Originally posted by Amos CochranThey could actually put their money where their mouth is for once and push Young as a face fighting against homophobes.
Yeah, this sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea and unfair to Darren Young.
So I was thinking about this last night -- any thoughts on if this was a staged outing? I mean, Darren Young isn't exactly a top name in the wrestling world for TMZ to search out (or even recognize), and I don't think the "is a gay wrestler possible" question is a standard in TMZ interviews. What are the chances this was orchestrated?
Originally posted by HokienauticSo I was thinking about this last night -- any thoughts on if this was a staged outing? I mean, Darren Young isn't exactly a top name in the wrestling world for TMZ to search out (or even recognize), and I don't think the "is a gay wrestler possible" question is a standard in TMZ interviews. What are the chances this was orchestrated?
I thought the same thing ... in LA where there's a ton of press ... they're going into the 2nd biggest PPV of the year, etc.
But regardless, good for Darren Young ... still took a lot of courage.
Originally posted by HokienauticSo I was thinking about this last night -- any thoughts on if this was a staged outing? I mean, Darren Young isn't exactly a top name in the wrestling world for TMZ to search out (or even recognize), and I don't think the "is a gay wrestler possible" question is a standard in TMZ interviews. What are the chances this was orchestrated?
I thought the same thing ... in LA where there's a ton of press ... they're going into the 2nd biggest PPV of the year, etc.
But regardless, good for Darren Young ... still took a lot of courage.
Oh, absolutely, a ton of courage. And I'm not saying I think it's a storyline or anything. I just think maybe he was ready to come out, went to WWE about it first, and together they controlled how it happened.
Originally posted by HokienauticSo I was thinking about this last night -- any thoughts on if this was a staged outing? I mean, Darren Young isn't exactly a top name in the wrestling world for TMZ to search out (or even recognize), and I don't think the "is a gay wrestler possible" question is a standard in TMZ interviews. What are the chances this was orchestrated?
I thought the same thing ... in LA where there's a ton of press ... they're going into the 2nd biggest PPV of the year, etc.
But regardless, good for Darren Young ... still took a lot of courage.
Oh, absolutely, a ton of courage. And I'm not saying I think it's a storyline or anything. I just think maybe he was ready to come out, went to WWE about it first, and together they controlled how it happened.
I agree with this. It seems like if he would want to continue his WWE career, this is something Vince would want to have the final say on. Regardless, kudos to him for coming out and I hope this really is a non issue and not a storyline in the near future.
Originally posted by HokienauticSo I was thinking about this last night -- any thoughts on if this was a staged outing? I mean, Darren Young isn't exactly a top name in the wrestling world for TMZ to search out (or even recognize), and I don't think the "is a gay wrestler possible" question is a standard in TMZ interviews. What are the chances this was orchestrated?
I thought the same thing ... in LA where there's a ton of press ... they're going into the 2nd biggest PPV of the year, etc.
But regardless, good for Darren Young ... still took a lot of courage.
Oh, absolutely, a ton of courage. And I'm not saying I think it's a storyline or anything. I just think maybe he was ready to come out, went to WWE about it first, and together they controlled how it happened.
I agree with this. It seems like if he would want to continue his WWE career, this is something Vince would want to have the final say on. Regardless, kudos to him for coming out and I hope this really is a non issue and not a storyline in the near future.
On the other hand, going into the Olympics, the two big stories are the removal of wrestling as an Olympic sport and the Russian ban on homosexuals. I could see this being a potential question asked of a randomly encountered pro wrestler.
Originally posted by Amos CochranThey could actually put their money where their mouth is for once and push Young as a face fighting against homophobes.
By homophobes do you mean "the WWE audience"?
No, I see "That Bully" Ryback saying something and the PTP going face by having Titus O'Neill stand up to him and get squashed, followed by Darren Young running in and getting squashed, and then we get an Usos "We get cross promotion because of Total Divas" vs. PTP "We get cross promotion because one of our members came out of the closet" match or two, each showing mutual respect for each other, while Big Show and Mark Henry tear the house down with hot matches against the Shield for the tag team titles.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and the world laughs at you." -Me.
Originally posted by Amos CochranThey could actually put their money where their mouth is for once and push Young as a face fighting against homophobes.
By homophobes do you mean "the WWE audience"?
Yeah, I get where the idea of Darren Young, Progressive Gay Babyface is coming from, but you're talking about parading it in front of a fanbase that looked at Tea Party-style bigots Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter railing against Alberto Del Rio and Hispanics like him in a completely racist fashion and reacted to that whole thing by chanting "USA!" This is not the fanbase to attempt this with.
Now if Young wanted to play the flamboyant heel (like Goldust or Lenny & Lodi), it could be interesting, just because of the authenticity the character would have. No one would be able to tell whether it's a mind game or not. It would obviously have to be at Young's own discretion, because he'd put himself at a lot of risk with it, but it would be a hell of a way to push the envelope like never before.
Regardless of what happens, good for him. He got ambushed by TMZ's army of paparazzi, decided to make a spur of the moment announcement, and probably feels much better about himself for no longer having to keep his orientation a secret. Good for him. And good on the WWE staff for backing him up 100% on this.
Originally posted by Amos CochranThey could actually put their money where their mouth is for once and push Young as a face fighting against homophobes.
Originally posted by dwatersHope he doesn't get "faggot" screamed at him at house shows like Goldust used to in '96 ...and that was just the kids in the crowd.
They need his next televised appearance to occur in Ottawa, Kansas. Evan Bourne's younger brother wrestled there in pink hot pants, covered in glitter, skipping around the ring with limp wrists and still didn't get a faggot chant. Most bizarre indie crowd I've ever experienced. There were 100 or so people there and I think 90 of them were related.
Or go the route of Big Flame in JCW. He started the chant himself. The crowd then refused to bite because they saw it as cheering for him.
A TMZ reporters brother past recently. The brother was a huge wrestling fan. Kevin Steen even performed a move in his honor. So I am not 100% sold that this could be a work. And a NBA player came out late in the season last year, so it might be an in vogue question to ask.
The Masked Man had a couple dudes on his Grantland podcast and while they didn't go into "it's a work" (™CRZ) territory they *did* all kind of talk it out to the point of WWE teeing up TMZ for the story being the most likely scenario.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Originally posted by lotjxI am agreeing random TMZ reporter randomly runs into random low card wrestler at an airport and gets the wrestling story of the year.
Don't photographers and TMZ types constantly hang out at the LA airport waiting for the opportunity of getting a photograph or quick interview with a celebrity? I've seen many videos and pics of celebrities caught going through the airport by the paparazzi on TMZ, celebrity websites, shows like Entertainment Tonite, etc etc.
It might be that one of those paparazzi guys that constantly lurk there recognized Young and threw a camera in front of him. Especially if it was a slow day.
But yeah, it's probably a work.
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill
Nod. It does feel like they rushed through the thing. Maybe they got plans for a specific Wrestlemania program but didn't want to drop the Nexus plan completely?