What’s the story?
The whole JBL Bullying controversy has taken yet another turn, as someone has created an entire Wikipedia page devoted to proving extensive information on the ongoing saga.
In case you didn’t know...
Ever since now-former WWE Commentator Mauro Ranallo disappeared from WWE programming, there was speculation that a reason for this was JBL’s behaviour. Bradshaw’s backstage behaviour had long been a topic of great debate and scrutiny among wrestling fans.
While some have supported Bradshaw’s actions (possibly due to pro wrestling requiring a specific kind of mindset to have in order to succeed), others have criticised JBL, at times harshly, for allegations of bullying that, thus far, have not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Wikipedia has become one of the most extensive and useful sources of information on the internet. While there remains some criticism regarding the website for allegations of article bias and the fact that literally anyone can create and modify certain pages, Wikipedia is still widely-regarded as an indispensable tool when doing research.
The heart of the matter
The Wikipedia page discussing the JBL harassment saga can be viewed here.
As with most Wikipedia pages centred on current topics, this page has extensive data and multiple sources backing up the allegations against the SmackDown commentator. The web page provides several examples of former (and in some cases, current) WWE staff discussing JBL’s alleged bullying.
People that have provided examples of JBL’s bullying, which are referenced on this page, include Justin Roberts, Edge, Mike ‘Simon Dean/Nova’ Bucci, The Blue Meanie, Ivory, and even Mark Henry. Some of these instances of bullying and harassment so back almost two decades, which suggests that this issue isn’t something limited to the last 10 years.
What’s next?
Despite the controversial nature of the situation, and despite Wikipedia being a very popular source of (almost entirely) unbiased information on a contentious subject for which information might be hard to come by, there isn’t likely to be any punishment for JBL.
As the article itself implies, JBL is close with some of the most influential people in WWE, and some stories suggest his actions were supported by Vince McMahon himself. If this is true, then the most powerful man in WWE isn’t likely to punish someone within his inner circle, no matter how bad the backlash might get.
Also read: 5 of JBL’s alleged bullying incidents
Many fans have even gone so far as to demand JBL be fired by WWE for his behaviour. However, Vince isn’t likely to take any of these demands seriously, unless they came from a high-profile sponsor or someone that could severely impact WWE’s financial success. And even then, nothing might change because Vince is the walking definition of a man that walks to the tune of his own drum, and isn’t likely to change to fit someone else’s idea of how he should behave.
Author’s take
This entire situation is incredibly disappointing as it screams of hypocrisy in WWE. From a creative standpoint, WWE’s feuds cannot involve anything that approaches bullying too much because of the company’s involvement with the Be a STAR campaign. At the same time, bullying and harrassment appear to be not only ignored by WWE’s corporate chain of command, but also encouraged.
Worse yet, just like with the Roman Reigns situation (which also happens to have its own extensive Wikipedia page), WWE will do whatever it can to sweep this issue under the rug as opposed to addressing it head-on.
Those that have booed JBL or chanted against him in response to this situation have been muted while on television. Fans carrying signs critical of JBL have been escorted out of arenas. JBL himself has blocked anyone criticising him on Twitter.
All of this screams of a situation that WWE’s going to go to great lengths to ignore. Furthermore, they’ve already tried to make JBL into a babyface announcer by having him cheer the good guy character while on commentary.
However, WWE might be underestimating the power the internet can have in this day and age. If someone went to the length to create a Wikipedia page AND fill it with legitimate references to support it, then there must be A LOT of people out there that remain angry at WWE over JBL and these allegations against him.
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