Vince McMahon / Chris Benoit dead?

[Bid]

I heard from a friend today that on a wrestling show monday night, the chairman of the company was blown up in a limousine and killed (not really, obviously) on live tv as part of a continuing story. My friend told me today that several news stations in America have actually reported this as a genuine story, even offering condolences for the chairman.

Surely this can't be true?

[Angela]

No its not true. How it was done.

Originally Posted by Angela

No its not true. How it was done.

I believe he wasn't asking whether the story was true which he had already confirmed was not but if any news reports had reported it as true which your link doesn't answer.

[Jonny T]

I think the "surely this can't be true" was directed to TV networks taking the angle seriously, not the angle itself.

whether or not they took it seriously is hard to judge. that said, searching Google News does offer a number of news outlets giving "Vince McMahon Dead?" stories - not saying he is but not ruling it out.

[izanami]

To be honest I have spent the last couple of days trying to work out how anyone can actually believe that this is true. I have seen a few people offering condolences and heard of American stations treating the event as an actual news story.

Apparently they were even talking about it on radio over here, saying they were unsure as to whether it was true or part of a storyline.

[Canuckistan]

WWE in mourning, WWE says



Apparently, only WWE is in mourning, not the U.S. as a whole. Can't imagine why.

WWE.com is treating is as a news story. Which is why some people are probably confused. Those are the people who are normally confused about such things.

ETA:

And if you listen closely, faint sobbing can be overheard occasionally amongst the din of the phones, fax machines and printers.

Oh. My. God.

[Canuckistan]

This story is even better. From right after the "incident":

Local authorities stated it was still too early to declare anything as fact, including exactly what caused the incident, but described the blast as an apparent "limo explosion."

This picture comes with the story:



I dunno ... I want a second opinion on that "limo explosion" conclusion.

Local police and fire officials on the scene reported that WWE fans’ 911 calls from the Wachovia Arena flooded the Wilkes-Barre area emergency services switchboard soon after the explosion, showing that while our fans might not have seen eye-to-eye with the sometimes-devious Chairman, they still cared for his personal well-being.

I highly doubt this, but this was a stupid thing to put on their website. This just makes wrestling fans look really, really stupid.

[ElectricBarbarella]

Real or not, it is in extremely poor taste. And just when I thought McMahon could not push the bill any farther.

And just incase anyone is reading--this does not make me interested in the WWE any more than the Katie Long (or whatever her name was with Kane) storyline or any of the other disgusting things you've done thus far.

I am so glad I stopped watching when they fired Raven. Best move I've made since.


toni

[Mr. Furious]

"WWE chairman - dead?"

"WWE chairman is dead."

/linguo

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by ElectricBarbarella

And just incase anyone is reading--this does not make me interested in the WWE any more than the Katie Long (or whatever her name was with Kane) storyline or any of the other disgusting things you've done thus far.

For the uninitiated, the Katie Vick story.

I was in London at the time and missed that episode. I thank my guardian angel, whomever it may be, for missing that episode.

[STF]

This is probably the stupidest and most tasteless angles they've done. To me this one crosses the line of acceptable wrestling angles. You shouldn't use guns and you shouldn't use death in wrestling storylines. No matter how this ends up I'm 99% sure it will be ridiculously stupid.

[STF]

Here's something I posted on my wrestling board about the 10 bell salute they did for McMahon last night on the ECW show.

From PWTorch.com's Justin Caldwell. This was from his ECW live coverage post. I think that last little bit is what makes the fake 10 bell salute even more disgusting in this situation.

Back live ringside, Styles and Tazz stared into the camera. Tazz said the matches tonight will be dedicated to the memory of Mr. McMahon. In the ring, Justin Roberts told the audience to rise out of respect for Mr. McMahon. They did a ten-bell salute and some fans booed with each passing toll of the bell. Styles and Tazz called it disrespectful. What, the fans booing? Or McMahon booking a ten-bell salute for a storyline when many wrestlers have had the same ten-bell salute in death after giving their bodies to McMahon to line his pocket?

[Sunny Lea]

Originally Posted by Canuckistan

For the uninitiated, the Katie Vick story

Oh. My. God.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Sunny Lea

Oh. My. God.

That's one of the kinder things that's been said about that storyline.

[Troberg]

To me this one crosses the line of acceptable wrestling angles. You shouldn't use guns and you shouldn't use death in wrestling storylines.

I wouldn't really mind this angle ordinarily, but with the recent streak of wrestlers dying (Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta, Eddie Guerrero and some less known names, as well as a bunch of wrestlers ending their career due to serious injuries), I feel the timing is in bad taste. Many fans are shook up about these real events, and it's not really far to spring this on them and it lessens the value of the real tragedies.

Death story lines have been done before (although usually with Undertaker "dying", then of course coming back), so there is nothing new.

Nice fireworks, though, even if not realistic for a car bomb.

WWE chairman is dead.

Nah, he is too goddam stubborn to die.

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Troberg

... Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta, Eddie Guerrero and some less known names ...

Surely you must mean "Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta, Eddie Guerrero and some even less known names".

[Jonny T]

Originally Posted by Floater

Surely you must mean "Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta, Eddie Guerrero and some even less known names".

Bam Bam and Tenta I can see, but Guerrero?

This angle is up with Katie Vick (thank you so much for reminding me of that one) and Mae Young giving birth to a beautiful baby hand.

[Enchanting_eyes]

There have been some truely tastless angles in wrestling, this somehow does not surprise me. FWIW The "FBI"* ( according to WWE's website or Rajah ) are releasing a statement today.

IMO, he faked his death, if he were really dead by now the family would have released a statement, and more media outlets would have picked it up.

* I say FBI because if its all faked then its not really the FBI giving out the statement.

[STF]

I've had people try to convince me that angles like this are OK, because Vince views his company as an entertainment one and not a wrestling one anymore. I tend to think that no matter how he looks at it Vince is in the wrestling business and there are boundaries he should not cross with his wrestling program. Some of those same people argue that it's silly to get upset with this angle if I'm fine with watching people die on CSI, The Shield etc. I say that pro-wrestling shows (while just as scripted) are a different animal and that means they should abide by different rules. Gun play, rape and death are not things that should be used in wrestling angles. I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Troberg

Nice fireworks, though, even if not realistic for a car bomb.

Unless, of course, the perpetrator used fireworks as his weapon of choice in the apparent "limo explosion."