WWE, AW Apologize For Kobe Bryant Joke
While I did post the video of AW putting the shoe to Kofi last night,I didn't go into the whole "like Kobe Bryant at a hotel room in Colorado ... he's unstoppable" line regarding Titus O'Neil that he threw out during last night's Raw, mainly because I wanted to see how quickly (if at all) he and the WWE would apologize. It's referencing the 2003 rape case Kobe went through for smashing that chick in his hotel room, and no matter if it's nine years old, it was in poor taste - and definitely something I'm glad my own five year old didn't have to hear and then ask me questions about afterwards. AW is said to have immediately apologized to both the McMahnon family and wrestlers backstage (as well as on twitter), and promised something like this wouldn't happen again. TMZ has since picked up on it, and WWE immediately commented on "taking the appropriate action in the matter", whatever that means. Hopefully it doesn't result in AW's termination, although with the fire at the arena before Raw (due to some kind of issue with the Titantron) and this incident, the WWE picked up the kind of media coverage they'd rather not receive. And in the second week of three hour Raws, in an already hectic backstage area, none of this helps. How do things like this happen, though?
AW has gone on record before letting it be known that he's trying to bring the Attitude Era back, in a sense: "If you're annoyed by me on the mic it's not me u hate it's ur own lack of internal fortitude you despise. #StopHatingO's. I'm not politically correct. If u get offended deal with it. #AttitudeEra is my motto. I grew up on it, I live it!!! #F*ckFearDrinkBeer!! If anybody's gonna take us back to the #AttitudeEra it's me. Doubt me if u will, don't let the suit fool you. We've only just begun....". This was a few months ago, at least. I am in no way saying that AW was planning on dropping Kobe rape jokes in the spirit of #AttitudeEra, and I am usually amused by his rantings and comments on that headset mic during Prime Time Players matches, but this is one of the issues you potentially deal with when you allow someone to go out there with no script and a live mic on live television. I believe him when he says he didn't intend for this to go down this way, but you have to realize that you're living in a completely different era of the WWE. Chanting "Attitude Era" is cool for the rasslin' heads on the Internet and for WWE marketing their next video game, but don't do anything to offend their political connects. Or their toy manufacturers. Or the litany of sponsors that contribute to the WWE's pockets on a regular basis.
And just when I was digging the AW push. As of this writing, WWE.com nor anyone else is reporting what (if any) actions will be taken against AW for this, but once I hear anything I'll update here. Keep it locked, as per usual, and AW - hold your head, fam. We've got your back, but don't make us regret it!
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