What’s the story?
Not a day seems to go by at the moment without someone from the wrestling world weighing in on the controversy surrounding John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield and the culture of bullying in WWE.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett is the latest to comment on his experiences working with the current SmackDown Live commentator, as well as his opinions of former WWE announcer Justin Roberts’ book.
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Wade’s comments on Twitter are neither here nor there as he partly agreed with Roberts but also credited Bradshaw for helping with his career.
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The former WWE Champion JBL has an unfortunate track record when it comes to poor treatment of fellow employees, and the absence of Mauro Ranallo over the last month has seen these ugly stories come to the surface once more.
Justin Roberts has accused JBL of a number of counts of bullying in his recent book, with Dave Meltzer leading the charge when it comes to his exposure.
The heart of the matter
Barrett took to Twitter to make his feelings on the matter clear while managing not to chose sides. Barrett stated that he enjoyed Justin Roberts’ book and added that some of the experiences and frustrations mirrored his own and that the book was worth a read. The former leader of the Nexus described the book as ‘unique’ and ‘fascinating’.
The former bearer of Bad News was quick to praise JBL however, referring to the former WWE Intercontinental and United States Champion as one of his ‘favourite people in WWE’. Barrett said that JBL helped his career immensely, refusing to speak ill of the former Acolyte in the face of the recent bullying accusations.
JBL was quick to like the tweet, as the SmackDown Live commentator continues to search for any and all support on the matter.
What’s next?
Whilst it is easy to say that WWE currently finds itself in a difficult position, the truth is that this isn’t the first time that the company has had accusations of bullying levied against it and it won’t be the last.
Unless major mainstream media picks up the story, it is unlikely that anything will happen to Bradshaw, and former Superstars jumping to his defence will only help the former WWE Champion’s position. More news will almost certainly break on the subject, but whether it goes anywhere is another matter.
Author’s take
It isn’t surprising to see Barrett speak highly of his former colleague, but the fact is that a 6ft 7in former bare-knuckle fighter doesn’t exactly fit the criteria of someone likely to be bullied. The phrase ‘pick on someone your own size’ exists for a reason, and the Englishman’s size and fighting background will have protected him from some of the harsher treatment meted out to performers in WWE.
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