Kalmia
King Koopa
Happy to be here
Posts: 11,971
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Post by Kalmia on Feb 19, 2023 20:00:26 GMT -5
I just looked at Helwani's Twitter account for the first time and had to burst out laughing. Why retweet one tweet quoting Cole's "unbiased" line when you can retweet a dozen?
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Post by canceled4truth on Feb 19, 2023 20:19:18 GMT -5
Ariel’s a tool of course, but is he really a wrestling reporter or just an MMA reporter? I know he created wrestling content like interviews/podcasts but I’ve never really thought of him as reporting on wrestling in any real sense of the word. Perhaps this is just my own personal beef as a one-time reporter, but it seems disingenuous for Helwani to style himself as a journalist [/CM Punk voice]. Like, he's employed by BT Sport, a WWE broadcast partner, and the work he does at this point seems to be more akin to like, an Ernie Johnson or Suzy Kolber-esque TV presenter, rather than someone out in the field breaking stories. Of course, Helwani isn't the only "reporter" out there straddling the line with providing straight-up PR for the industry they claim to be covering, nor even the most flagrantly unethical in the sports world (hi, Adam Schefter!) But it is a problem nonetheless, and it's only gonna keep getting worse as whatever survives of the journalism industry becomes increasingly corporatized. And also Helwani's being a bit of a dickhead.
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,397
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Post by The Ichi on Feb 19, 2023 20:29:54 GMT -5
He's banned from UFC events? How big of a prick do you need to be to get cast out of places that allow CM Punk?
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 19, 2023 20:30:49 GMT -5
I think in the end what we got out of this is:
- Tony could have not tweeted what he did and it makes him look upset by something that he should have just ignored
- Ariel Helwani is a gigantic douchebag with even thinner skin and an even bigger f***ing mouth, and is totally f***ing biased lmfao
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Chiral
Salacious Crumb
Posts: 74,636
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Post by Chiral on Feb 19, 2023 20:35:58 GMT -5
This guy's such a f***ing dweeb lol. Even if I didn't know anything about him and just saw his stuff at Elimination Chamber, I'd just see a whiny dude proclaiming for like 15 minutes how important he was to WWE and to wrestling in general to an indifferent preshow panel
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Post by polarbearpete on Feb 19, 2023 20:47:56 GMT -5
He's banned from UFC events? How big of a prick do you need to be to get cast out of places that allow CM Punk? He’s banned because he questioned the fighter pay issues and how little of the profits they see.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Feb 19, 2023 20:53:15 GMT -5
He's banned from UFC events? How big of a prick do you need to be to get cast out of places that allow CM Punk? He’s banned because he questioned the fighter pay issues and how little of the profits they see. I don't think it's that by itself per se and I haven't seen anything other than from Coach to say hie's still banned. He was once banned for reporting that Brock was coming in for UFC 200 before they announced it which was clearly a straw that broke the camel's back situation. Ariel and Dana just have a terrible relationship and that endued up being an issue with his UFC gig. It may be the case that he's now banned from events or he just doesn't go for his own reasons. Dana has always had issues with certain reporters that are a bit too honest so I wouldn't hold it against Ariel.
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,338
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Post by Fade on Feb 19, 2023 21:47:07 GMT -5
He’s banned because he questioned the fighter pay issues and how little of the profits they see. I don't think it's that by itself per se and I haven't seen anything other than from Coach to say hie's still banned. He was once banned for reporting that Brock was coming in for UFC 200 before they announced it which was clearly a straw that broke the camel's back situation. Ariel and Dana just have a terrible relationship and that endued up being an issue with his UFC gig. It may be the case that he's now banned from events or he just doesn't go for his own reasons. Dana has always had issues with certain reporters that are a bit too honest so I wouldn't hold it against Ariel. And don’t forget TK & Dana have come off as chummy in the past.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Feb 19, 2023 23:25:58 GMT -5
This guy's such a f***ing dweeb lol. Even if I didn't know anything about him and just saw his stuff at Elimination Chamber, I'd just see a whiny dude proclaiming for like 15 minutes how important he was to WWE and to wrestling in general to an indifferent preshow panel Wait god he had stuff? I thought he just showed up in the crowd last night and Michael Cole said some shit. Did he cut a whole f***ing Cody promo on the pre-show?
