There's nothing wrong with a bit of heavy-handed promo, and especially so in the over-the-top world of professional wrestling, but the current manager of WWE's premier stable in The Bloodline, Paul Heyman, might've gone a tad too far by either not paying attention to exactly what he was saying or using one of the biggest - and most tragic - news events of the past week to build heat.
Heyman is currently a part of The Bloodline alongside Roman Reigns, movie star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso with the group being a major part of WWE programming. When they aren't on stage, you'll see them grabbing attention on social media, and that is where Heyman has appeared to slip up.
In a post to X on his HeymanHustle account, Heyman (or an account holder) posted that he, his 'Tribal Chief' (current Undisputed WWE Universal Championship holder Reigns), Johnson, and Uso alongside himself 'set the ratings, the box office and the WWE universe on fire everytime that they appear:
It doesn't appear that Heyman read too much into the context of what he was 'quoting' on the website though, which is a post appearing to call Aaron Bushnell a 'libtard' following his death after self-immolating in front of the Israeli Embassy in protest on Sunday.
Live streaming to Twitch, Bushnell stood in front of the embassy in Washington DC and identified himself as a member of the Air Force before saying “I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before pouring lighter fluid over himself.
“I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” he added before setting himself on fire, repeatedly shouting: “Free Palestine!”
Bushnell died as a result of critical injuries sustained during his protest, one of the most extreme that can be performed by a human being.
Bushnell's protest will be viewed in many ways, with the baseline feeling being that it was as saddening as it was shocking, and it shouldn't be mocked.
And he definitely shouldn't be used as fodder for quick promo within the same week as his death in something as unimportant as pro wrestling is to the world, especially by someone who is presented by the industry as being a person who knows what they are doing.
indy100 has contacted WWE for comment.
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