Oh, yes this is real. Florida has officially declared WWE pro wrestling shows an 'essential business' that must be allowed to continue to operate during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Read the rest
A few days ago, I wrote about the transformation of WWE Smackdown into a beautiful work of Beckett-esque absurdist theatre once the audience was removed for coronavirus safety. I didn't think it could get anymore gloriously weird.
Then Twitter user @SIDEEYEmusic took it to the next level by adding the Twin Peaks score.
i added twin peaks music to pro wrestling without an audience and it fits perfectly pic.twitter.com/OVauro8c7L
— SIDEEYE (@SIDEEYEmusic) March 18, 2020
Image: peaked/Vimeo and Shamsuddin Muhammad / Wikimedia Commons (CC 2.0)
Don't get me wrong — it's fun to be in the audience during a big, zany wrestling match, cheering on the drama both despite and to embrace the kayfabe. But this gloriously bizarre performance art satisfies a very different part of my brain.
Everybody knows that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (everybody, that is, except the Trumps, who coincidentally do a lot of business with the House of Saud) and the lurid brutality of that murder has prompted calls for western businesses to reconsider their increasingly cozy relationship with Mohammed bin Salman. Read the rest
The WWE has a self-created Saudi Arabia problem on its hands. Read the rest
Is the WWE becoming a training camp for future politicians? WWE Hall-of-Famer Donald Trump is (sweet Jesus) President of the United States. Former WWF/WWE president and CEO Linda McMahon is the Administrator of the Small Business Association in the Trump Administration. And now WWE legend Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) is the next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
Jacobs ran as a conservative Republican and has dabbled in libertarian politics, writing for the controversial website LewRockwell.com. He'll take office on September 1st and hasn't ruled out a return to the WWE. Jacobs previously wrestled as Isaac Yankem, DDS.
WWE wrestler Kane wins bid for Knox County mayor [CNN/Euan McKidry] [Photo: Wikimedia Commons] Read the rest
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