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Chiral
Salacious Crumb
Posts: 74,636
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Post by Chiral on Feb 19, 2023 23:49:44 GMT -5
This guy's such a f***ing dweeb lol. Even if I didn't know anything about him and just saw his stuff at Elimination Chamber, I'd just see a whiny dude proclaiming for like 15 minutes how important he was to WWE and to wrestling in general to an indifferent preshow panel Wait god he had stuff? I thought he just showed up in the crowd last night and Michael Cole said some shit. Did he cut a whole f***ing Cody promo on the pre-show? "I'm emotional being here, I was here in this building for every single one of GSP's title defenses, I was here for when the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup..." "97 was a dark day, I was sitting in the 400s in 97, in this building, THAT'S HOW LEGIT I AM." A minute before the show starts he says "ARE YOU GETTING RID OF ME ALREADY?" when they tell him to wrap it up
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,338
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Post by Fade on Feb 20, 2023 0:23:10 GMT -5
God help me I listened to Meltzer talk about this:
- Seems to say Ariel’s gotta “pick a lane” sort of speak over being a wrestling reporter.
- Seemed critical of Ariel’s “worst interview” post-Tony interview talk.
- Took the “Tony Schiavone” comment very literal!
- REALLY sells the snowman line. Says it’s bad.
“…I could never do any of that shit” over the snowman comment. Says it’s “over the pale”.
Sells the connection between Nick Khan and Helwani. Says they (WWE) have seen Ariel as a type of offense/criticism towards Tony. Says they (WWE) say a lot worse. Says ”he probably shouldn’t have crossed that line”.
- goes BACK to the Tony shiavone comparison!
- Thinks it’s sad.
- Compares Tony taking shot to Paul during the ECW days.
- Says “Tony’s gonna get hit hard by doing that.”
- “Dynamite is still the best wrestling show on tv most weeks, it wasn’t this week, but most weeks..”
- “If you’re going to insult them wait until you have something really strong or hot.”
- Says his advice to Tony would be “Wait until you’re hot before you can go back at ‘em”
- Goes BACK to the Snowman line! Says “wwe guys were like YES!” At that comment.
- “His thing is to cause controversy” on Helwani.
“Sometimes I go ‘God! “Why don’t I just do that too?’ And then I think do I really wanna do that? Then it’s like it’s just not it’s just not - it’s just not for me”.
- Calls the snowman line tacky. And that Tony should pick better timing.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Feb 20, 2023 2:50:59 GMT -5
Wait god he had stuff? I thought he just showed up in the crowd last night and Michael Cole said some shit. Did he cut a whole f***ing Cody promo on the pre-show? "I'm emotional being here, I was here in this building for every single one of GSP's title defenses, I was here for when the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup..." "97 was a dark day, I was sitting in the 400s in 97, in this building, THAT'S HOW LEGIT I AM." A minute before the show starts he says "ARE YOU GETTING RID OF ME ALREADY?" when they tell him to wrap it up This is jaw-dropping. There's no way to make fun of this dude that's more effective than just showing whatever the f*** this is..
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Post by Mr Mario Mario on Feb 20, 2023 3:24:05 GMT -5
I think in the end what we got out of this is: - Tony could have not tweeted what he did and it makes him look upset by something that he should have just ignored - Ariel Helwani is a gigantic douchebag with even thinner skin and an even bigger f***ing mouth, and is totally f***ing biased lmfao Kinda sums it up to a tee
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Post by stoptheclocks on Feb 20, 2023 3:27:18 GMT -5
Okay, let's add "Tony Khan" to the list of things this board gets irrationally weird about. And Ariel Helwani by the looks of things.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 20, 2023 5:06:05 GMT -5
Okay, let's add "Tony Khan" to the list of things this board gets irrationally weird about. And Ariel Helwani by the looks of things. Nah, Ariel kinda dug his own grave with the shit he said in the past and in the now. It's not "irrationally weird" as much as "Wow, this guy's an asshole, look at the several examples of him being an asshole".
