Being a TNA wrestler certainly has its privileges. Making enough money to live above the poverty level wouldn’t be one of them.
I think it may be time for TNA Wrestling to institute a Twitter policy. A new series of tweets by TNA wrestler Jesse Neal may take the cake for stupidity. Neal and his girlfriend celebrated their qualification for food stamps marking an all new low for TNA.
I have not seen a company generate more controversy from Twitter than TNA. Whether it is Hulk Hogan’s “fake” tweets about quitting, Jeremy Borash direct messaging threats to fans, Matt Hardy arguing with “dirt sheet writers”, or Mick Foley mocking the company’s low house show attendance, the TNA wrestlers are out of control on Twitter. Jesse Neal’s latest tweets may be the most egregious of all.
[adinserter block=”2″]Cagesideseats.com has done a great job chronicling the timeline of events. Thanks to them I was able to go back through some Twitter accounts and piece this all together. Read more coverage on the tweets in their story.
It all started when Neal’s live-in girlfriend and independent wrestler, Christina Von Eeerie posted a tweet rejoicing over some good news.
Things are looking up! Just recieved some good news!!! 🙂 – @ CVEvil_138
Christina’s boyfriend and TNA Wrestling star Jesse Neal joined the celebration with this tweet.
Yayyyy we qualified for food stamps!!! I can eat now! RT @CVEvil_138: Things are looking up! Just recieved some good news!!! 🙂 – @TheJesseNeal
Honestly when I read that, I thought they were joking. It would have been a pretty immature joke considering the millions of people in this country who need assistance, but I didn’t think anyone would be dumb enough to make this “great news” public. Well someone else thought the same thing and tweeted their thoughts to the celebratory couple.
@TheJesseNeal @CVEvil_138 It’s a sad state of the business that you can make a joke about Food Stamps and people wonder if you are serious – @ iWo insider
Yep, they were that dumb.
@RowdyRodimus guess what A**HOLE its not a f*ucking joke! How about u take ur d*ck comment and go f&ck urself with it! ;D – @ CVEvil_138
Classy girl. And just for good measure.
By the way its not a joke. RT @RowdyRodimus: @TheJesseNeal @CVEvil_138 It’s a sad state of the business that you (cont) http://tl.gd/b3g88h – @TheJesseNeal
It is sad that a pro wrestler featured on television almost weekly, working for a wrestling promotion owned by a billion dollar energy company (which reportedly gave a contract with an interviewer $150,000 year) has to go on welfare to pay his bills. TNA Wrestling should really be ashamed of themselves and highly embarrassed by this revelation.
However, I further look into this will just absolutely infuriate you. I don’t follow Jesse Neal or his girlfriend but I read their tweets in preparing to write this blog. From the looks of their tweets, it appears that all these two is spend endless hours in the gym wrestling once or twice a week. Have you seen Jesse Neal on television? This is not a man who is disabled or can’t work. The idea that these two people are taking your tax money to support their lifestyle and practically mocking it on Twitter is just downright disgusting.
Look I get it. The pro wrestling is a tough business. For someone like Jesse Neal, you have to pay your dues to make a living. But, I know plenty and I mean plenty of independent pro wrestler who bust their butts working a real job during the week, hitting the gym for a couple of hours a day, and wrestling whenever they can just to pay their bills as the reach for their dreams. Listening to these two tweet about their food stamps as they sit around and argue with fans all day is about as low as it gets.
[adinserter block=”1″]It is easy for TNA to get mad at Jesse Neal and suspend or even fire him. Instead, TNA needs to take a look at themselves and this “family” atmosphere they project and do some real soul searching. They also need a serious policy for social media because from what I can see, everyone from the company owner to her bookers have done nothing but cause the company grief via Twitter.
Being on hold with VA for 45mins. SUX!!! But knowing that I have full benefits and getting taking care of…. PRICELESS!!!! – @TheJesseNeal
This story…priceless!
WWE: The Very Best Of WCW Monday Nitro DVD
WWE: Wrestlemania 27 Collector’s Edition DVD
Brock Lesnar’s autobiography – Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival
Shop WWEShop.com for great deals on hot merchandise!
Grab discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t -shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com
It's not that surprising to me. In wrestling I think the 80/20 rule is more like 99.9/.01 where .01% of the wrestlers make 99.9 percent of the money while the rest get abused and abuse themselves and end up on food stamps apparently.
Well, at least now we see why it is now called "Impact wrestling."
So what exactly about this story was incorrect? You say the story is incorrect and then substantiate the story with your alleged figures.
If the story put out by the Wrestling Guru was correct, then wrestlers like Neal get $500 per show, for 26 shows — or around $13,000 per year. Deduct hotels, gas & travel expenses, and you can see how someone could be eligible for food stamps. Obviously, he doesn't have a day job. But he may have to get one — I don't see Impact Wrestling turning him into a star any time soon.
There are guys on the indy circuits who work at almost every promotion in the country, at once.