Why Roddy's race row is bad news for Peacock (March 30, 2021)
On My Mind This Week
I don’t know what Roddy Piper was attempting to do, and I’m not sure he did, either.
In television interviews prior to his Wrestlemania VI bout with Bad News Brown, for which he notoriously painted half of his body black before facing his African-American foe, Piper rather shoddily explained that he was doing so to show that skin colour didn’t matter to him. This, however, had come after he had spoken about how people from Brown’s purported hometown of Harlem thought of Brown as “a jerk”, while Piper himself referred to Brown as “stupid”.
At best obfuscating and at worst outright racist (Brown, real name Allen Coage, considered it the latter), Piper’s antics around this match have remained controversial, but were brought back into the spotlight by the recent decision to first remove the match from the new Peacock (NBCUniversal) version of the WWE Network, and then also from the Network as seen by those outside the United States.
There’s no question that the content has the potential to offend, and in some ways it therefore makes sense to leave it out of the migration, especially to this more corporate and mainstream service. However, if the redaction was made so as to not give a platform to racist actions, the strategy failed abysmally, as it led to days of online discussion about the match, boosting it far more than would have been the case had it been quietly left as it was.
The editing of Wrestlemania VI also left the Peacock team with the quandary of how to deal with hundreds of objectionable moments in the 17,000 hours of content they have committed to bringing to the service before the end of August. Already gone is a Survivor Series 2005 backstage skit in which Vince McMahon referred to John Cena as “my n***a” as a setup for Booker T to use his, “Tell me he didn’t just say that!” catchphrase, while the likes of the Katie Vick necrophilia angle (2002) and Tim White’s multiple “suicides” (2005), which have not yet appeared on Peacock, would not pass any serious suitability test.
In having to bring this content into line “to ensure it fits our 2021 standards”, which is a direct quote from WWE and also one attributed to NBCUniversal by The New York Times, the Peacock owners have set criteria that they, through the sheer amount of work involved, may not be able to uphold. Before now, the WWE Network itself not only utilised effective parental controls but, where necessary, a disclaimer explaining that the content may not be suitable for all viewers. (It is worth noting that WWE itself classified Wrestlemania VI as TV-PG, while in the UK, the BBFC classified a 2004 home video release of the event as suitable for those aged 12 or older.)
Racist programming has no place in today’s society, nor did it 30 years ago, but the harm of what was done in the past cannot be erased, and NBCUniversal is now in danger of being seen to congratulate itself for whitewashing WWE’s history of racism. Having taken the decision to make these initial edits, it now cannot allow other offensive material to appear, for fear of being accused of hypocrisy or even of inadvertently making ethical judgements on different types of offensive material.
On the assumption that this decision was made in good faith, for NBCUniversal it may be the case that no good deed goes unpunished.
One assumes that Roddy Piper was simply trying to get people’s attention when he painted half of his body black.
Thirty years later, and five after his own death, discussions about him are as rowdy as ever.
On My Screen This Week
This issue’s selections are brought to you in part by a four-year-old having to isolate after a COVID-19 case in his pre-school.
The Iron Sheik vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF; January 23, 1984)
This is, of course, the famous match in which Hulk Hogan wins the WWF championship for the first time, but what you might not previously have been aware of was just how popular Hogan was before the glitz and glamour really kicked in on WWF programming. The crowd here is electric, enthused further by a fiery Hogan opening salvo in which he hits the Sheik with a clothesline and chokes him, his arms impressively outstretched above his head.
It’s an epic shine segment for Hogan, countered by a period of control from the Sheik that punishes his challenger and gets the crowd ready for Hogan to power through it and fire back. When Hogan stands up out of the Camel Clutch, with which the Sheik had won the title from Bob Backlund, commentator Gorilla Monsoon is barely audible through the furore, though after the bell he manages a clear, “Hulkamania is here!” as if to set the WWF in the right direction for the next five years.
Notably, the Sheik continues to sell his beating when the announcements are being made, to the point where Hogan initially appears to show concern for him, before dumping him out of the ring as an exclamation point. (**)
Chigusa Nagayo vs. Yukari Omori (AJW; June 22, 1986)
The final of All Japan Women’s Japan Grand Prix 1986 begins with the gravitas you might expect, with both women looking for control as the audience lives and dies by any small opening the super-popular Nagayo may get. Unfortunately, the bout takes a remarkable amount of time to get out of this phase, and when it does, Omori occasionally looks out of her depth with the rapid and instinctive Nagayo.
Nagayo thus finds herself having to be the aggressor until 15 minutes into the match-up, when Omori hits a big backbreaker and comes off the second rope with Nagayo, into a Samoan Drop. Neither offensive move keeps Nagayo down for long, but while some fine action follows, it’s all too brief in comparison to the slow build, and fails to make up for its shortcomings. (**3/4)
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Owen Hart (WWF; August 15, 1994)
This is a re-match of one of the best sub-five-minute matches of all-time, held at King Of The Ring in June 1994. This bout starts out just as fast, and just as hard, as is exemplified by Hart ferociously taking a shoulder into the ringpost. Indeed, the pair seem motivated to match what they achieved earlier in the year, though knowing that they have much more time with which to play.