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Post by stoptheclocks on Feb 20, 2023 5:24:26 GMT -5
And Ariel Helwani by the looks of things. Nah, Ariel kinda dug his own grave with the shit he said in the past and in the now. It's not "irrationally weird" as much as "Wow, this guy's an asshole, look at the several examples of him being an asshole". In this instance, the thing he has actually done is... very briefly appear on WWE TV around a PPV in his hometown. So the reaction has been pretty irrational, and he's clearly living rent free in Tony's mind.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 239,530
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 20, 2023 5:30:16 GMT -5
Nah, Ariel kinda dug his own grave with the shit he said in the past and in the now. It's not "irrationally weird" as much as "Wow, this guy's an asshole, look at the several examples of him being an asshole". In this instance, the thing he has actually done is... very briefly appear on WWE TV around a PPV in his hometown. So the reaction has been pretty irrational, and he's clearly living rent free in Tony's mind. He called Tony a coke addict in rebuttle, publicly joked about it on air during the WWE preshow, and RTed several tweets about when Cole called him "Unbiased" on commentary, and this isn't even counting all the dumb shit he's said in the past, quoted on numerous pages here to add on to it, which included ranting about the Tony interview for a very extended period after the fact. But yeah sure, Ariel is living rent free in Tony's head.
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kidkamikaze10
Dennis Stamp
Trying to think of a new avatar
Posts: 4,308
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Post by kidkamikaze10 on Feb 20, 2023 6:49:22 GMT -5
This is a messy topic for me in a number of ways:
1) Ariel, when he wants to be, can be a great journalist. And was one of the few journalists to put Dana White’s feet on the fire for his many, many transgressions.
2) This is also not the first time Ariel has been getting straight up paid to be a “unbiased” reporter by a company he reports on. UFC did it first.
3) Tony is unequivocally right to call out Ariel. Being Tony though, he did it like a wrestling forum poster. Which does not work when you own a wrestling promotion.
4) If the E got him, then it’s totally within their right to weaponize Ariel against AEW. The only person who looks bad here is Ariel…
5) And Wrestling Journalists in general, who are still trying to gain a rep beyond Dave. This does considerable damage to that field.
6) That snowman line is gonna burn a ton of bridges for Ariel, who is very used to doing that.
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jm
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,695
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Post by jm on Feb 20, 2023 8:45:38 GMT -5
Nah, Ariel kinda dug his own grave with the shit he said in the past and in the now. It's not "irrationally weird" as much as "Wow, this guy's an asshole, look at the several examples of him being an asshole". In this instance, the thing he has actually done is... very briefly appear on WWE TV around a PPV in his hometown. So the reaction has been pretty irrational, and he's clearly living rent free in Tony's mind. You forgot the part where Ariel called AEW fans "freakazoids" after the TK interview, continued to complain about said interview long after it was over, and said that people were "lying" if they thought AEW was better than WWE. Not to mention the fact that Nick Khan is Ariel's former agent, so there's already a conflict of interest there between WWE and Ariel. But whatever, Ariel is living rent free in TK's head for no reason whatsoever.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Feb 20, 2023 8:55:27 GMT -5
Also, like, I don’t know, I don’t expect my owners to be perfect people who don’t have petty gripes like the rest of us here do.
As long as they aren’t Harvey Weinstein or Roger Ailes, it can’t badly reflect on a company if they take a shot at someone who has a blatant conflict of interest with these things.
Like, if TK has Jade Cargill squash someone named Ariala Helwaniani on Rampage next week for the TBS title, that’s a completely different story because it affects the onscreen product. Nobody outside of the internet community can possibly care about all this.
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