Wrestlers Claim Racist Gimmicks in New WWE Lawsuit
As noted, a new lawsuit has been filed against WWE by numerous pro wrestlers, and the suit alleges WWE failed to care for wrestlers’ repetitive head injuries “in any medically competent or meaningful manner.
You can check out the full lawsuit at this link, and it’s interesting to note that in addition to the brain injuries cited in the suit, there are other claims listed in the suit ranging from wrestler pay to how wrestlers lives were affected after their time in WWE.
Additionally, the suit names several plaintiffs who allege racist gimmicks were given to them during their time in WWE, and below is the description of plaintiff Rodney Match, which can be found on page 55 of the lawsuit:
110. Plaintiff Rodney Begnaud, a.k.a. Rodney Mack (“Begnaud”) is 45 and resides in Lafayette, Louisiana. Begnaud wrestled for WWE from 2002 to 2005. His WWE assigned gimmick was to portray himself as an “anti-white” black militant. Begnaud explains it “was a ‘no no’ to discuss injuries or your job would be in jeopardy.” His dialogue consisted of lines such as “Damn Right!” and “Yeah!” with his manager uttering lines such as “Kill Whitey” and “Free James Brown.” He says he was not treated for injuries or tested for signs of head injuries after sustaining blows to his head them in the ring. Begnaud has suffered numerous concussions as a result of the repeated and chronic head trauma sustained while wrestling for WWE. His injuries have resulted in long-term neurological injuries and cognitive difficulties, including, but not limited to, headaches, dizziness, loss of memory, and fatigue.
Smackdown Twitter Ratings
According to Nielsen’s TV Twitter Ratings, last night’s WWE Smackdown Live premiere ranked #2 among series & specials for the night behind the Republican National Convention.
Smackdown Live had 279,000 tweets with 49,000 unique authors up from the July 7th episode which had 42,000 tweets and 15,000 authors.
Another Video of Alexa Bliss’ Emotional Draft Reaction
WWE has released another video featuring an emotional Alexa Bliss reacting at the WWE Performance Center to her Smackdown draft:
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
