The Twitter beef between Stephanie McMahon and AJ Lee has taken on a life of its own. Just days after the company slammed Lee’s husband CM Punk, Lee took the offense and humiliated McMahon on Twitter leading to all kinds of speculation from fans and media.
[adinserter block=”1″]The tweet exchange came shortly Stephanie McMahon sent out a tweet in support of Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech on women’s equality. Stephanie tweeted…
“Thank You Patty Arquette for having the courage to fight for women’s rights on such a grand platform,” in response to Arquette’s Oscar acceptance speech for winning Best Supporting Actress in the movie “Boyhood.”
Shortly thereafter, the WWE Diva responded with…
“Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise and have starred in the highest rated segments of the show times. And yet they receive a fraction of the wages and screen time of the majority of the male roster.”
Ouch! Stephanie later tweeted that she thanked AJ for her opinion. According to a story in the new Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Stephanie was downright furious over the tweets. Stephanie felt humiliated and embarrassed. The newsletter also reports that Vince made her respond to the tweet. Finally the report indicates that AJ posted these tweets on her own and not as part of any kind of angle.
I have always had my doubts about Lee coming back to the company. Ever since Punk walked out, Lee has been in and out of the ring sporadically. However, once her employer’s doctor filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her husband in addition to her employer publicly calling him a liar, I thought it was safe to conclude that there was no way she was returning. How could she come to work for a company who is aligned with a doctor trying to take over a million dollars away from her family?
Anyone convinced that this is some kind of angle is working themselves into false hope. I don’t believe for a second that this is any kind of angle. I think what you had here was someone torn between her family and her dream job, on the brink of frustration and lashing out. Professional or unprofessional, I don’t think anyone could blame her in this situation.
That said, I would love to understand where she is getting her metrics. I can’t ever recall, at least during Lee’s era, a segment on RAW where the Divas drew the highest rating of the entire show. I have not read any reports of record-selling Divas merchandise as well. As for the wages, I don’t know what she makes but I always groan at entertainers or athletes who complain publicly about their salary. Nobody forced her to become a pro wrestler or work for the WWE. If her salary was that bad, she should go do something else.
[adinserter block=”2″]On the flip side, Stephanie really opened a huge Pandora’s box with her tweet. Let’s call a spade a spade. Women have not exactly been portrayed in the best light in the WWE. Women are regularly mocked with dumb jokes and tasteless segments. They are booked as filler matches, rarely getting any kind of spotlight or promotion. It is what it is and unless Stephanie hasn’t watched her own show in the last five years, women’s equality is not a cause I’d jump on if I were her.
Regardless, this is just more fallout from the ugly divorce between CM Punk and the WWE. Unfortunately it looks like it is going to end with two of the most talented performers on the roster never to be seen again.
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