Wrestling Past And Present: 07/19/21

Monday, July 19, 2021

LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER WWE PERSONALITY TYRUS SETTLED OUT OF COURT

Deadline reported that Britt McHenry has departed Fox News after reaching a settlement over a sexual harrassment claim against George Murdoch aka Tyrus (the former Brodus Clay during his time in WWE.) Both parties filed stipulation for voluntary dismissal of the case on Monday in federal court.

Fox News Media issued the following statement:

"While Fox News is confident it would have prevailed in the lawsuit, we are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation."

Yeah sure you were, If you were so confident then how come you were quick to settle out of court? If you were confident then you wouldn't have done that so quickly. Makes you go, HHHMMM.

Tyrus' attorney, Tom Clare, issued the following statement:

"Tyrus is pleased that the parties have reached a settlement in which the claims against him will be dismissed with prejudice. Tyrus continues to dispute and deny the allegations made against him in the lawsuit and, consistent with that view, will not be making any financial payments.

McHenry filed a sexual-harassment complaint against George Murdoch (aka Tyrus), among others, including the FOX News Network, Fox Entertainment Group, Fox Corp, News Corp, Fox Nation head John Finley, Fox Nation executive producer Jennifer Rauchet and FOX human resources executive Monica Mekeel in December 2019 over lewd text messages she alleged she received while she and Murdoch were co-hosting FOX News' Un-PC.

The story first came to light in June 2018 when The Daily Beast in Great Britain reported that Tyrus had been removed from the series and later followed up with accusations that Tyrus had allegedly sexually harassed McHenry. The Beast’s report alleged that Tyrus, “on multiple occasions, sent her unwanted and unsolicited text messages with lewd, sexual comments.”

The Beast’s report led to FOX News issuing the following statement: “While we are not at liberty to discuss the details of any employee matter, we follow strict protocols when matters such as these are brought to our attention, and we make no exceptions. The process works because of the extensive systems and measures we have instituted. This situation was independently investigated and we consider the matter resolved. We respect the confidentiality of all involved.”

McHenry responded to the FOX News statement, tweeting (and later deleting), "You act like I don't like have proof," she wrote. "Smh [Shaking my head]. Carry on." McHenry later hired attorney Douglas Wigdor, who had previously filed a number of lawsuits for clients allegedly wronged by FOX News.

Murdoch was a former bodyguard for Snoop Dogg who was signed to a WWE developmental deal and trained in the WWE system. Christened Brodus Clay, he officially debuted for the WWE main roster as the Dancing “Funkasaurus” in 2012, working for the company for several years. After departing WWE, Murdoch began using the ring name Tyrus and worked for Impact Wrestling and would at times appear on FOX News via satellite from backstage at Impact tapings in Orlando. After first appearing on the Greg Gutfield Show, Murdoch's role on the cable news network gradually grew.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr whether his departure from UN-PC was related to McHenry via private messaging on Twitter, Murdoch responded, "No comment and don't message me again," before blocking Barr on the social media platform.

Murdoch's attorney Tom Clare told The Wrap in December 2019 that Murdoch denied McHenry’s accusations and would be pursuing defamation counterclaims. “He looks forward to having a public forum in the court system to clear his name from the smear campaign that has been waged against him in the media,” Clare said.

After leaving UN-PC, Murdoch was given his own series on FOX News’ streaming platform that was regularly plugged during WWE's Friday Night Smackdown. As Tyrus, he appears regularly for the National Wrestling Alliance.

Here's the link to the deadline report. https://deadline.com/2021/07/britt-mchenry-sexual-harassment-fox-news-1234796046/

Jim Cornette Reviews The Atrocious Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page (Coffin Match) on AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuGgmP1U8R8

Jim Cornette Reviews The "No Selling" Festival That Was Jon Moxley vs. Karl Anderson on AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6E_9wN1vvc

Jim Cornette Reviews Kenny Omega & The Elite Confronting Adam Page on AEW Dynamite (Spot On Correct As Usual)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KEgdMISvJg

Konnan & Disco ARGUE about whether Tony Khan is burying Konnan (Konnan's In Total Denial Mode Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9sVisSkDlU

Jim Cornette Reviews Chris Jericho Getting Attacked By MJF & Shawn Spears on AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deHwj3RFKc4

Jim Cornette Reviews Britt Baker's Promo on AEW Dynamite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgxERFFgoEs

Rosemary & Havok vs Fire 'N Flava (Slammiversary 2021)

Rosemary & Havok challenge Fire 'N Flava for the Knockouts Tag Team Championships in a hard-hitting battle at Countdown To Slammiversary 2021!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj5otA1Pess

Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling- PPW High Voltage Episode 120

