usually to "bring WWE TV to a screeching halt."

Hogan jobbed Brock when scsa walked out because he refused to. Hogan got his ass handed to him, not in a normal way. He never hulked up, no leg drop just complete destruction. that was a few years ago though. Hogan is an acception to the rule. Did roddy piper beat up hbk the other night? I knew what was going to happen.

[KayfabeMan]

whenever wwe brings someone out from the past its just to push someone else. when you see sgt slaughter come to the ring you KNOW we will see him get beat down. I think they will make animal look like a fool and push mnm. the WHOLE thing disgusts me. I would like to remember lod for being awesome.

Well, for this you have to blame the wrestlers themselves.

There is such a thing as putting over younger guys, but to an extent. Guys like Slaughter have put over the entire roster, to the point that it makes no difference if you pin him or not. At that point, you're not really very "special" anymore - and while older fans may remember you as being good, the young fans will always know you as a joke / jobber to the current talents.

And quite honestly, in this day and age of wrestling, there aren't many good young talents out there to be worthy of putting over - and the ones that are usually never get the right opportunities.

I see your point of not wanting to see the legends get crushed by the new guys, and I agree with that, but you can't blame the young guys - and you really can't blame management; you have to blame the guys who are taking the fall.

[Hired Hitman]

You people take things way too seriously, you want to know how I reacted to Nitro saying Hawk is dead?

Nitro: We can't do that, Joey...
Joey: why not?
Nitro: Because... His partner is dead. ha ha :D
Joey: :D

Animal: :| :mad: :rant:

Me: Ooooooh, are you going to take that, Animal? kick their fucking asses! Fuck, they're talking about your dead partner, man.



While most of you guys say "It's disgusting", "they went too far", come the fuck on, people, lighten up, They need Heat, what better way than to say your partner is dead, to make the good guy angry enough to kill them?

"it was done during the promotional videos for the arrival of the nWo, and it aired over and over and over again. Completely tasteless - especially since if it wasn't for his father Vince would probably be shoveling shit out of ditches for a living."

Tasteless, TASTELESS? Hell it's WWE, it's entertainment, it got people to hate Vince, do you really think Vince would spit on his father, or disrespect him? I don't know Vince personally, but I don't think he would, Vince has the whole "What can I do that will make people get more into my product, I know I'll do some crazy shit, that always brings people in." and most of the time it does, except people that take what they see on a TV show VERY seriously ;)

If Animal had a problem with it, don't you think he would have went up to Vince and asked him not to bring Hawk into it, Animal must have been alright with it and he knew Hawk better than any of you people, so why should I be offended if somebody that knew the person in question for much longer than me, not mind if Hawk is bought up in a comment by his opponent.

my point is, don't take Wrestling storylines too seriously or you'll have a heart attack by the age of 30 :p

[UmbrellaCorporation]

I have to say, it didn't bother me at all.

Sure, it might have been in bad taste, but as a few people have said, if I were Mercury or Nitro and were told to say it, I'd do it in a heartbeat rather than risk my job.

I like MNM's gimmick, so I don't think anything could turn me from them, even if it WAS in bad taste.

So I have to say, if they made that reference again, I wouldn't be bothered a bit by it.

[The Highlander]

Lighten up, people. I'm quite sure Animal would not have allowed it if he didn't know Hawk would be watching from heaven laughing his ass off.

[KayfabeMan]

They need heat, what better way than to say your partner is dead, to make the good guy angry enough to kill them?

Tasteless, TASTELESS? Hell it's WWE, it's entertainment, it got people to hate Vince, do you really think Vince would spit on his father, or disrespect him? I don't know Vince personally, but I don't think he would, Vince has the whole "What can I do that will make people get more into my product, I know I'll do some crazy shit, that always brings people in." and most of the time it does, except people that take what they see on a TV show VERY seriously ;)

What better way to get heat? How about doing it LEGITIMATELY?

Maybe that's too much to ask nowadays in wrestling, and maybe that is why the business is in the shit shape it is in. Wrestlers years back drew WAY more heat than most today can even dream of, and NEVER had to resort to cheap shit like they do now. It's pity heat. "X-Pac" heat if you will.

Fact is, if you can't get heat without mocking someone's death, racial slurs, etc. - you're not worth shit. I definitely think Vince would disrespect his own father. Vince would run his mother over with a car if it meant making $$. The saddest fact is, he runs these senseless / tasteless angles, and they aren't making a dime.

I don't take anything very seriously, but what I do find completely disturbing is that the business has to resort to complete bullshit like this to attempt to draw heat. Keep up this logic, and pretty soon you'll open a door for bullshit like it - except 10 times worse.

What are you going to do next? Have Bret Hart make an appearance and then send someone out to mock Owen's death? 'Hey Bret, Your career is about as dead as your brother'. :yes: :y: Now that's great heat. :roll:

[Hired Hitman]

It would be outstanding heat. I'm not saying it's 100% correct to go the quick way for heat, but what else were they ment to do, how far away is the ppv, a week? that might not have been long enough to make a good storyline, as soon as Nitro said that his partner is dead and laughed, he made it personal which pretty much signed the deal for the tag team title match.