To sum up the quality of the action, Randy Savage exclaims, “I do not believe what I am seeing here!” That’s barely an exaggeration, as everything they do has pace, precision, and lots of believable contact. Hart turns the clock back to his junior-heavyweight days with ease, both in bumping for the Kid and striking with a suplex over the top rope to the floor, and then a picture-perfect plancha.
The reaction of the live audience is a reminder of how great pro wrestling can get a crowd going, and you’re left with the distinct impression that anyone, even someone who has never seen wrestling before, could enjoy this greatly.
After a terrifying missed double kneedrop by Hart, you truly believe that the Kid can win the bout, before an awful disqualification puts paid to that hope. Still, it’s only mildly frustrating given the effort otherwise put forth, in what is one of the best WWF television matches of the year. (***3/4)
There’s quite a convoluted setup to this bout, the first full in-ring contest of Paul Wight’s WWE career. Earlier in this episode of Raw, Steve Austin gave Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and The Rock their famous beer bath, and so Vince is particularly disheveled at ringside, especially compared to a far more composed Rock, who is on commentary. Mick Foley, furthermore, is on special refereeing duty.
Away from some fairly basic brawling, the match is built around Austin attempting to hit the Stunner, which Wight foils several times, while Jerry Lawler remarks that “The Rattlesnake” cannot strike it on someone of that size. Both men play their roles fairly well, with Austin’s selling particularly impressive since Wight is in nowhere near the shape he was when he debuted in WCW three years earlier.
In typical Attitude Era fashion, the heat ramps up to blazing levels when Austin strikes crude, jarring chair shots to Wight’s head, and hits the Stunner for the pinfall. As rousing as the danger is, however, the lasting impression of the match is just how much talent there is at ringside, as Austin, Wight, The Rock, Mankind, and Vince McMahon all play a part in the ensuing fracas. (**3/4)
Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac (WWF; October 22, 2000)
While this is actually a Cage match, Chris Jericho and X-Pac start it on the outside of the ring, and continue to do things in reverse by doing the “door slam” finish before they get back into the ring. That at least assures an intriguing beginning to this bout, which is continued when Jericho hits a beautiful dropkick from the top rope, only to inexplicably go for a Lionsault in this escape-the-cage rules affair.
For his part, X-Pac does his best to vacate the structure by taking a nasty backdrop into it, and there’s further punishment for him to take when he’s the victim of a brutal powerbomb from the top rope. If there’s such a thing as getting payback in a co-operative wrestling bout, he gets it by crashing a chair onto Jericho’s head, in what is a really shocking moment in this day and age.
As if it were he who was not thinking straight, though, it is X-Pac who then tries to exit over the top rather than through the door, giving Jericho a chance to recover, and for the pair to set up a unique spot where Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho as they scramble to go over the top of the cage.
With an inventive finish coming shortly thereafter, this match proves itself to be one to go back and enjoy, especially since it is so rarely discussed. (***1/2)
On My Podcast App This Week
Chris Jericho is joined by former JCP/WCW announcer Tony Schiavone and The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer to discuss the life of the late Jim Crockett Jr. Unsurprisingly, Schiavone’s insights are the most personal here, and juxtapose well with those of the encyclopedic Meltzer. It is also notable that Schiavone’s manner is much easier on the ear than it is on AEW television.
The Place To Be Wrestling Network has a vast array of deep-diving pro wrestling podcasts. This is a particularly interesting topic: shoot-style wrestling. There is also some information here about the Greatest Match Ever Project, which may pique your interest if you like to detail your favourites in writing.
I believe I’ve had this downloaded in my podcast app (AntennaPod, by the way) for almost a year. Between The Sheets podcasts can be exhausting, but the detail and product knowledge shown are untouchable. The affable Kris Zellner and the meticulous David Bixenspan are joined here by Jordan Breen, an Attitude Era wrestling fan who more notably covers MMA, for an episode that feels a bit disjointed for having the additional voice, but is still the best way to relive the moment, from an insider’s perspective.
On My Reading List This Week
This is excellent investigative work from the aforementioned David Bixenspan on the assertion that The Midnight Express’ Stan Lane is the father of the outspoken U.S. conservative politician and firearms advocate, Lauren Boebert.
On My Twitter Feed This Week
A Little Bit Of Housekeeping
I’m really interested in your feedback to the first several issues of Riffing On Wrestling. Please comment here or reach out to me at brian(at)hardcopy(dot)ie.
I am available for further editing and occasional writing work. I have credits for various international newspapers, news agencies, and websites, and also a decade of magazine editor’s experience. You can inquire about these, and my rates, by emailing brian(at)hardcopy(dot)ie. I can also provide professional editing feedback, or offer advice or mentoring, by prior agreement and through the same email address.