PPW High Voltage is back with another jam packed show from matches past and present! This week's card: Afa Jr. vs Samoa Joe (PPW Point Break; 7/18/15) Charles Mason vs. Foxx Vinyer vs. Victor Andrews (PPW Aftermath; 5/18/19) Christina Marie vs. Adena Steele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3eVTTMY0kg

WWE Gets Paid A TON Of Money Just So, They Could Get Sh*tty Service Streaming A Pay Per View (Gotta Love it)

I'm glad I don't watch WWE's crappy product cause I would've been PISSED OFF had i paid to see a PPV just to have it go black. I heard the term "You get what you pay for" and obviously, WWE got paid a ton of money thinking they got a great deal? But instead, it's like paying the price for a Rolls Royce, but instead, getting the worst used car the dealer has on his lot.

Maybe they should've just stuck with what they had before, eh? It wasn't broke, they tried to fix it and look what they got as a result.

WWE received a significant amount of negative social media feedback over a moment that took place in tonight’s RAW Women’s Title match at the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view, which saw Charlotte Flair win the strap from Rhea Ripley.

Becky Lynch posted a photo before the pay-per-view and confirmed that she was in attendance at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. This led to more speculation on a possible Lynch return, but probably meant that she was not returning tonight. Fans chanted for Lynch several times during the Flair vs. Ripley match. Flair responded to one “we want Becky!” chant by giving a middle finger salute to the Texas crowd.

WWE production tried to black out the screen to block Flair’s middle finger to the crowd, but it was still visible on the live Peacock/WWE Network feed. The attempted edit led to many fans knocking the company on Twitter, making them a complete fucking laughingstock.

And then to make matters worse was Peacock, who paid WWE a lot of money promising superior service, having streaming issues with the pay per view.

Can't edit out things right, can't provide premium service for a pay per view, and WWE GLADLY accepted Peacock's money just so they could get this shitty service. This is what happens when WWE DOESN'T micromanage something themselves? LMAO!

The heavy buffering issues began after the RAW Women’s Title match between Rhea Ripley and new champion Charlotte Flair, and were resolved a few minutes into the Men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match, which was won by Big E. Many fans apparently missed all of the backstage segment with Riddle, Rick Boogs and King Shinsuke Nakamura, and the entrances to the Men’s MITB Ladder Match.

WWE reportedly did not pause the pay-per-view while the issues were going on because initially the company was not aware of any issues, or "so they say" but how could they NOT be aware of it? Weren't they watching? SOMEBODY should've been monitoring it, DDUUHH!!. The streaming issues were only with the Peacock feed in the United States, and did not emanate from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the site of the pay-per-view. The issues were coming from wherever Peacock was picking up the stream, and then sending it out to their subscribers. So it all falls back on Peacock not being fully prepared or expert enough to successfully pull off streaming a live pay per view that many people paid to see. The international feed of the WWE Network had zero issues, so WWE kept the broadcast going because they also had an international audience viewing the show.

So they basically said "Fuck the fans in the U.S. who cares if they paid for the show and can't see it, "The Show Must Go On".. Much like after Owen Hart died in the ring, "the show must go on". Hell of a mentality WWE has, hell of a mentality.

It was also interesting to note that since Peacock fixed their stream, the feed was one belonging to the WWE Network, not Peacock, as the stream no longer featured any of the Peacock graphics. makes you go, "HHHMMM".

The issues also led to multiple fans complaining about how they were unable to fast forward or rewind on Peacock. The platform told fans on Twitter that player controls will be rolling out on additional devices soon, including on Roku and Android TV later this month.

It sure as hell doesn't help them NOW, when the fans fucking wanted it, dipshits.

Peacock responded to more complaints after the pay-per-view and made it known that the replay is available for viewing. Peacock also issued various responses, some generic, to dozens of fans as you'll see below. Corporate America at its finest when it comes to avoiding and deflecting on an issue that's THEIR fault.

"Hi, we're here to help. We can't help you right now with your current issue, but come back to us in a few months when we hopefully have controls out for the devices you use that don't have them. Please DM all your inquires and we'll be happy to avoid or deflect from them, Thank you for supporting Peacock", LOL.

That's pretty much the gist of their replies, avoid and deflect instead of confronting and solve the problem (rolls eyes).

I can post at least a dozen more that'll have the same kind of standard "We'll pass this along and avoid dealing with it ourselves" excuses.

AAHH YYEEEPP.. Great night to be a WWE fan, eh? Aren't you "just sssoo happy" (note, TONS of sarcasm there) that WWE made this 'great' investment with Peacock?

bravo peacock, bravo, another 'Steller' night for you, NNOOTT!