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DEJ Experience District
DEJ Jeremy: Why the Hell Do We Care About Nick Hogan? Jun 2, 2008 - 1:36:09 PM
Why are any of us reporting or chronicling the misadventures of Nick and Brooke Hogan on a wrestling website? Yes, they are the offspring of Hulk Hogan, but outside of that, they have no actual connection to the wrestling industry. Why should any time or space be taken up following their mistakes? The fact that they are children of a wrestler does not give credence to the coverage of their private, and now personal, misfortunes.
When was the last time Brooke or Nick was in a wrestling ring on television? For that matter, when was the first time they had a match or put themselves in the world of wrestling for such ridicule? This isn’t an aim to stand up for either one of them, but the attention being given to them is ridiculous. They are not connected to wrestling in any way. They have never had a match, an angle, nothing. Promoting a television program is the closest they have come to being in this business for such attention to be given their way.
Isn’t this a matter of a celebrity’s child acting up and being an irresponsible douchebag teenager with an entitlement problem? If so, then let’s cover Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, those losers from “The Hills” (I finally caught an episode), the women of “The Bad Girls Club,” Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg and Cyndi Lauper. After all, Lauper has a direct tie to wrestling at some point in history, so where was the coverage of the bird pooing in her mouth on stage?
Why isn’t their more coverage of Sandman falling asleep in the middle of a match? Shouldn’t this have garnered much more attention than some douchey teenagers making terrible choices and decisions and being too arrogant to realize it? Here was a man passing out in the middle of a show due to what appeared to being heavily intoxicated. He barely made it to the ring after wandering around the ring for nearly 15 minutes. Oh, and he was supposed to be doing a run-in to save someone in the ring. He left everyone standing around looking stupid. He finally remembered to climb in the ring and then proceeded to stumble around until his opponent realized he would carry the action. Finally, though, Sandman lost it and was unconscious on the mat during a routine resthold.
Even after the match, he slurred his speech and talked about drinking, snorting and whatever else. He was openly promoting doing more harm to himself, and no one had a word for it. If this isn’t a public example of someone in need of help or at the very least an example of situation that needs addressed, then what is?
Why isn’t there more discussion of the WWE’s testing policy and the fact that they have another wrestler pulled in the middle of a sustained and important push? WWE has stuck to their guns so far and suspended people at less than ideal times. There should also be some sort of coverage about Regal and his past drug addictions. He may have had a book covering much of this, but how much of the audience has actually read that book or even knew he had a book out?
This is a serious story with possibly serious consequences. William Regal is a man who has overcome multiple addictions and problems. He had a “happy-ending” sort of story that has now been tarnished. Regardless if the drugs were performance enhancers or some sort of narcotic, it has ruined this story. Outside of that, what should be troubling is the fact that a “clean” wrestler was still taking some sort of drug even after being clean.
There has also been very little chatter about Ultimate Warrior returning to wrestling, supposedly, for the NWE promotion. He is returning to take on the openly bisexual Orlando Jordan. Along with that revelation, he is training with Rob Van Dam to get back in ring shape. You can’t make this stuff up, but it can be mentioned since it is important.
After years of incoherent ramblings, awesome college speaking engagements and accusing nearly everyone in wrestling of queering and/or being intellectually inferior to him, he is working with the exact same people he railed against. RVD has never hidden his marijuana usage, so there is the anti-drug connection shot down. Warrior has been quoted multiple times speaking out against homosexuality, but yet here he is associating himself with Orlando Jordan.
Look, there is no reason to be covering Nick Hogan and the rest of the Hogan clan’s exploits unless it pertains to wrestling. The coverage mimics the information you would get from Perez Hilton or the dummies at TMZ. It is useless gossip garbage. Yes, the tapes of Nick may come into play for a civil suit, but it still doesn’t pertain to wrestling or the wrestling industry. Hogan may slather his daughter’s behind with oil, but it doesn’t pertain to wrestling. The Hulkster may be getting divorced, but it doesn’t pertain to wrestling. Hulk may have to return to the ring for a payday if things go as bad as expected, and then that pertains to wrestling. So, until Dusty Giebink dyes his hair a shade of royal blue and wears a half shirt yelling “Did you see what Nick Hogan did today?” at the top of his lungs in front of the hippest club in Potchawanana, Wisconsin, let’s concentrate on real stories.
Jeremy Maes is the “J” of the DEJ Audio Experience. You can listen to that group of organized crime perpetrators every Wednesday night on the member’s portion of PWTorch.com. You can read Jeremy’s thoughts every Sunday on PWTorch.com. You can even contact Jeremy or any member of the DEJ faction on the PWTorch VIP Forum, or by email at theaudioexperience@gmail.com.
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