To The IWC: Stop Being Creepy Weirdos

This week has not been the IWC’s (internet wrestling community for those who are wondering) finest hour as there were 3 stories involving women superstars that quickly nosedived into a very negative direction. The week started with Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reporting that Sasha Banks will be appearing at WrestleKingdom 17 and has multiple dates booked with NJPW. The deal has Banks earning a massive per appearance fee. Well this didn’t sit well for the incels who immediately went on Twitter claiming that Sasha’s delusional and overvaluing herself. Other claims of Banks, real name Mercedes Varnado, being a “crybaby”, “quitter” and “overrated” flowed on social media. The same people who cried about wrestlers valuing themselves and having a voice are now shaming Banks for having a voice and valuing herself.

Mia Yim was next to receive the wrath of the mouth breather community when a picture of her & Austin Theory hit social media. The IWC went HAM and blasted Yim on social media for… taking a picture. The slut shaming was on full display from these pathetic people. So fierce was the shaming, Mia deleted her Twitter account.

So to review… two friends can’t take a silly photo without creepy morons shaming others. I also happen to notice no one was particularly blasting Austin Theory for the photo – just Mia.

To wrap up the trifecta of idiocy, a fan leaked Mandy Rose’s content from her subscription based site onto social media. That leak propelled to instant shaming and prompted WWE into abruptly having Mandy Rose drop her title on Tuesday and then releasing her on Wednesday. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com broke the news:

Fightful Select has learned that Mandy Rose has been released by WWE.

WWE officials felt they were put in a tough position based on the content she was posting on her FanTime page. They felt like it was outside of the parameters of her WWE deal.

If you’re into shaming people, do it elsewhere. I’ll just block you if you do it in the replies here. Thanks! Have a nice day.

We’ll have more details on the Mandy Rose release on http://FightfulSelect.com for subscribers today

Originally tweeted by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) on December 14, 2022.

In all three cases the reactions from people were beyond deplorable. Mercedes Varnado is allowed to do whatever is on her heart and seek the biggest bag possible for doing it. Why are you pocket watching her?? Mia Yim is a happily married woman and if Keith Lee didn’t have a problem with the photo then why the hell should you?? In the case of Mandy Rose, WWE hires wrestlers as independent workers but expects them to not have side interests and businesses. WWE sells Mandy as hyper-sexualized on TV but then has a problem when Mandy sells that persona on a subscription based site.

If you call yourself a fan but yet you feel the need to shame and bully people on the internet are you really a fan? How about you not being a complete weirdo and creep and realize these people are real people who have real feelings. They put their bodies on the line to entertain the masses. They have social media platforms to try and connect with the fans and then you incels use that as the time to have Twitter fingers. No wonder these athletes and entertainers tend to back away from social sites and having interaction with people.

I have an idea – how about you gatekeepers stop being a weirdo, stop bullying and shaming people over social media in a basement somewhere, get a life and breath some fresh air.

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Around The WWE/AEW

• Rumors are rampant that The Rock may be booked to win The Royal Rumble and challenge his cousin Roman Reigns at Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 in the main event. I actually don’t have a problem with this because the Elimination Chamber is still there and can be used.
• Speaking of the Elimination Chamber, there is also speculation that Roman Reigns may be forced into defending each of the world titles over the course of the two-night WrestleMania event. If that is the case then WWE can use the Elimination Chamber to determine the person who will challenge Roman on Night 1.
• ROH’s Final Battle PPV was pretty damn good and we saw the two top titles in the promotion change hands. Claudio Castagnoli regained the ROH World Title by getting Chris Jericho to tap out after about 35+ swings while Athena outlasted Mercedes Martinez in a hard hitting affair to capture the ROH Women’s World Title.
• Bobby Lashley snapped on Monday Night RAW after losing the #1 contender’s match to Seth Rollins and snapped. In his rage, he bumped two officials and hauled off on WWE Official Adam Pearce which led to Pearce announcing Lashley had been fired. Pearce would rescind the termination a day later in an official statement. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out with Pearce and Lashley.
• Speaking of #1 contenders, Alexa Bliss earned a shot at the RAW Women’s title by knocking off Bayley. After the match RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair went to shake the hand of Alexa and then this happened:

• In a move reminiscent of the 1,2,3 Kid upsetting Razor Ramon, Action Andretti scored the win of his life by defeating Chris Jericho:

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MVPs of 2022

• The Bloodline: The faction led by the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns continued its reign of dominance in 2022 and only got stronger as the year went along. The faction officially added Sami Zayn into the fold and then brought up Solo Sikoa as its enforcer. These five men along with Paul Heyman have kept crowds entertained and Zayn in particular is having the time of his life getting members of The Bloodline to break character each week with his antics. This group’s reign of terror has been the hottest storyline in all of professional wrestling.
• Bianca Belair: With injuries to Becky Lynch & Bayley, Charlotte Flair’s leave of absence and Naomi & Sasha Banks’ walkout, no woman has had more pressure on her to carry a division than Bianca Belair. Belair has been more than up for the challenge and has stepped up her game with big matches. Belair has now become the woman who is now on the level of the Four Horsewomen in terms of popularity and ability to produce great matches.
• Seth Rollins: You know you’re over when people chant your theme music at will. Seth Rollins may not have had a great win/loss record in 2022 but he has carried the RAW brand on his back while putting out bangers on PPVs and TV. His match with Cody Rhodes at Hell in a Cell is a sure fire Match of the Year candidate.
• Jon Moxley: In what was a wild, chaotic year for AEW, Moxley was the standard bearer and the glue that held that promotion together. Injuries to top stars in the lead-up to Forbidden Door led to Moxley picking up the mantle and carrying the company on his back through most of 2022. He further cemented that status after the fallout from the All Out Brawl Out. He would capture the AEW World Title and set up the program that eventually led to MJF winning the title from Mox. Give Jon Moxley all the roses. All of them.
• The Brawling Brutes: The trio of Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch went from hated heels to fan favorite babyfaces seemingly overnight with their ability to put on “banger, after banger, after banger, after banger”! All three men are physical, go all out and are in their groove as a faction. Here’s hoping that 2023 will see them holding gold at some point.
• Rhea Ripley: Let’s face it – The Judgment Day would be DOA without Rhea Ripley. It can be argued she is the real leader of the faction. She has the ability to change the nature of matches by her mere presence and now she’s setting her sights on championship gold. I would not be surprised to see her battle (and possibly dethrone) Bianca Belair for the RAW Women’s title in 2023.
• The Briscoes & FTR: While The Usos, the Acclaimed and the Young Bucks grabbed most of the spotlight in the tag team wrestling scene, The Briscoes and FTR showed why these two are undisputedly the best two tag teams in wrestling. Their match at Final Battle was another great chapter in their rivalry. They define what tag team wrestling is all about. The Briscoes will help to elevate the ROH Tag Titles and now hopefully FTR, if they don’t leave AEW and do the indie scene, can get their hands on the one tag team championship that alluded them – the AEW World Tag Team titles.

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